What kind of pump???

[TrimTheKing]

Hey chaps

Need some help please. My underground gas tank keeps filling with water (the chamber it's in, not the actual tank) and submerging the upso/opso switch, which if not kep under control eventually kills the diaphragm in the switch dropping my gas PSI to levels where the oven won't fire up.

Shell came out and replaced the upso/opso 2 weeks ago but told me I need to keep the chamber clear or they will start charging me to change it next time. Typically it is pi$$ing it down and if I get out there and clear it by hand in the morning it is filling up again by evening and I just can;t spend all my time doing this with a jug.

I need some kind of pump, preferably automatic but manual is fine so long as it's reasonably quick. Cheap as possible but to do the job. When I open the manhole the seal is fine so I'm sure it's ground water filling the chamber and I can only get it down so far with a jug so something with a pipe/hose to get down the side of the tank and get some of the gound water out would be ideal.

I am currently scouring MachineMart but there are over 400 pumps come up with a search of 'small pump', and I haven't got a clue what I shouldbe looking for.

Any ideas out there???

Help!!!

 

[OLD]

Put 'sump pump' in google lots of links and choice.select one that will lift the number of meters you need with a float switch and check you have room to install .

 

[Doug B]

Mark.

Hire shops tend to only use decent gear, other wise their plant wouldn`t last long when hired to folk who don`t know what they`re doing with it.

Check out hire sites, see what they are renting out & buy one of them. I`ve done this a couple of times when buying gear i don`t know much about, though i do compare a few sites.

 

[llangatwgnedd]

Put 'sump pump' in google lots of links and choice.select one that will lift the number of meters you need with a float switch and check you have room to install .

Put intrinsically safe in front of sump pump.

TK.
Did Shell give you advice on how to keep the chamber clear?

 

[TrimTheKing]

Did Shell give you advice on how to keep the chamber clear?

Nope! Only that since mine was installed they have since learned that this happens to the chambers and they are looking at other ways to install to stop it happening! :shock:

Doesn't help me much.

 

[RogerS]

Noticed in Screwfix today that there is a recall on some Karcher submersible pumps.

 

[jasonB]

I use one of these to pump the overflow (rain) and waste water from my pond filters to about a 7ft head.

Been in for about 5yrs without problem, previous one was about 8yrs.

Jason

 

[Davon]

I use these, quite powerful from B& POO £35




Davon

 

[Digit]

Unless you're prepared to switch it on and off as required you will need either a float switch or a level detector. If leaves etc can enter the chamber it would be better to install the pump clear of the base to prevent clogging of the filter.

Roy.

 

[andyw]

how big a gap do you have to drop the pump into & what head is required.

Any idea on the volume of water you need to pump out?

If the gap/head/volume is small you can use a small pond pump like this:

http://www.pondpumpsdirect.com/product. ... re+Details

I sometimes use this one on a timer switch and match the flow requirement manually - ideally you would connect to a float switch.

If the gap/head/volume is larger then any submersible dirty water sump pump with a float switch will be fine.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions guys. What I failed to mention (dumbass) is that the inspection hole that is filling up is only about 12" deep max and the tank is domed so most of the water is around the edges. I have got a big submersible pump but there's no room for it.

how big a gap do you have to drop the pump into & what head is required.

Any idea on the volume of water you need to pump out?

If the gap/head/volume is small you can use a small pond pump like this:

http://www.pondpumpsdirect.com/product. ... re+Details

I sometimes use this one on a timer switch and match the flow requirement manually - ideally you would connect to a float switch.

If the gap/head/volume is larger then any submersible dirty water sump pump with a float switch will be fine.

That's a good idea that little pump, I only need around 2' of head max, just enough to get it from the bottom of the hole into a bucket and empty into pond or drain. I will have a look for one of them.

I bought one these yesterday but as sods law would have it, of my 4 cordless and one mains drills, not one of them does the 2000-3000rpm required to power the pipper :shock:

 

[OLD]

Might be a idea to look at pond pumps and switch on when required you will need a input filter on it.

 

[jasonB]

bought one these yesterday but as sods law would have it, of my 4 cordless and one mains drills, not one of them does the 2000-3000rpm required to power the pipper

They are not self priming so you won't "pull" the water up with them watever rpm you use. You will need to pour water into the outlet to fill the hoses with water and then start your drill. I would suggest cordless not mains as 240V and water don't mix.

If you don't have much depth to set the float switch off then Machine Mard do the same pump I linked to without the float switch so you can just switch it on & off manually it will pump down to about 2" depth of water and you don't need a prefilter as it will handle small solids, 10mm or so. Only downsid eto a manual pump is that you could still flood your tank if not present during heavy rain

Jason

 

[RogerS]

Noticed that LIDL have a submersible pump with float switch.

 

[toysandboats]

I can recommend this one from Screwfix and it has some very good reviews on their site.
Screwfix Pump

David