Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have managed to pick up a pump that was previously used on a house that runs on tank water. These pumps have a pressure head on them so when a tap is turned on the drop in pressure turns the pump on.
Anyway this pumps pressure switch was faulty but i was able to simply remove it and the pump works fine.

My question is as this pump appears to have a cast iron pump mechanism, would that make it no good for AP?

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First system
viewtopic.php?t=18996

Its possible that it is lubricated by some form of oil or grease which wouldnt be ideal for aquatic life. Can you dig up any info on it on the net?

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~2010/2011~
~2012/2013~
~2014~
~Backyard farming~

I can't really answer the question you asked but I suspect it would work. Looks a lot like the well pump for my place. I would suggest you look at the cost to operate this pump. Depending on the pumps efficiency, getting a better (more efficient) pump may pay for itself within a year or two. So what I'm saying is it might not make sense to use it for this even though it probably would work.

Hope this helps

The oil or grease lubrication is definitely something to consider as Charlie mentioned.

Check what wattage it uses, my water tank pump is 1100 watts.

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Thanks all for the replies.

CC it is 550watts

So if the main proposed problem is the lubricant rather than the metal.

I may keep it as a backup pump and for transferring water only.

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First system
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It would take a huuge AP system to warrant a 550w pump.
As a comparison , my 4500lph pump is 65W , more than adequate for my 1000Lfishtank with 4x200L growbeds

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my bathtub and IBC system
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The "lubrication" should NOT be an issue. If the lube was in contact with the water, it would be all washed out within a few hours and the pump would fail. More than likely, the wear parts are bronze with a rubber or Teflon seal. Now, the real issue is the power consumption - it's gonna kill you!

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John from Northern California, USA

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20296

Although the plan I have will need large water flow for short periods during daylight only.
Most likely 15 minutes on then 30 off.

But I already have a submersible pump that can do that job.

But this one could be a good back up, as it can be fitted with flexible intake and outlet hoses I can move it to any use in need.

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First system
viewtopic.php?t=18996

My opinion ..... that's a shallow well pump. Designed to pull water up from as deep as 14 or so feet. It's going to have quite a suck when it kicks in and anything around it will get sucked up if you don't have some kind of screen around the end of the draw pipe. The protective screen needs to be large enough so as to keep everything at a safe distance away from the suction effect. Otherwise, any of your fish caught in the suction will get plastered against the screen and die, if not sucked through in little pieces. And, you'll probably want to get the pressure tank that goes along with the system. By using the tank and a large enough valve, you can regulate the water flow down to something more reasonable instead of full force of the pump. I don't see the line running from the output head to the pressure switch, so you might want to do a little work to the pump so the pressure switch will work. If not, the pump will be putting full pressure to your entire system. If the switch does work, and you put the pressure tank in-line, and set up everything as it should be, you can regulate the water pressure in your lines, but if you run it for 15 minutes, the pump will probably cycle on and off many times, and, starting the pump burns the most electricity and puts a lot of wear 'n tear on the switch points and the pump. But, the larger the pressure tank, the more efficient the system will be. So, ...... by doing everything, you'll be well into into overkill territory. Just the pressure tank alone will run you much more than going out and buying a small pump more suited to what you are trying to do.
But .... to answer your question, it can be used if that's what you want to do. Talk to someone at your local hardware store about shallow well systems. That's my opinion on the subject .......I could be wrong.

Thanks for that. In the photo I have already removed the pressure switch and just added se basic fittings so that I could try the pump out.

The tank my maim pump will work from will have no fish in it and is only a sump that will mostly drain when the system is pumping. So no danger to fish.

But I may well just use a submersible anyway and keep this one as a back up.

It is hard to explain the pump requirements as the design I am looking at is different what I think most are doing. But I don't want to fully explain it on this thread as it will start a very long run of discussion.
I will safe that for when I have progressed more in working out all the details and are more prepared for the inevitable questions.

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First system
viewtopic.php?t=18996

I would not be concerned about the lubrication. This pump is designed to pump potable water for human consumption. I can't imagine that any lubricant gets into the water. They probably use sealed bearings.