1992 - Volume #16, Issue #6, Page #06
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Shallow Water Transfer Pump
Pumping water out of shallow ponds or streams can be a problem because most portable pumps have vertically-mounted impellers that require at least 2 ft. of water. Garry Nerbas, Langenburg, Sask., solved the problem by building his own pto-operated pump equipped with a horizontally-mounted 4-in. high impeller that he made out of an old 20-in. truck wheel rim. The impeller lies flat, allowing it to work in water as shallow as 6 in. Nerbas ran a 15-ft. long pto shaft back to a gearbox - mounted above the impeller - that he salvaged from an old hay crimper. A 3-ft. long pto shaft runs from the gearbox down to drive the impeller which is contained in a housing welded to the end of an 8-in. dia., 15-ft. long steel pipe, mounted on a 2-wheel trailer."I use it to drain shallow sloughs or wet spots in fields and to fill ponds with water that I use for irrigation. It'll pump about 3,200 gal. per minute," says Nerbas. "A hydraulic cylinder lowers the pump into the water. I use flexible rubber hose to connect the output end of the pump to irrigation pipe lying on the ground."
Nerbas built the pump's impeller by welding sheet metal onto the bottom of the truck wheel rim and bolting sheet metal to the top. He cut a 9-in. dia. opening in the center on top for water to enter and also cut a 1-ft. long hole in one side of the wheel rim. He split an 8-in• long, 4-in. dia. section of steel pipe in two and welded each half to the pto shaft that comes down from the gearbox. The swirling blades create suction to draw water into the impeller, then force it out through the hole and into the 15-ft. long steel pipe.
He used 4 by 2-in. box steel to build the trailer frame and mounted it on a pair of automotive wheels. He used 1-in. dia. steel shaft to make the 15-ft. long pto shaft and put a length of 2-in. dia. pvc pipe over it as a guard.
"I've built four pumps so far and sold two of them for$3,200 each. I'm willing to build more on a custom basis," notes Nerbas.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Garry Nerbas, Box 426, Langenburg, Sask. Canada S0A 2A0 (ph 306 743-2836).
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