Backpack turned pumpbox

[Dale Transparent]

Hi all,

I had a spare, old Gardiner backpack sitting around doing nothing, so decided to butcher it and turn it into a pumpbox so that I could link it to a 100m hose and effectively have a 2 man system in the van. I also fitted a hose to a lid of a container so that when the 25l of water runs out, you just swap the lid to another container, rather than having to constantly refill the backpack. 

It works fine, however, I have some small issues which I was wondering if someone could give some advice on please, so here goes;

A) When the water runs out from a tub and I place the lid on to another full container water isn't drawn by the pump automatically, instead I have to disconnect the hose from the reel and insert a hoselock connection, this then allows the water to flow and I can reattach the pump hose to the reel. Anyway around this?

B) Would I be better off buying a 150l tank and just using this?

C) Could I link the pumpbox directly to my leisure battery to save charging it?

Thanks in advance, I will add some pics later to give some indication as to what the hell I'm talking about.

Che

Dale

 

[spruce]

Hi all,

I had a spare, old Gardiner backpack sitting around doing nothing, so decided to butcher it and turn it into a pumpbox so that I could link it to a 100m hose and effectively have a 2 man system in the van. I also fitted a hose to a lid of a container so that when the 25l of water runs out, you just swap the lid to another container, rather than having to constantly refill the backpack.

I believe the pump is to small to pump water through 100 meters of hose. It isn't designed to do that and will pack up very quickly I would imagine.

It works fine, however, I have some small issues which I was wondering if someone could give some advice on please, so here goes;

A) When the water runs out from a tub and I place the lid on to another full container water isn't drawn by the pump automatically, instead I have to disconnect the hose from the reel and insert a hoselock connection, this then allows the water to flow and I can reattach the pump hose to the reel. Anyway around this?

You could adapt a non return valve to the end of the pipe going into the barrel. The trouble is that you generally suck the barrel dry which causes an 'air bubble' (airlock) in the system. I think there was a YouTube video out once that showed a cleaner having to bleed to pump each time the barrel ran dry.

B) Would I be better off buying a 150l tank and just using this?

Yes, but with a better or more suited pump and controller. I would also find the biggest tank your van will legally carry. 150l isn't enough for a days work imho. If you are just starting out then it maybe now, but it won't be for long.

C) Could I link the pumpbox directly to my leisure battery to save charging it?

If the battery pack is 12v then yes you can do this.

Thanks in advance, I will add some pics later to give some indication as to what the hell I'm talking about.

Che

Dale

 

[Dale Transparent]

Thanks @spruce, much appreciated and valuable advice. I should have mentioned, I also have a 500l set up, the 2nd set up is just for my son to use on the odd occasion he comes to work with me, so it's not constantly used. Have looked at the YouTube video and will consider fitting the NRV.

Thanks again,

Dale

 

[R wcs]

Thanks @spruce, much appreciated and valuable advice. I should have mentioned, I also have a 500l set up, the 2nd set up is just for my son to use on the odd occasion he comes to work with me, so it's not constantly used. Have looked at the YouTube video and will consider fitting the NRV.

Thanks again,

Dale

Would a hose splitter not work for you and ur son ? , say both of yous have 20m pole hose each to reach around the houses 

 

[Nudel]

I have built a few pump boxes over the past three years, they are a great tool.

To prevent air locks you need to avoid emptying the barrel completely and drawing air in. Either switch barrels early, or you could split the intake hose and add it to several barrels. As long as the hoses are pretty much the same length, they should draw equally from each barrel.

Since you have a 500l tank, why not let the pump box draw from that?

Sounds like you would benefit more from pump on a board, than pump in a box if you intend to use a hose reel with it.

 

[Dale Transparent]

Thanks @R wcs, I use tubeless and would prefer to have separate pumps to maintain a constant flow.

 

[Dale Transparent]

Hi all, just an update on this and to say thanks to everyone who helped. I fitted a non return valve and also swapped the original pump with a 100psi, 6lpm pump, tested yesterday and it worked perfectly.

Thanks again, 

Dale

 

[Guest]

I’ve been doing this for a few years. The pumps will easily push through 200m and last about 6 months. We run them flat out 7 to 8 hrs a day.

 

[Dale Transparent]

I’ve been doing this for a few years. The pumps will easily push through 200m and last about 6 months. We run them flat out 7 to 8 hrs a day.

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 @solarpanelcleaningltd Do you charge the original battery as and when needed or is it hooked up to a leisure battery? Also, do you use the original pump as I had a few issues with mine?!

 

[Guest]

We use the same battery and pump, then buy replacements from gardiners.

We sometimes work from a pool in a field, so pumpboxes are essential.

 

[Tango]

Any chance you could post a pic or two of inside the yellow part? - I want to see how it's wired up etc as i want to hack a remote receiver into mine once the warranty on the pump is up

 

[Guest]

Ask @Alex Gardiner for a wiring diagram,

I’ll take a photo of one tomorrow.

 

[Alex Gardiner]

Here is a wiring diagram link - https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/Backpack_V3_Wiring-1.pdf