Condense pump specs say it can push 20' high. Would it do it for 10' vertical 10' horizontal?

[MiniMe4Eng]

Hi guys

I have a condensate pupm that the manufacturer says it can push water 20' high. Will it work for 10' high and then 10' horizontal (using the 3/8" pvc pipe. I NEEd to reach a point where I bave aagravitational drain

 

[LittleInch]

Yes, but it might work too well, I.e yout might get more flow than you want.

You need to match the pump to the frictional and static head.

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[Artisi]

As LittleInch has said - probably yes, however it would be nice to know the flowrate you envisage pumping thru' a 3/8" pipe -- it's a bit like asking how long is my piece of string?

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)

 

[LittleInch]

Putting my brain into gear, this looks like a micky mouse pump which is an HVAC condensate drain pump so presumably an on/off unit?

For this duty you don't need to worry about excess flow as you would for a bigger unit.

If the vendor is quoting 20 feet static head with some sort of flow then you will get some sort of flow at 10 feet plus 10 feet of tubing without doing any damage to the pump. This assume the end is at atmospheric pressure or discharges to an open drain.

Any details you would care to share with us?

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[willard3]

How long is a string?

Twice as long as it is from the middle to one end.

 

[MiniMe4Eng]

Hi guys
Thanks for the feedback
Here are the specs

https://littlegiant.com/media/131855/995125_VCMA-20-Series_08-12.pdf

am looking to buy a condensate pump that can push water 20' away ( I need to circumvent the fact that I can't slope a drain through the ceiling so I need the pump to push 8' up and then another 10' horizontally through a 3/8" pcv pipe The documentation is poor but a very good review on Amazon is saying the following

The pump’s manual, which is for all models in the VCMA series, is annoyingly vague about certain things, and one of those is the maximum pumping distance and height. The manual I have says the -15 sub-series has a “15 foot shut off”, whatever that means; my guess is that it cannot pump higher than 15 feet, but I don’t know of that is correct. Elsewhere in the same manual, it says, “Route outlet (discharge) tubing or piping from pump straight up as high as necessary. Do not extend higher than 75% of the total dynamic head capacity of the pump.” Nowhere in the manual does it say what the number is. Nowhere on the actual pump does it say how high it can be relied on to operate properly. Suffice it to say that pumping from a basement floor level up to the ceiling, or even up to a sink or drain on the next floor up seems to be within this pump’s capacity. The manual DOES recommend against using a discharge hose or pipe larger than 3/8” ID; apparently use of a wider discharge can result in excessive reverse flow as the pump is shutting off, and maybe the check valve cannot deal with that. It is strongly recommended that the discharge hose/pipe be installed such that it does bend back down near the end, so it should be routed to go up at least a few inches higher than its eventual discharge into a drain.

 

[3DDave]

If the pipe is too large the velocity of the discharge will not be enough to scour the pipe and it will likely plug with dirt at some point. The dirt is the accumulated dust that manages to pass through the air filter; after a decade or so if it isn't cleaned there can be some build up.

 

[MiniMe4Eng]

I am worried about the comment that says do not extend beyond 75% of the dynamic head capacity capacity of the pump. What that does mean for the model indicated above?

 

[LittleInch]

So is yours a VCMA 20?

If it is then your maximum lift appears to be about 15 feet whilst still getting some sort of flow, but 10 feet is much better.

Flow losses through 10 feet of pipe will be less than one foot.

What the 75% refers to is what I just said above, i.e if the max shutoff head is 20 feet, don't have a vertical head of more than 15 feet.

So for a -15 (pres 15 ft shut off), don't have a vertical lift of > 11 ft.

For what you describe, this pump will work ok, whether you have a -20 or a -15.



Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[MiniMe4Eng]

What I do need to know is if the pump can push the water beyond a hump that migh be in then horizontal stretch of 10'. I am assuming it is not properly slopped and it seemed to me that the pump that I have cant do it properly...that is why I am considering a 20' one.
The setup is this; the tubing is goint 8' up in the furnace room and then 10' horizontally but most probably there is a hump there that could be max 4in higher but that is assumption. I am pushing the 3/4 in pvc pipe through a 1/2in 10feet long conduit and then it reaches the bathroom where the ceiling is open and I can build a drain or extend the pvc pipe furthe (I can buy it longer) Not sure what is better but those are the options
The horizontal stretch is run between the main floor joists. The furnace is in the basement..so that hump can be higher than 8' and that is etreme
Once the water makes it to the bathroom I can get creative with the plumbing if I need to

 

[LittleInch]

A few inches isn't an issue.

Not sure how you're getting a 3/4 inch pipe through a 1/2" conduit, but that's another story.... ;-)

No harm in getting the 20' one, but the 15 would do just as well.

LI

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[MiniMe4Eng]

Sorry my bad it is 3/8 as the specs say for tubing

 

[IRstuff]

horizontal flow only involves friction loss, while vertical flow requires overcoming gravity and friction loss.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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[MiniMe4Eng]

It seems so. I had a problem with the flow back valve and I removed it. That gave me the impression that the pump was not working because the water would come back and make the pump start again. After putting the valve back it all worked with a 16' shut off pump. The horizontal run problem was a false problem...the pump is able to push the water through that.

Thank you guys!