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Brian Elfert
06-21-2009, 9:33 PM
Can I pump sump pump discharge a long distance and up about 12 to 15 feet? My discharge line would be somewhere between 150 and 175 feet.

I was planning to pump the discharge up about 10 to 11 feet for maybe 60 feet, but I found I can't do a gravity drain from there as I planned. I already ordered a larger 1 HP pump to make sure I have enough power to pump the 60 feet I planned on.

Mark Norman
06-21-2009, 9:39 PM
It would depend on the efficiency of the pump and the gpm expectations. What are the specs on the pump?

Mike Cutler
06-21-2009, 10:08 PM
Brian

15 ft x12"/ft =180" of total height.
180" divided by 27.7( inches of water per psi) = 6.5PSI
You will lose 6.5 psi of discharge pressure due to the head effect of the column of water. Add to this the Reynolds loss of the friction of the pipe and you could end up higher depending on the diameter of the pipe. However your true limiting factor will be the discharge orifice sizing in determining the output pressure and gpm.
One other concept to take into account would be the differential pressure across the pump impeller. Being that it is a sump pump, the suction orifice will be pretty large versus the discharge orifice and the D/P will most likely be the total amount of discharge pressure including head pressure.

Bottom line, you should be fine as long as the pressure rating of the sump pump can exceed the 6.5psi of head pressure at the flow you need. If you have the spec's of the pump,I can tell you right away.
Pumps like to pump, they don't like to pull.;)

Brian Elfert
06-21-2009, 10:43 PM
The listed specs for the pump I bought are pretty basic.

Max lift of 24 feet
4600 GPM@0' head
4300 GPM@5' head
3500 GPM@10' head
2550 GPM@15' head
1100 GPM@20' head

Anyone doing even 1100 GPM on a sump pump built their house on the wrong spot. I do 60 to 100 GPM when there is normal precipitation and that is considered high.

Brian Elfert
06-22-2009, 7:07 AM
Make that gallons per hour, not gallons per minute.

Andy Haney
06-22-2009, 7:38 AM
Hpefully you don't have that ground water in winter. Water left standing in that pipe (not to the top of the rise) may freeze in winter and burst the pipe. Can/should you provide for using compressed air or some other means to clear the pipe when temps are freezing and ground water isn't flowing?

Not sure, juust a thought.

Andy

Lee Schierer
06-22-2009, 7:51 AM
The listed specs for the pump I bought are pretty basic.

Max lift of 24 feet
4600 GPM@0' head
4300 GPM@5' head
3500 GPM@10' head
2550 GPM@15' head
1100 GPM@20' head

Anyone doing even 1100 GPM on a sump pump built their house on the wrong spot. I do 60 to 100 GPM when there is normal precipitation and that is considered high.


Based on the information you have on the pump it will reach 0 GPH about 22-24 feet of head. That means that if you lift that high from the pump location to the highest point in the pipe plus friction loss you will not actually remove any water. If your lift is 15 feet as indicated annthe total run of pipe is 150 feet you should have no problems moving water. Your flow will probably be around 2000 gph (33 gpm). If the out flow pipe runs down hill after it reaches the 15' level flow will be slightly higher than that. I would use 1-1/4" pipe or larger and minimize the number of elbows in the run. Every elbow is eqivalent to adding 10 feet of pipe.

Brian Elfert
06-22-2009, 9:29 AM
Unfortunately, due to city requirements I will have a number of elbows. The city requires hard pipe on the interior and I have several obstacles to go around. I originally had used flexible tubing on the inside. I also have to lift the water above the block wall and then it has to go back down under the ground.

The specs I quoted are for the 3/4 HP pump. I can't find the 1 HP specs, but I assume they are the same or better.

Brian Elfert
06-22-2009, 12:52 PM
Hpefully you don't have that ground water in winter. Water left standing in that pipe (not to the top of the rise) may freeze in winter and burst the pipe. Can/should you provide for using compressed air or some other means to clear the pipe when temps are freezing and ground water isn't flowing?


Once the ground freezes the sump pump quits running until the ground thaws again.

I have already considered freezing and will incorporate a drain valve for winter.

Stephen Musial
06-22-2009, 2:48 PM
Be sure to put a check valve on there. Otherwise, every time it shuts off, all the water in the pipe will flow back down to the sump and keep cycling the pump.

Cliff Rohrabacher
06-22-2009, 2:59 PM
Well it's easier to pump uphill than it is to pull uphill.
That being said it stands to reason that a sump pump's sole purpose in life is to raise water from where it's collected and lift it off to the second floor or higher to at lease street level.

I'd bet a nickel it'll pump a fair bit higher than that.
But ya gotta have a check valve or the whole column of water will fall back down when the pump has no more water to pump. That'll cause a pump to cycle on and off till it burns up

alex grams
06-22-2009, 4:36 PM
Brian,

I can give you a specific answer, but would need a few specific details:

-What diameter of pipe are you using?
-What type of pipe? (PVC/steel/copper?)

Brian Elfert
06-23-2009, 5:49 PM
Brian,

I can give you a specific answer, but would need a few specific details:

-What diameter of pipe are you using?
-What type of pipe? (PVC/steel/copper?)


I will use whatever diameter and type pipe will work other than metal pipe. I am thinking plastic irrigation pipe.

The discharge from the pump is 1.5" and I was planning to use 1.5" ABS pipe from the pump up to outside of the house.

alex grams
06-24-2009, 9:48 AM
You are going to be operating just a little below the 20' at 1100gph (18.33gpm). This included 3 90 degree elbows in the calculation, but a little ambiguity on the piping roughness (~19.4' at 18.33gpm). That is 15' vertical with 175' total length.

That should work, but will be pretty inefficient. However, for such a sporatic limited use pump, the efficiency won't really matter to you.

As for backfeed from the discharge back through the pump, others may be more familiar with your specific application. A check valve will help, but do you want standing water in the pipe if you have possible freezing temperatures? Something to help limit this would be having the piping peak close to the pump, so that downstream of the peak, all water will automatically drain downstream from the pump, and only the 15' vertical pipe will be held back against the pump discharge.

Good luck.