Pond Pumps
As it is often a little confusing with such a wide variety of models
available we will start with a brief overview of types and ratings. Pond
pumps fall into one of four general categories, Filter, Watercourse,
Fountain and Water Feature, and a rather loose classification,
combination. It may seem pointless to classify pumps in this way,
but different uses require slightly different characteristics.
Filter pumps are designed to move not only water, but waste, from the
pond to the filter where it can be processed and disposed off. It
is usually an easier task to remove muck and silt from the filter rather
than dragging the pump out of the pond to clean it. For this reason
filter pumps are 'solid handling'. Anything which is drawn in through
the 10mm holes in the pump casing will be pumped up into the filter,
mud, decomposing leaves, even small stones and gravel. Filter
pumps also need to be durable, running as they do 24/7 all year round.
Watercourse pumps need to be able to move large volumes as
economically as possible and without becoming blocked by the first dead
leaf which comes along. For this reason they are again solid
handling, but with specially shaped impellers to minimise energy
consumption. The downside of this is their Max Head Height which
may be only a few metre. There are Watercourse pumps which
can pump to much greater heights, some even as height as 10
metre, but high pressure impellers are less efficient and energy costs
rise steeply
Fountain pumps need only to pump the water into the fountain head,
but they do need to generate sufficient pressure to ensure a good spray
pattern through the relatively fine outlet nozzles. However, unlike the
filter pumps, they do not want to ingest debris or solids which
would block the outlet nozzles. For this reason they have much smaller
holes in the pump housing to trap any debris before it is drawn into
the impeller. As above, the use of high pressure impeller designs means
higher pressure and less flow.
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