Looking for a new pump

[tubular031]

I have been using HF blue water pumps from day one and they work ok but are slow. I have a gen1 monster pump from leon and that is too fast

I am looking to replace my pump in the garage with something that is somewhere inbetween the 2, and a gear pump would be nice so it can self prime. My setup now has 2 HF blue pumps. One pulls the oil into the tank to feed the CF and the other pumps the oil from the clean tote to the truck. Both trips go through 30 - 40 feet of hose and the HF pump is slow. I can move a few things around and use the same pump for both jobs.

I had once played with the idea of a sbc pump but could not make that work like I wanted.

Any suggestions? Oh and needs to be 115vac

[STROKED_NY_023]

I am assuming you are talking about a Harbor Freight Water Pump?? Whats the HP and RMP of the motor?? Most Jet Pumps (what you are calling blue water pump) will only do on the high side of 5-8 GMP, which is pretty good flow. If you are getting 5 gal a min out of your pump your talking 300 gal per hr... I have a pump that will give you at least that. Also when you are pulling dirty oil into your CF is it hot already??

[Aaron Berk]

I've been singing it for at least a yr now....

Use an air pump.

You can regulate flow and start and stop just by closing a valve, no need to run electric for switches. Just drag out the air hose when you need it.

I filled up my truck tonight, took all of 10 min start to finish.

Moved the truck up to the garage, opened the door, pulled the air hose off the real, hooked up the drum, pressurized the drum, put the fill hose in the truck, opened a valve. and waited .... then closed everything back up.

Piece of cake.

Works good for road trips too.

A harbor freight air pump is a great investment, I own 3.

[tubular031]

Originally Posted by STROKED_NY_023

I am assuming you are talking about a Harbor Freight Water Pump?? Whats the HP and RMP of the motor?? Most Jet Pumps (what you are calling blue water pump) will only do on the high side of 5-8 GMP, which is pretty good flow. If you are getting 5 gal a min out of your pump your talking 300 gal per hr... I have a pump that will give you at least that. Also when you are pulling dirty oil into your CF is it hot already??

Yes the little Harbor Freight water pump is what I am talking about. My oil is not hot on the way in. Its the same as the outside temp. I do have an inline water heater element on the pump that pushes the oil to the truck. It does not seem to help much. I get maybe 5 gpm when the oil is 110 deg after sitting in the bed of the truck all day. That is nice.

Originally Posted by Aaron Berk

I've been singing it for at least a yr now....

Use an air pump.


Piece of cake.

Works good for road trips too.

A harbor freight air pump is a great investment, I own 3.

I have thought about using one of these. I use air often, but what I do is put a few PSI on the barrel and push the oil out of the barrel. This works well if the oil is warm or thinned with something (#2, RUG, kero etc) This is pretty much how I refill on long trips. BTW air on the truck is one of the BEST things I have added to my truck! I have a pair of vair compressors and a 3 gal tank. Looking back, a 5 gal would have been better, and I might change that out later.

So these airpumps, Can they be hooked inline of a hose like the HF pump can be? meaning can I give it a hose and connect the output to a hose? I dont use barrels in the garage so a barrel pump will not work for me.

[Aaron Berk]

no they can not, but I bet you could find one that would. It would be a gear or vane pump, driven by air and not a motor.

So what are u using in the garage, a tote? You could easily modify a tote to work with the HF air powered drum pumps, it would just take longer to pressurize a tote.

[erbilabuc]

What size hose are you using for the harbor freight pump? We use 3/4 heater hose and can empty a 55 gallon drum in less then 10 minutes.

[tubular031]

Originally Posted by Aaron Berk

no they can not, but I bet you could find one that would. It would be a gear or vane pump, driven by air and not a motor.

So what are u using in the garage, a tote? You could easily modify a tote to work with the HF air powered drum pumps, it would just take longer to pressurize a tote.

So those "pumps" are not really pumps. This is what I thought and I already do this quite often. I put air on one side of a barrel and either have a tube that goes into the barrel or tip the barrel and let the air push the oil out the hose. Works great when the oil is warm or thinned. Just keep the pressure under 5 ish psi or the plastic barrel gets really unhappy!!

Originally Posted by erbilabuc

What size hose are you using for the harbor freight pump? We use 3/4 heater hose and can empty a 55 gallon drum in less then 10 minutes.

Now that its hot out it moves oil faster but when its less than 50 out I am seeing 1gpm. Also I have 30 feet of hose on the suction side Now that its 90+ out I can move 30 gal in 5 to 10 min which is ok I guess. Just thinking its time to get something that is faster but not as fast as my monster pump.

[erbilabuc]

Originally Posted by tubular031

So those "pumps" are not really pumps. This is what I thought and I already do this quite often. I put air on one side of a barrel and either have a tube that goes into the barrel or tip the barrel and let the air push the oil out the hose. Works great when the oil is warm or thinned. Just keep the pressure under 5 ish psi or the plastic barrel gets really unhappy!!



Now that its hot out it moves oil faster but when its less than 50 out I am seeing 1gpm. Also I have 30 feet of hose on the suction side Now that its 90+ out I can move 30 gal in 5 to 10 min which is ok I guess. Just thinking its time to get something that is faster but not as fast as my monster pump.

30 feet of hose on suction is a lot of weight for the HF pump. I have maybe 7 feet so thats why the big difference.

[Aaron Berk]

I'm using metal drums and running 10-12 psi. So that's probably why I'm such a big fan of the air system, 5psi would be quite a bit different than what I'm used to.

I get great results with mine, hot or cold.

[Wilburtual]

i use a few different pool and hot tub pumps and the work pretty good. most are rated at 3500 GPH or so, but with oil i get about 15 gpm or so. a couple i have are 3/4 HP one is 1.5 HP. most of them can handle a little bit of heat too , since they are used for hot tubs.... which works good if you are moving from the heated CF to storage- i usually let it cool to 130 or so before pumping.the pumps i have have 1.5-2" in/out ports and i do use 1.5" hose- which makes all the difference from the 3/4"-1" hose on the HF pumps.
i have one like this:
Harpfords: Lawn & Patio: Hayward SP1580X15 Power-Flo LX Series 1-1/2-Horsepower Above-Ground Pool Pump with Cord
it will fill a drum in a couple min. as long as i have the pump on the ground and the barrel raised a couple inches off the ground (2x4 pieces) it will self prime and pump til the oil level is below the pump. it doesnt like too long of an output hose,, or it will slow down, but i have 10' suction hose and 25' discharge and it works great.