Repairable Submersible Water Pumps
Posted by Morag, Celtic Sustainables on 19th May 2023
Water pumps are usually designed to be easily snapped together for ease of assembly but impossible to break apart. After all, you don’t want the electrics in your water pump to be flooded with water. This is particularly true of submersible water pumps and automatic water pumps designed for non-commercial use. However, if your water pump breaks, this design technique also means that the pump cannot be fixed.
The Right to Repair Regulations (officially the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021) don’t cover water pumps. However, we are pleased to say that two of the pump manufacturers that we stock water pumps from are leading the way in repairable submersible water pump product design.
100% Repairable Water Pumps
SteelPumps have from the outset created submersible water pumps that are 100% repairable. The only 100% repairable pumps of their type on the market today. SteelPumps are an Italian manufacturer with innovation and sustainability at the core of their company ethos. They have been manufacturing quality pumps since 2004 and were the first company in the world to make pumps that work in and out of water without the need for additional accessories.
When properly installed and maintained, SteelPumps should easily last 10 years. However, if they break, SteelPumps are repaired in the UK so do not need to be returned to Italy to get fixed.
SteelPumps are our go-to pumps when people need rainwater to be pumped from a tank to the garden or into the home for use in the washing machine or flushing toilets. We have included them in our Rainwater Harvesting Systems and Kits.
Innovation in Repairable Water Pump Design
DAB Divertron pumps are automatic submersible water pumps have just been cleverly re-designed so that the part on the pump that most often fails, the Capacitor, is now easily replaceable.
Simply put, the Capacitor is a bit of electronics in the pump that helps the pump motor to start. The capacitor eventually fails over time, it simply burns out through use. However leaky pipe work or dripping toilets will cause the Capacitor to fail more quickly. This is because, for automatic pumps, a leak (even just one drip of water) causes a drop in pressure that the pump sees as a need to supply water and therefore sparks up the Capacitor so that the motor will work and pump water to fill the pipe work again. This may sound a bit ridiculous for just one small drip, but that is how all pressure switches work, and so how automatic water pumps work.
The 2nd Generation of DAB Divertron pumps now have easily accessible Capacitors. So should that part fail, it can now be easily replaced. The redesigned pumps have also been improved in terms of appearance and technically in order to increase their performance and reduce their electrical consumption. They now use less electricity to run. DAB have ensured the new design meets the next European Directives for the Minimum Hydraulic Efficiency Index (MEI) for pumping equipment, which will come into force in 2024.
Indeed, the improvements to the design of the Divertron have led to an iF Design Award 2023!
How to Prolong the Life of an Automatic Water Pump
We always strongly recommend that you (or your plumber) install a Pressure Vessel (aka Pressure Tank) anywhere on the water delivery pipework or network.
Pressure Vessels are brilliant. Inside the metal Pressure Vessel is a rubber membrane - a bag. Compressed air is on one side of the membrane, water on the other. Air compresses far more than water, so when there is a drop in pressure in your water delivery network (a drip from a tap, or leak at a hose connection) the air side of the membrane takes up the space created by the drip and keeps the water in your system pressurised so that the pump does not (false) start. The pump only needs to kick in once the pressurised water from the pressure vessel tank has been used.
As mentioned, automatic pumps work by detecting a pressure drop in the delivery network - even the tiniest of leaks will make the pump start. A Pressure Vessel on your pumped water pipe network will therefore greatly increase the lifespan of your pump should there be a leak. It is both a sound financial and environmental investment.
Further Information and Advice
If you would like further information about which water pump is best for your particular situation, contact our helpful Technical Team. We also have a wide range of controllers in stock to manage your pump(s) and top-up your rainwater harvesting system with mains water if that is something you are looking to do.