Pumps, Hoses and Associated Gear information and questions

[JeffP]

Got my little pump . 3 HP , 40 mm,, same as a Rato or Thornado . I am going to use it on my two tiered sluice box , bottom half set up like a Walbanker .

It has 5m suction and 12m lift .

I was thinking along the lines of getting , 4m of suction hose and 10m of lay flat outlet hose .
What do you guys reckon ? Any advice appreciated

 

[Tathradj]

Get 1.5 meters of suction and 10 meters of lay flat
Also have on hand a small length say 4 meters of lay flat as well.
The length of your suction effects your discharge pressure.

 

[warrior707]

buy a 30 meter length and cut a 15m a 10m a 2m and 3m length to allow for different distances you can always join it all together to get back to the original 30 meter length. the only issue is the added cost of fittings

 

[AtomRat]

Ive only got 1.5m of inlet pipe but want to upsize it to 3m or 5m so I dont have to have my pumo so close to river banks. The length of non-flat will be a pain, but id rather deal with it than have my pump upside down in the water

My oulet layflat is exactly wjats written above with an extra 30m length.

 

[G0lddigg@]

i always proffered short pickup myself, the ratings are there from average pickup to average expected discharge so using shorter pickup means less revs = less fuel and more water to your box. invest in a short length, and a long length i use a 10 meter and a 25, well i have 2x 25's but when driving out to a spot i only ever have one in the truck. even a 10 meter and a 15 will both fit curled up in a bucket so its all about carry ability i'm sure that a word

 

[JeffP]

Cheers fellas

 

[Mandissa]

Just wonder what is the best for its price , have a banker comming and 1" I Think was recommended , I've seen the layflay hoses , just wondering if Bunnings , ect have one , it hard for me to just go look in shops as I live in the country and a trip to the local shops is 1hr .
I have a spot to high bank but it is at least 50m from river in the old river course I uncovered , I don't want just 1 big hose , I'm guessing you can just connect a few or shorten to the need of distance , any help be good

 

[aussiefarmer]

Ebay is close to the cheapest ,some rural supply shops can be cheaper , just watch postage on ebay sometimes thats where they make their money.
Buy 50 or 100 mtrs and cut it in to as many lengths as you want it just costs fittings and clamps, i find a 5 and a 30 great for great for creek work so another 30 or 25 would be a good kit , if you go much over 30 rolling them up neatly is painfull.

 

[blisters]

Sunnyhose has been around for a while. There is 100m blue 1 1/2" on ebay for around $175. Red is better but heavier and more expensive so long term cost effectiveness comes into play. For long runs upsize on diameter to reduce friction and help your pump out. Reduce the hose with fittings at either end and camlock different lengths.
Jon

 

[Mandissa]

So 1 1/2" would be better even if 1". , just for fact if I'm going to run it a longer distance ? , and good idea to just get a longer hose and cut a few different sizes , was thinking that myself , , and I have seen a few on eBay but just some more ideas , hints will help me.
I'm not a person that rushes things and do it wrong and give up , I've done ok with test panning spots and using the sluice and getting a few chunky bits where I'm going to high bank,
But the more I research and try get it right it close to the first time the better , I know to many buy all the equipements . Go digging and get nothing , get frustrated and sell there stuff ,

 

[backcreek]

Ask your local bushfire brigade, sometimes they upgrade their hoses and you don't care if they are a bit leaky.
If they don't have old hose they can tell you where they get theirs from.

 

[Mandissa]

Threat idea back , I know my boss got some really cheap at a clearance sale , This is why I'm not rushing into it , if I cut the hose I still have to work out how much the fittings cost ect ect ,

 

[Guest]

I would not even look at a 1 inch pump or house for pumping distance. You will get a lot of friction loss in a 1 inch hose over distance. just my thoughts

 

[Digginholes]

Don't forget to factor in pressure loss and amount of lift needed, for such a distance I would run a 2" pump n hose reduced to 1" at the spray bar

 

[Mandissa]

ok , so rather than use a 1" pump ect , is it better to get a bigger pump / hose and just run on idle if I'm doing short distance ? I rather ask dumb question I think I might know myself than get it wrong ?

 

[Digginholes]

I run a 2" pump basically idles along at 20m away,
I recon it's better to have too much than not enough.
The only draw back is the size and weight of the pump when you gotta carry the dam thing long distances, my bro has a 1" and runs a lot higher rpm to deliver the same water, he also uses fuel quicker and I recon his pumps noisier probably because it's working harder

 

[Digginholes]

You can always put a valve in before your spray bar too to help control water flow

 

[jamie]

i agree better to run a larger pump and hose and reduce it at the spray bar, i have a 2in pump that is at idle 99% of the time, but of course weight and size increases but it comes down to you if you dont mind that little extra inconvenience

 

[Guest]

In reality you will not need a pump any bigger than 1 1/2 inch. it can do whatever you ask from it. cheers

 

[ozziii]

Also, with hoses & fittings/joiners etc, the inner diameter of the fittings will normally be smaller than the inner diameter of the hose, so if you have a 25mm/1 inch hose, then the I.D of the fitting will be like only 20mm restricting flow slightly, depends on fittings used though.
I only use an electric pump but just changed from 6 meters of 25 mm to 3 metres of 32mm layflat, also changed fittings which were only 20mm I.D to items that are 25mm I.D, not a big change but there was a good difference in flow.
The highbanker only has 1 inch pipes.