Air damage to pump

[bryyy2104]

I'm just about to start out with wfp, and as I'm going to be working from my car for a few months, I'll be using 25ltr barrels.
My question is if I've used all the water from a barrel, and I'm round the back of a house would a couple of minutes of the pump pumping air damage it? As soon as I noticed the water had stopped from the brush I'd pop out and change barrel, but I don't want to risk breaking my pump.
Thanks for any advice with this one.

 

[Mattlekim]

Your biggest problem will be the potential air locks you may get. Also it may be faster just to get a backpack and run from that than running from car.

 

[Dabber]

I’d go with a backpack to start. Either carry or put it on a trolley. You can regulate the flow and minimise your use of water. I worked with a backpack and barrels for the first year. If affordable it’s worth having a spare backpack as back up should one go wrong.

 

[bryyy2104]

Ok thanks both, I'll have a bit of a re-think then.
The plan was to get a van within 6 months, so I wanted to get gear that would transfer over to a van setup meaning I'd only need to get a tank. It definitely wouldn't hurt having a back pack too tho.

Would the airlocks actually damage the pump? Or just mess with the flow I'd be getting?

 

[Dabber]

The backpack will be something that you continue to use for poor access or when it’s not convenient to run hose so it won’t be a wasteful purchase. I’ve had a few days where my van system has failed and backpack has come to the rescue.

 

[spruce]

I'm just about to start out with wfp, and as I'm going to be working from my car for a few months, I'll be using 25ltr barrels.
My question is if I've used all the water from a barrel, and I'm round the back of a house would a couple of minutes of the pump pumping air damage it? As soon as I noticed the water had stopped from the brush I'd pop out and change barrel, but I don't want to risk breaking my pump.
Thanks for any advice with this one.

This must depend on the pump you use. You can run a Shuflo pump dry for a short period of time.

 

[Marko067]

I have a backpack pump on my trolley and a couple of years back I was using a water-stop connector on the trolley and didn't realise when I disconnected the hose from the trolley that I hadn't switched it off. The pump pressurised the hose and turned itself off and I forgot about it. The next morning I came down to find that pump had turned itself on during the night as the pressure had decreased in the hose and because the pickup end wasn't in a barrel it had just kept running. I don't how long it had been running for but that pump has never let me down since.

As others have said though, if you use a backpack or trolley to start with it will never be that far from you to worry about as it will only ever be a few seconds before you switch it off. I've always preferred a trolley as I found it far quicker and easier to just pop a full barrel on the trolley rather than heft the barrel over a backpack and wait for it to fill up. Doing this can put a lot more strain on your back.

However, the backpack route is usually much easier on the pocket than a trolley unless you like DIY and build your own. If you do build your own, aim for simplicity and ease of maintenance in your design.

 

[bryyy2104]

Thanks @spruce and @Marko067. I think the pump is a Flowjet, but will double check that later.

That's good to know Marko, so hopefully then just a minute or two shouldn't do any damage. I do have a spare pump I was kindly given by a mate, but of course I'd rather not damage any gear.

I was going to go down the back pack route, and spent a lot of time researching it on here and YouTube. I'm still open to it, but at the moment I've set my Fiesta up like a very small van. I've got my controller and pump on a panel in the front foot well in front of my leisure battery. The reel is in the boot (with back seats down), and the barrels are around it. I'm still tweaking the setup, but the idea is to reduce any heavy lifting and pouring from barrels, and just pull out the hose so I can work fairly quickly. And then at a later stage transfer fairly easily to a van.

I'm still very much at the learning stage, so appreciate all your comments and feedback!

 

[Marko067]

If you haven't already done so get yourself a small waterproof tarpaulin and put it in your footwell under your pump setup. If you get a leak from the connections on your pump you want to contain it. If it gets into the carpet it will make your car smell horrible. Also don't leave any damp cloths in your car overnight.

Regards airlocks caused when you run a barrel dry, Use the smallest bore pickup hose that will work for you. The bigger the internal volume of the hose the greater potential for airlock problems. I've found for my trolley a hose with an internal diameter (ID) of 8mm works best as a pickup hose. Also fit a strainer to the end that you drop in the barrels.