Choosing Lawn Irrigation Pumps
Lawn irrigation pumps are essential to making sure that your sprinkler system works well and that your irrigation system is doing all it can for your garden. The tricky thing is that shopping for lawn irrigation pumps can be difficult. For one there is a lot of misinformation about the type of pumps that you should buy. Secondly there is the problem of misunderstanding your irrigation system.
It often happens that people get excited about installing a new sprinkler system and skip a few steps. An example of this would be buying your pump before designing your sprinkler system. The result is that you will find you have the wrong sized pump and will have wasted a lot of money.
Designing First
Designing your sprinkler system should be the first step in setting up an irrigation system. If you find that your pump is the wrong size for the system that you eventually install then you will have to buy a new one and will have spent money on two pumps. One of which you will never use. Many people make this mistake and hope to fix it somehow; unfortunately once you buy the wrong sized pump there is no fixing the problem.
Boosting Water Pressure
Sometimes you will find that the water pressure on your property is not enough for your sprinkler system to properly work. In these instances you need a booster pump. This will help to increase water pressure. Look for end-suction centrifugal pumps as these are usually used for booster pumps. These can also be used to pump water from a stationary source of water.
Irrigation Pumps
Some pumps are marketed specifically as lawn irrigation pumps. Treat anything labeled as lawn irrigation pumps with caution. If it is a small centrifugal pump then this is not enough to power a whole sprinkler system. Instead it will only help to power one sprinkler head. Not something you want in any irrigation system.
Buying lawn irrigation pumps on your own can be hit or miss. This is because sometimes pumps are labeled in a misleading way. To figure out which pump you need it's best to talk to an expert before buying a pump. The person will first need to know the feet head, PSI and GPM that you want to pump before they can tell you what to buy. Once you know the type of pump that is suitable you can look around for something that fits your budget.
