By: Jason Maxwell
Submitted: 2010-11-24 21:50:18 | Word Count: 470
Take some time to understand the meanings of the terms being used in the industry while you are planning to upgrade the pump on your fountain or you are still starting to build one.
GPM is short for gallons per minute. GPH is the abbreviation for gallons per hour. Both are rated depending on the height.
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Head is the greatest height (vertical lift) that the pump can deliver. Therefore, a 6 head denotes that the pump can drive water below six feet in height. This means that the pump in no longer effective at the height of six feet. Therefore, if your requirement is 200 gph at 72”, a 300-600 gph pump should be specified. Be sure that the pump curve is specified for a particular pump.
Pump curve is the amount of water volume pumped with regards to a specific height. Take for example a 500 gph pump, it can pump 500 gallons by the hour if the pipe or hose is level. But if it has to be driven to a height of two feet, the rate will be reduced to only 350 gallons per hour. Before you drop by a pump dealer, make sure you know the volume (gph) of water to be pumped and the height (head) it has to be pumped.
Water volume is governed by the size of the pump and the diameter of the tube or pipe. Tubing diameter is measured in two manners: by the outer diameter (od) & by the inner diameter (id). Tubing with a small diameter, contrary to popular belief, will produce only minimal water flow. If you hook your 500 gph pump to a ½” id tube, the maximum flow you will get is 200 gph, give or take a few. Take note of this when acquiring a pump, you have to know the tubing size that goes with it. Another cosideration of physics to remember is the length of run of the tubing. The longer the length of the tube is, the higher the resistance. For instance, the requirement of your pump is for a 1/2” id tube yet the length of the run is 20 ft from the pump. To compensate for this, using a ¾” id tubing will be more suitable.
So what size of the pump should you buy? This will depend on your requirements for your waterworks. For fountains, there is always a standard recommendation for this. For waterfalls, use this formula: multiply the width of the stream or waterfall sheet by the water volume at the height level.
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