03.06.09

Multiple pumps have multiple benefits

Posted in New Pond Construction, Pond Pumps, Ponding 101 at 11:54 am by Administrator

For years we have told our customers about using multiple pumps. There are many benefits to doing this and there are only one or two negatives. The negatives can be compensated for with the lower price of electrical cost and convenience.

Let’s say you need 8000 gallons per hour at your waterfall. You can purchase a direct drive waterfall style pump consuming 1300 watts (about 11 amps) or you can purchase two Hy-Drive 4800 pumps . Total energy for two of the Hy-Drive pumps would be about 560 watts (about 4.5 amps). This is a savings of almost 60% in electrical usage. Your cost to purchase the pumps is probably not much different than the cost of one larger direct drive pump and there are other benefits here:

·         Longer warranty (Hy-Drives have a 3 Year Warranty)

·         Replaceable parts (Most larger direct drive pumps are non repairable throwaways)

·         Less noise (vibration) (Direct drive pumps have stronger motors than the Mag-Drives)

Not to mention that you always have a spare pump if one should fail and you can always run one pump at less oxygen intensive times.

 

You can also apply this to three, four or even five pumps. You can combine four Hy-drive 4800 pumps together for up to 19,200 gph maximum flow rate or about 16,000 gph @ 5 ft of head.

Using the Pondmaster Hy-Drive 4800 is just one example. You can use the multiple pump rules for almost any type, brand or combination of pumps. External pumps can be run in parallel if this would benefit you such as running two low rpm pumps in place of one high rpm pump. It’s all about saving energy and getting more flow for your dollar.

You may ask; how do I hook these up? Well it’s pretty easy and you have many ways to do it.

·         You can run two separate lines – one from each pump going up to your waterfall or water feature.

·         You can run the pumps parallel to one larger pipe or a manifold if you have 3 or more pumps.

The most important thing to remember is to size your tubing correctly for the flow rate. Most people will size the pipe based on the discharge of the pump or based on the price of the pipe.

The smaller the pipe the less volume of water that can pass through!!!

Here are some examples:

·         Example 1: You have one Hy-Drive 4800 pump on a single pipe run. The discharge on this pump is 1-1/2” and most will go with 1-1/2” inside diameter pipe but if you have a typical 4-5 ft head lift you are not getting all of the flow you could if you ran 2” ID pipe. So this would be ideal. Even if you had a smaller pump in place you would still be better off going with the 2” ID pipe. Always go larger and it will not harm anything.

·         Example 2: You have two of the Hy-Drive 4800 pumps. You can run two separate 2” ID lines or if you will run one line you will want to come off the pumps with one 2” ID line and then increase up to a 3” ID or 4” ID line. This way you can maximize your flow rate. Same principal goes for three or even four pumps.

 

There are so many benefits to running multiple pond pumps and we hope you will use this information to your benefit. We love large flows going over the waterfall but hate the electrical costs. With these great energy efficient pumps on the market these days, it’s easy to find just the right one or two that will suit your pond and waterfall needs.  

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