What kind of pump do I need for my giant rain barrel?

Question

I have a giant rain barrel that holds 1,000 litres when filled. It was one of those industrial white cube barrels that are used for food. It was decommissioned and sold as a rain barrel. Anyhow, it's set up and has water in it. Instead of using water from the house I would like to use the water in the barrel to water my vegetable garden. I have several garden boxes that have soaker hoses running through them. I have a hose going from the house, under the ground (20 feet or so), to the garden where it then goes into a splitter to feed all the boxes.

I want to get a pump for the rain barrel that I can use for the watering but I am not sure how strong of a pump is needed. Do I need something like this sump pump, or is something like this pond pump good enough? I've read that soaker hose needs at least 10 psi for the water to come out, but I would like something that provides about the same pressure as I get from the house.

Answer 1

You don't get pressure from either sump or pond pumps. A pond pump that puts out 20 ft. of head ( 10 psi) would be relatively high pressure . A home water pump would be most practical . It has been many decades since I bought one from Sears but it was relatively inexpensive. It is important not to let the pump run dry. There were small reciprocating pumps ( piston) which would be good but I doubt there are any made today. I have a 55 g rain barrel ;I use a small pond pump but basically is just siphons water to a lower area.