I need help with ideas on how to pump water our of a sump pump that is always filling up. Using a sump pump when the float is tripped is really load. I need something that quietly pumps the water out steadily while not using up huge power...but it needs to be quiet!
I see these aquarium pumps:
http://www.tetra-fish.com/Products/aquarium-air-pumps/whisper-air-pumps.aspx
They seem to be used for pumping air into aquariums. But I don't think they pump the water upward. I need something that will quietly, and efficiently pump upwards about 11 feet. I need this to run 24 hours.
Can someone tell me how i can convert this air pump to make water pump up 11 feet?
The key to any solution is correctly identifying the problem. From your post, I'm thinking your problem is twofold. The noise and the high load on the pump when it starts up. Noise is a result of vibration transferring to the air. As has been previously mentioned, submerging the pump can be a great way to dampen the pump vibrations. There are also plenty of acoustic dampening solutions out there, just google acoustic dampening. There are also vibration dampening materials available to isolate machine vibration from anchor points if you anchor the pump to your foundation as that can actually amplify vibration. Here's an example, just google search machine vibration isolation for more.
http://www.globalindustrial.ca/c/fa...FO-zapOSqVBseegJtIGBWmpbTW4fzt3Ti0aAunM8P8HAQ
Additionally, a significant amount of machine vibration can be controlled by proper design, balancing and alignment.
Lastly, to address your high start up loads. Having a capacitor start motor will help with the current required on start up. An important consideration on pump selection is whether your flow rates into the sump are relatively constant or not. Obviously if you have large surges it will affect selection of a pumps peak capacity. The frequency of start/stop cycles will be affected by a few factors. The best design would have a pump operating within its optimal efficiency all the time, rather than cycling. If you have a variable inflow rate you have to deal with you can moderate that by having a large sump to average out your outflow requirements. Once your outflow rate is reasonably stable, you can select a pump that can handle the required flow efficiently. I don't think an aquarium pump is your best solution as they are not the most efficient.One very simple and relatively inexpensive flow control solution on a variable flow problem without significant flow variation is to have centrifugal pump sized to handle average peak flow requirements connected to a tall inlet side head tank. As inlet head rises or lowers output flow on a centrifugal pump automatically increases or decreases according to the pumps design curve (With a corresponding change in electrical current to the motor). The beauty of this is that if sized correctly, the pump will never stop, will automatically adjust it's flow rate as water rises or lowers in the sump, and it will run at or near its peak efficiency rating and thus you will rarely have high start up loads on your electrical system. Here's one example of an efficiency curve for a pump as well as some great information on factors affecting efficiencies to help you select the right pump for the right job. http://www.waterworld.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-12/departments/pump-tips-techniques/how-to-select-a-pump-with-the-highest-efficiency.html
Hope this helps, feel free to email me if you require more information.
