Hi all,

Thanks to El Nino, our retention pond in the rear of our 2 acre property has filled and is now overflowing, flooding our property. The back acre where our horses are kept is now completely underwater, and the water is now creeping up the hill into our back lawn. We have more storms on the way this week, so I need to at least partially pump out our retention pond. I have permission to pump out the pond water to an adjacent field downhill from us. The problem is, I need to power the submersible pump, and the nearest electrical outlet is almost 200' (188' to be exact) from the deep spot in the pond. The outlet is a 110. The pump I want to order is here:

It is 1/2hp, Voltage: 110V/115V, 60Hz

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

Would 200 feet of heavy duty outdoor-type extension cord power this okay, or would there be too much line drop? I don't know how else to get power out to it. This is a temporary situation...not something that will be ongoing. Thanks for any info or pointers! I know we need this rain, but arrghhh!

 

A generator sounds like the best solution. The voltage drop can add up over that distance. Have you considered a gas powered pump?

 

I think you'll be ok with two 100' heavy duty 12 gauge extension cords. That puts the voltage drop under load to about 110V, which is right at the bottom of the working spec for the pump. I would not recommend cords thinner than 12 gauge. If you don't mind spending extra, go with 10 AWG cords which bring your operating voltage up to 115V.

pcboss' gas pump idea is a great approach too. You could pump it down in a couple hours instead of a week.

 

The description of the pump is sorely lacking in details but I would be rather surprised if it could actually move 2,000 gallons per hour. Maybe IF you had a relatively short 1-1/2 inch discharge hose but never if you are using a bunch of coupled garden hoses. So, that means that depending on the size of the retention pond it could take literally DAYS to empty.

I have no idea of what "heavy duty outdoor-type extension cord" means. The extension cord needs to be sized according to the wire gauge of the electrical conductors. For a standard 1/2 horsepower motor the electrical "draw" is just under 10 amperes so using that figure a 200 foot run would require a minimum of #10 gauge copper conductors. You might find that at a big box mega-mart homecenter although it is rather doubtful. The cost for 200 feet would be huge. Looking at my favorite vendor for such cable the cost would be $228 for 200 feet PLUS a shipping charge.

Personally, I think you would be best to go to a tool rental and rent a gasoline powered "trash" pump and the necessary length of discharge hose.

 

Thanks everybody. I actually would rather pump it out slowly, as to not send a huge rush of water into my kind neighbor's field all at once. He might change his mind. It's okay if I have to pump several hours a day for a number of days. And I don't need to pump the pond dry...I just need to get it down enough so the rest of the property can drain. I had not considered a gas powered pump! How much gas are we talking here? I only have one 5 gal gas can, LOL....will I be running to the gas station several times a day to keep the pump going? As I said, I'm clueless about this stuff.

 

I don't know. The only time I had to use a gasoline powered pump was more than 35 years ago and I don't recall running it more than a couple of hours so never had to refill the tank. The people at the rental store should know.

 

Gas cans are cheap compared to around $100 each for 100 foot 10 gauge extension cords.

 

I think that you should consider pcboss's suggestion. You can rent a small generator or buy one ( which could be very handy if you have occasional power outages). For a rental, size it to meet the needs of your pump.

 

A 3-5 horsepower trash pump would not use much gas for several hours of pumping. It's just like a push lawnmower or portable generator. It would move water much, much more effectively than the electric pump. I suspect any tool rental store would have a pump for daily rental.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTe-B4OVJsQ