Kärcher SP3 Submersible Dirty Water Flood Pump

Product Information

The Karcher SP3 Submersible Dirty Water Flood Pump is a useful pump if you want one for the occasional removal dirty water. Perhaps you empty a medium-sized pool every autumn or your spa tub every few months or so. This sump pump copes with relatively small (20mm) particles of dirt and other matter. It needs a fairly deep amount of water to operate so is not the best pump for shallow puddles. The Terratek Pro 400W Submersible Water Pump is a flood sump pump that has all the features required of a successful pump for dirty water. Its 400W of power is enough to drain a garden pond or pool as this pump is submersible to the standard 5 metre depth. And this comes at the cheapest price from all the models we review.

The electric motor has 350W of power which is enough to move a large volume of water. However, the drainage rate is 117L of water per minute. This is on the slow side so pumping a large area of water may take a while. The residual level of water – the minimum depth of water the pump works in – is 25mm which is fairly good overall. You need at least this depth to start the pump and this is the depth of water you’re left to mop up manually. If you’re draining a large area, mopping up that water yourself takes a while, and some effort. Float Switch - Switches the pump on and off again according to the water level, preventing dry running. All the flood sump pumps in our review are powered by electricity, though you can buy some professional ones that are petrol driven. The power range of the pumps we look at goes from 350W up to 1100W.We like the Makita PF1010 Submersible Drainage Pump for its power, speed, ability to handle contaminated water, and reliability. This is the Runner-up in our review and the Best Pump for Removing Flood Water. This is the height to which the flood pump can pump the water. Not all pumps’ information gives this but it’s often the same as the submersible depth – 5 metres or so. Thermal cut out The essential difference between clean and dirty (or waste) water is that clean water doesn’t have particles of stuff in it and dirty water does. An example of clean water would be the water in your hot tub; dirty water would be from your garden pond. You need to buy the right flood pump for the water situation you expect to arise (or that has arisen). Dirty water flood pumps The Terratek Pro pump does handle large particles in the dirty water – up to 35mm in diameter. If your water has leaves, twigs, and other garden bits floating in it, you may not have to skim them off before using this pump. The pumping speed of 125 litres per minute is not the fastest we’ve come across, however, it’s suitable for most circumstances if you pair the pump with the widest diameter hose possible. The automatic float switch is “infinitely adjustable” and enables you to set the level of water at which the pump starts up. Pros

You can use these pumps to remove clean water but the water has to go through the dirty water filter – it’s not generally removable. Clean and dirty water flood pumps

This pump for removing flooded water handles shallow puddles well, taking them down to a 3mm residual depth. It’s also suitable for swimming pools because it can be submerged to a depth of 5m. Pumping 125 litres of water per minute is a respectable volume and speed for this size of a flood pump. A proprietary adjustable float switch lets you set the draining level of the pond/pool/cellar flood. Once you’ve come to the decision that you need a sump pump (for now or for insurance against future flooding), it’s not too difficult to decide which one to buy. Aside from figuring out which kind of water you’ll be using it on, it’s just a matter of numbers. We explain them in this Buyer’s Guide. Poor connectivity between the pump and standard hose could be better, however, this is not a deal-breaker. The Karcher SP3 Submersible Dirty Water Flood Pump is the least powerful of the sump pumps in our review. It’s suitable for those times and situations when you need to remove water but you’re not expecting severe flooding, for small ponds in your garden that you need to drain.

Unlike other flood pumps, the Karcher SP3 doesn’t come with hose adaptors. You have to buy your own to connect the pump to whatever hose you want to use but we recommend a 1 1/4” hose because it should fit straight onto the fitting and hold on using a screw clamp fitting. Go for the widest possible hose to ensure the fastest possible water removal speed. Online reviewers state that it’s difficult to connect this pump to the adaptors for standard hoses. Pros A ceramic motor seal protects the motor and pump to prolong the life of this machine, and it comes with a G1 thread connector. The other operation choice is a continuous operation that you monitor and that usually stops at the residual water level. Numbers Power Removing dirty water entails removing the water plus whatever particles of dirt, silt, leaves, and whatever other stuff it contains. All flood pumps that handle dirty water state the maximum size diameter of particles that they can handle. In this review, the size ranges from 20mm to 35mm.In addition, this dirty water pump can be used with a standard garden hose by using a tap adapter to connect it. It is not suitable for continued use in fishponds. Features & Benefits: Karcher SP 3 Dirty Water Drainage Pump With a filter capable of handling dirt particles up to 20mm in diameter, this dirty water pump is brilliant for the most polluted tasks. A float switch automatically turns the pump on and off to prevent it from running dry.

All flood pumps should have this feature, where it automatically stops the pump if the temperature of the water reaches 35°C. This ensures, for example, that you don’t leave your hot tub on when you’re emptying it which can help avoid damaging your hot tub accidentally.The Einhell GE-DP 5220 LL ECO Dirty Water Pump handles both clean and dirty water with ease. Use it to pump clean irrigation water to your crops or to remove contaminated water from a flooded basement. Whatever your need, this robust and durable pump is one of the best two-function sump pumps out there. Submerge it down to 7 metres for extra-deep spaces from which you want to remove the water or place it in shallow pools of water to pump out the last dregs of liquid. The Terratek Pro 400W Submersible Water Pump is a dirty water pump with all the right features. While its pumping rate (125L per minute) is not the fastest we’ve found, it does remove an impressive size of particles (35mm) along with the contaminated water. It’s submersible to 5 metres and the automatic float switch removes the need to constantly monitor the pump’s progress. The Einhell GE-DP 5220 LL ECO Dirty Water Pump is a two-function flood pump – it’s designed to remove separately, clean and dirty water. Use the clean water pump function to raise irrigation water or to transfer clean water from one place to another; use the dirty water pump function to drain muddy ditches or flooded rooms. This pump is ideal for both domestic and industrial use. The automatic running mode starts and stops the pump depending on the water level and the manual operating mode runs the pump until the residual level is reached. In both of these modes, the pump is stopped before the water level becomes too low that the pump runs dry. This is the volume of water the flood pump can remove, usually given in litres of liquid per minute or per hour. The range of volumes for flood pumps in this review ranges from 117L per minute to an impressive 240L per minute. But, once again, the size of the hose affects the amount of water that’s actually removed regardless of how fast the pump can go. Particle size