Pump Primer
Centrifugal or submersible? Diaphragm or trash? We’ll help you choose the right pump for your customers.
Centrifugal
Advantages:
- Lightweight but have a large capacity
- Typically not expensive
- High suction lifts and relatively high discharge heads
- Not complicated machines — easy to operate and repair
- Can wear out quickly if there’s not enough liquid to carry solids
- Must be supervised
- Can be noisy
- Can take a long time to re-prime
Advantages:
- Moves large volumes of water quickly
- Can pass large volume of solids
- Self-priming trash pumps must be manned to ensure continuous flow of water to the suction intake
- Limited suction lift — should be as close to the pumping fluid as possible
Advantages:
- Can handle large volumes and have high discharge heads
- Offer instant priming and can run dry
- No suction hose
- Unlimited suction life
- Not made to pump thick liquids (trash versions can certainly handle solids)
- If there isn’t sufficient electrical power, users might have to use a generator
- Can only be inspected by pulling them out of the water
Advantages:
- Ideal for applications where there’s a variable flow of water
- Can handle significant solids without fear of damaging the machine
- Lightweight and portable
- Designed for dry priming and dry running
- Work best in situations where there’s a large amount of trash or sludge or where there is variable seepage, or both
Disadvantages:
- Less capacity than a self-priming centrifugal pump, but cost about the same
- Limited to 25-foot head at sea level
