Running electrical to irrigation pump?

[101mph]

We have a cottage on a lake and I'd like to put a pump down by the shoreline to draw water out of the lake to use for irrigation. Nothing extensive or fancy just enough to water the garden and maybe run a few sprinklers for the lawn.

I was considering a gas powered pump but I wanted to be able to water these areas while we are not there so using a timer on an electric pump makes the most sense (my neighbor does this).

It's about 120' from the cottage (where I would get the power) to the spot by the lake where I would put the pump.

What do I have to do to get power down to the lake? It's heavily wooded so is there any way I could do this without having to dig a trench and bury conduit (TONS of tree roots)?

Can I tap into an existing electrical line (in the crawl space) without going all the way to the breaker box to power this pump?

I'm fairly handy but my electrical experience/knowledge isn't all that great.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[ambenz]

That crawl space power needs to be checked to see how many amps your running on it.
I would go buy some "bury cable", 3 conductor 14awg, and run it on a dedicated 15 amp breaker. String a heavy gauge aluminum wire from the eve of the house from tree to tree and "hang the bury cable on the wire using zip ties. mount a outdoor weather proof outlet on the tree and wire it in. I also would dig a dedicated pit and drop a 30 gallon plastic drum with a pipe to the lowest point by the shore. You can put your pump in the pit.
Just my 2 cents....

 

[larry_g]

Nothing says the pump has to be at the lake. How high is the vertical lift from the lake to the house. If 20 or so vertical feet then a shallow well pump would pull it up the hill and you would only have to run a pipe to the lake, not electrical. Or the pump could be at the 1/2 way point.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[gregtwojeeps]

If I understand the OP correctly, he will have a water line run up to the cabin from the lake. So true, a pump could be on either end of the pipe if, the elevation between the cabin and water is not too radical.

Why not band a PVC electrical conduit to the water line, if the pump has to be in the lake ? ?

 

[101mph]

Nothing says the pump has to be at the lake. How high is the vertical lift from the lake to the house. If 20 or so vertical feet then a shallow well pump would pull it up the hill and you would only have to run a pipe to the lake, not electrical. Or the pump could be at the 1/2 way point.

lg
no neat sig line

That's an interesting idea.

I don't think it's more than 20' vertically from the lake to the cottage (it's a pretty flat lot). So maybe I could put the pump closer to the cottage rather than down at the lake.

If that's the case, do you think just using a heavy duty extension cord would be OK to power the pump?

 

[larry_g]

That's an interesting idea.

If that's the case, do you think just using a heavy duty extension cord would be OK to power the pump?

If the cord is rated for the load then maybe. To many variables unsaid to give positive answer.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[101mph]

I was considering this pump:

http://www.harborfreight.com/34-hp-clear-water-pump-650-gph-62508.html

Looks to be 120VAC and 5 amps.

 

[101mph]

That crawl space power needs to be checked to see how many amps your running on it.
I would go buy some "bury cable", 3 conductor 14awg, and run it on a dedicated 15 amp breaker. String a heavy gauge aluminum wire from the eve of the house from tree to tree and "hang the bury cable on the wire using zip ties. mount a outdoor weather proof outlet on the tree and wire it in. I also would dig a dedicated pit and drop a 30 gallon plastic drum with a pipe to the lowest point by the shore. You can put your pump in the pit.
Just my 2 cents....

Just wanted to update this thread.

I ended up getting this pump:

http://www.harborfreight.com/34-hp-shallow-well-pump-with-cast-iron-housing-920-gph-69305.html

Turns out it didn't have enough suction to draw the water from the lake when I had it up close to the cottage so I have to put it down by the lake. I will probably end up getting a different pump with more capacity anyways.

But I will be doing pretty much what ambenz said above and running my electrical down to the lake. I think I can find a path down that doesn't have too many trees and I will try to use a trencher to dig my way down there. I'm sure I'll hit some pretty good tree roots so I will just have to use an axe to get through the problem areas.

I just didn't like the idea of running the cable through the trees (even though it was a good idea).

So I got 250' of 12 gauge bury wire and will use that, but I don't know if I will be able to get it all the way up to the breaker box. I don't know if I know enough to be playing around in there anyways, so I still may just tap into an existing line in the crawlspace.

The pump specs says it draws 5 amps so I hope I wont pop the breaker when I tap into one. I'm pretty sure most of the breakers in the disconnect box are 15 amps.

Is there a way to see how much amperage load the line I'm tapping into has on it? I do have a Fluke meter.

 

[larry_g]

Turns out it didn't have enough suction to draw the water from the lake when I had it up close to the cottage so I have to put it down by the lake. I will probably end up getting a different pump with more capacity anyways.

Did you have a foot valve on the line in the lake and prime the system before starting?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[theoldwizard1]

Just wanted to update this thread.

I ended up getting this pump:

http://www.harborfreight.com/34-hp-shallow-well-pump-with-cast-iron-housing-920-gph-69305.html

Turns out it didn't have enough suction to draw the water from the lake when I had it up close to the cottage so I have to put it down by the lake.

Pumps generally fall into one of 2 categories: jet pumps and paddle pumps. Paddle pumps are self priming to a limit. Jet pumps have to have water in the housing in order to pump. Jet pumps will lose their "prime" if they "swallow" a big air bubble.

Install a check valve close or even below the water level. Fill the pipe and pump through the priming port. If jet pumps have a good prime they can draw a long way, but closer to the source is better.



Anyone want to run a sprinkler system with multiple heads, you are going to need 1.5-2.0 hp pump.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

The only issue I see is the voltage drop may be too much during motor startup.

Have u thought of getting a 240volt pump?

 

[101mph]

Yes I have a foot valve at the inlet (with a filter).

I do need to prime the pump the first time. After that there is enough water left in the line to start pumping again without issue.

I don't think I'll need to go to a 220v or 240v for my needs.

I'm just trying to figure out a good way to tap into some existing electrical lines in the crawlspace. Preferably ones that do not have a lot of load on them already (maybe they are just powering some light bulbs). That way when this pump turns on I don't have to worry about popping a breaker.

I will try to get some pics of my electrical panel. I don't really want to have to put another breaker in the panel just for this (I know that would be the best way). I haven't looked to see if there is even room for another breaker in the panel or how hard it will be to get the new wire to it.