Key features: how to choose your dirty water submersible pump
When you’re choosing a dirty water pump, it’s helpful to know its main features. These details help you pick the best pump for your needs.
Maximum delivery head (how high can it pump?):
This is an important feature to pay attention to because it tells you how high the pump can push the water upwards.
Why it matters: If you need to pump water from a deep basement up to ground level, or even higher, you’ll need a pump with a high delivery head. But if you’re only pumping water over a short distance or just moving it across a flat area, a pump with a lower delivery head might be all you need. Selecting the right delivery head ensures your pump works efficiently for your specific task.
Pump capacity (how much water can it move?):
This feature tells you how much water the pump can move in a specific amount of time, like litres per hour.
Why it matters: This is really important if you need to drain a large area quickly, such as a big flooded basement, garden, or a construction site. For these bigger tasks, you’ll want a pump with a high pump capacity. If you only have a smaller job, like emptying a rain barrel or draining a small puddle, a pump with a lower capacity will work perfectly well.
Material of the pump (what’s it made of):
Dirty water pumps can be made from different materials, like strong plastic or stainless steel.
Why it matters: The material directly affects how tough and long-lasting your pump will be. If you plan to use the pump often, or in very harsh water conditions (like water with lots of chemicals or abrasive particles), a stronger material like stainless steel might be a much better choice for it to last longer.
Float switch (for automatic switch):
Many dirty water pump come with a part called a float switch. This switch looks like a small, floating ball.
Why it matters: A float switch makes the pump turn on and off by itself based on the water level. The pump will start when the water rises and stop when it goes down. This means hello dry-running protection and goodbye manual watching. Plus, you can typically adjust when the pump turns on and off to fit your specific needs.
Type of water and solids it can handle
Not all dirty water pumps can handle the same “dirty” water or the same size of solids.
Why it matters: Most of our dirty water pumps can handle solid particles up to about 25-30 mm. These are great for everyday tasks like draining rainwater, emptying a pond, or draining a crawl space.
However, if you need to pump water that contains very large solid particles, like sewage or faecal matter, you will need a special heavy-duty pump. These pumps can handle solid particles from 35 mm up to 50 mm. Our DAB FEKA models are specially designed for this kind of dirty work, built tougher to prevent clogging. Make sure to match the pump’s ability to the type of dirty water you need to drain.