This article compares the pumptypes to allow the selection of the best type of pump for any given situation. Note that the maximum lift height also determines the applications it can be used for. Low lift pumps are only suitable for the pumping of surface water (e.g. irrigation, drainage of lands, ...), while high lift heights allow deep water pumping (eg potable water pumping from wells).[1]

Direct lift devices[edit | edit source]

Pump type Cyclic/continuous ? Maximum lift height Production cost Efficiency Output Size of device Fabrication requirements Difficulty of production Durability Difficulty of repair Suction lift ? Hazard to fish ?
Continuous bucket pump continuous 5m-50m low-medium medium low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Counterpoise lift or Shadoof cyclic 1m-4m low-medium low-medium low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Mohte cyclic 3m-8m low-medium low medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Persian wheel "Tablia" continuous 3m-10m low-medium medium medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Persian wheel "Zawaffa" continuous 3m-15m medium medium-high medium-high ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Pivoting gutters and "dhones" cyclic 1m-1,5m low-medium low-medium low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Reciprocating bucket hoist cyclic 100m-500m medium-high medium medium-high ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Rope & bucket and windlass cyclic 5m-50m very low very low very low ? ? basic ? ? no ?
Scoops and bailers cyclic >1m very low very low low-medium ? ? basic ? ? no ?
Scoop wheel "Sakia" continuous >2m medium-high medium-high medium-high ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Swing basket cyclic >1m very low very low low-medium ? ? basic ? ? no ?
Waterwheels or noria continuous >5m low-medium low-medium low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Watering car cyclic >3m very low very low very low ? ? basic ? ? no ?

Displacement pumps[edit | edit source]

Pump type Cyclic/continuous ? Maximum lift height Production cost Efficiency Output Size of device Fabrication requirements Difficulty of production Durability Difficulty of repair Suction lift ? Hazard to fish ?
Archimedean screw continuous >2m medium medium medium-high ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Chain (or rope) and washer pump continuous 3m-20m medium-high medium-high medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Coil pump and spiral pump continuous >6m medium medium low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?
Diaphragm pump cyclic 5m-10m medium medium-high medium ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Flash wheel and treadmill >2m low-medium low-medium medium-high ? ? ? traditional/industrial ? ? no ?
Flexible vane pump continuous 10m-20m medium-high medium medium ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Gas or vapour displacement pump cyclic 5m-50m medium medium medium-high ? ? industrial ? ? no/yes ?
Gear and lobe pump continuous 10m-20m medium low-medium very low ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Open screw pump continuous >6m high medium-high medium-high ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Peristaltic pump continuous >3m medium medium very low ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Petropump continuous 10m-100m medium-high high low-medium ? ? industrial ? ? ? ?
Porous rope continuous 3m-10m ? ? low-medium ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Progressive cavity (mono) continuous 10m-100m medium-high medium-high medium ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Piston pump, bucket pump cyclic 2m-200m medium-high high medium ? ? traditional/industrial ? ? yes ?
Plunger pump cyclic 100m-500m high medium-high low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? yes ?
Semi-rotary pump cyclic 5m-10m low-medium low-medium low-medium ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Water ladder cyclic >2m medium medium medium ? ? traditional ? ? no ?

Velocity pumps[edit | edit source]

Pump type Cyclic/continuous ? Maximum lift height Production cost Efficiency Output Size of device Fabrication requirements Difficulty of production Durability Difficulty of repair Suction lift ? Hazard to fish ?
Centrifugal (regenerative) pump continuous 10m-30m medium-high medium medium ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Centrifugal (turbine) pump continuous 3-20m medium-high medium-high high ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Centrifugal (volute) pump continuous 3m-20m medium medium-high high ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Flap valve pump 2m-4m very low low-medium very low ? ? ? basic/traditional ? ? no ?
Inertia pump, joggle pump cyclic 2m-4m low-medium medium-high low-medium ? ? traditional, industrial ? ? no ?
Jet pump (water, air or stream) continuous 2m-20m medium low-medium low-medium ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Mixed flow pump continuous 2m-10m medium-high medium-high high ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Propeller (axial flow) pump continuous 5m-30m medium-high medium-high high ? ? industrial ? ? no ?
Rebound inertia cyclic 2m-60m medium medium-high very low ? ? industrial ? ? yes ?
Resonating joggle pump cyclic 2m-10m medium medium-high medium-high ? ? traditional ? ? no ?

Buoyancy pumps[edit | edit source]

Pump type Cyclic/continuous ? Maximum lift height Production cost Efficiency Output Size of device Fabrication requirements Difficulty of production Durability Difficulty of repair Suction lift ? Hazard to fish ?
Air lift ? 5m-50m medium-high low-medium medium ? ? industrial ? ? no ?

Impulse pumps[edit | edit source]

Pump type Cyclic/continuous ? Maximum lift height Production cost Efficiency Output Size of device Fabrication requirements Difficulty of production Durability Difficulty of repair Suction lift ? Hazard to fish ?
Hydraulic ram ? 10m-100m medium medium low-medium ? requires flowing water as power source (eg river) industrial ? ? no ?

Gravity devices[edit | edit source]

Pump type Cyclic/continuous ? Maximum lift height Production cost Efficiency Output Size of device Fabrication requirements Difficulty of production Durability Diffuculty of repair Suction lift ? Hazard to fish ?
Syphon ? 1m-10m low-medium ? high ? ? basic/traditional/industrial ? ? ? ?
Qanat or foggara ? ? ? high low-medium ? ? traditional ? ? ? ?

Note: An other name for cyclic is reciprocating, and an other name to continuous is rotary.

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

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Authors KVDP
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 18 pages link here
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Created October 1, 2009 by KVDP
Modified June 8, 2023 by Felipe Schenone
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