This article answers to the question- what is drill pump? We can decipher the meaning by dividing it into two parts- Drill and pump. In this article we shall study how a drill pump works.
We know that drills are used to make holes on surfaces such as concrete, wood etc. For that we insert a drill bit inside a drilling machine and with the help of a rotor, the drill bit rotates. After applying some force with the help of this drill bit, we can make hole. And a pump is used for taking water from a place of low potential to higher potential.
What is a pump?
A pump is a device used to transfer water from low potential to higher potential. The movement of water is spontaneous when it goes from higher potential to lower potential.
But when the movement is from lower head to higher head, it needs external push to force the water upwards. In this case, pumps are used. They will create a suction at the upper side because of which the water will travel upwards. There are many types of pumps but we shall keep our discussion limited to drill pumps only.
Image credits: Wikipedia
What is drill pump?
A drill pump is a type of pump used to take the fluid from a lower potential state to higher potential state. This is done with the help of a drilling machine and a pump.
The drill pump is connected to the rotor of drilling machine. The rotor rotates as a result of which the moving part inside the pump also rotates. Due to the rotating action, a suction is created and hence the water is transferred from a lower potential to higher potential. The drill pump can be disconnected after a while as the water will still continue to come out due to siphoning action.
Drill pump uses
Drill pump is a very beneficial tool for taking the water from one place and transferring it to another place. They are mostly used in drainage activities. The section below discusses some of the uses of drill pump. Let us check that-
- Emptying clogs– Where there is fluid flow taking place, the chances of clogging are always there. When clogging takes place the flow of fluid gets restricted. In this case the drill pump can be used to pump the liquid faster and make the flow possible.
- Changing oil– When we require to change the oil, first we pour out the remaining oil from the tank then we put the new oil inside the tank. For this purpose, a drill pump is can be used.
- Pumping water out of pits– To empty a pit full of water, it is very difficult to do it manually with the help of bucket. A simple drill pump can be used to fulfil the requirement.
- Pumping water out of wells– Similar to pit example, the wells cannot be emptied by using a bucket. A simple drill pump can be used to empty the wells or pump desirable amount of water from well.
- Pumping water out of pool– Pumping water out of pool can be a tideous task when done manually. It becomes very easy to use a drill pump that easily manages to empty the pool in few hours.
- Draining tanks– Sometimes the tanks don’t get fully empty. Some amount of fluid stays there. The remaining fluid needs some force to come out. This force is provided by the drill pump.
How to use a drill pump?
We have discussed in brief about how to use a drill pump. It is a very task to use the apparatus of a drill pump. The apparatus includes a hose pipe, drill pump and a drill machine without drill bit attached to it.
The following steps show how to use a drill pump using a drilling machine-
- The hose pipe is connected to one end of the drill pump.
- The rotating part of the drill pump is connected to the drilling machine.
- Another end of the drill pump is also connectd to a hose pipe that acts as the outlet of the system.
- After switching on the drilling machine, the rotor starts moving and so the moving part of drill pump.
- Due to this a suction is created, this suction sucks the water out of the well or drainage tank that needs to be emptied.
- The fluid passes through the pump and goes to the outlet pipe and comes out of the outlet pipe.
How does a drill pump work?
A drill pump uses a simple rotating part that acts as the impeller. The impeller is used to create suction and drive the liquid from inlet to outlet. This rotating part is rotated with the help of a drilling machine.
In the above sections of this article we have discussed how the drilling machine is used to rotate the rotating part of drill pump. Drill pumps, however do not have the capacity to withdraw any large amount of fluid as it is classified under a low capacity pump. It can be used for displacing only small volumes of fluid.
How far can a drill pump work?
We have seen in the above section that drill pumps are used in only a limited number of applications. Applications that need to displace only a small amount of fluid from one place to another.
Numbers wise it is said that the drill pump can displace fluid at a rate of 750 gallons / hour to height of 12 ft for self priming. The numbers will vary from drill pump to drill pump and the manufacturer. Althought this is an average number which is popularly circulated.
Can you use a drill pump for oil?
The major applications of drill pump include that it can be used to change oils in the oil tank. Hence we can say that a drill pump can be used for oils.
Provided the volume of oil that has to be displaced has to be small. Because the drill pump cannot displace large volumes of fluid from one place to another. For larger volumes we will need bigger pumps that have high head capacity and high power capacity.
Why do we use drill pumps?
The drill pumps have a large number of advantages over other pumps. The reasons of using a drill pump are given below-
- They are cheaper than other pumps used for the same applications.
- The drill pump offers many mechanical advantages over other pumps.
- The drill pump operates at a very low noise due to its small size, other pumps create a lot of noise and create nuisance while it is being operated.
- The safety standard for a drill pump is higher than other standard pumps available for the same applications.
- It provides work according to the applications and has a flexible range of applications.
Drill pump types
There is no proper classification of drill pumps made but we can discuss about different models of drill pumps. They are given in the list below-
- Water Ace WA62UP Drill pump– Commonly used to drain liquids from tubs and wells.
- Milescraft 1314 Drill pump 750– It has the highest rpm of about 2700 rpm. These pumps are used n aquariums and pool to empty the water.
- Ecoplus 728310 Pump, 396 GPH- This drill pump has a widest range of applications from fountains to many hydroponic activities. In this drill pump, ceramic bearings and shaft are used which provide better reliability.
- ECO-FLO Products PUP63 water transfer drill water pump, 300 GPH- This drill pump is used for clearing out clogged sinks in bathrooms and bathtubs. It has a corrosion resistant structure hence it can be used with water.
- Water ACE WA61 Transfer pump- Like the above example, this drill pump is also suitable for a clog clearing application.
How to grease a drill pump?
Every mechanical device needs greasing. Greasing reduces the amount of friction between the moving parts and also prevents the mechanical components from rusting.
The steps given below should be followed to grease a drill pump-
- The first step is unscrewing the back casing and cover.
- Then we must add a small amount of grease on the casing where the fan blades made of rubber touch.
- After greasing is done, we can re assemble all the parts and use the drill pump.
Hi ….I am Abhishek Khambhata, have pursued B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering. Throughout four years of my engineering, I have designed and flown unmanned aerial vehicles. My forte is fluid mechanics and thermal engineering. My fourth-year project was based on the performance enhancement of unmanned aerial vehicles using solar technology. I would like to connect with like-minded people.