What is the Best Sprinkler Pump of 2024?

The Voluker 1.6HP Stainless Steel Lawn Sprinkling Pump is the best sprinkler pump you can buy for the value it provides.

Your yard needs a lot of water.

It’s a chore to water it with a hose. That’s why you’ve invested in an array of sprinklers to get the job done fast.

But the more sprinklers you add, the higher the water pressure you need to maintain for the sprinkler heads to do their work. A sprinkler pump is suited just for this need.

Let’s look at the best sprinkler pump you can get that helps your sprinkler system work at it’s best.

Product	Rating	Price
Voluker 1.6HP Stainless Steel Lawn Sprinkling Pump	1	Check Price
Flotec FP5172 Pump Sprinkler	2	Check Price
WAYNE PLS100 1 HP Portable Stainless Steel Lawn Sprinkling Pump	3	Check Price
WAYNE WLS150 1.5 HP Cast Iron Lawn Sprinkling Pump	4	Check Price
Red Lion RLSP-200 Self-Priming High Capacity Sprinkler Pump	5	Check Price

What is a sprinkler pump?

A sprinkler pump is a device that helps pump water to your sprinkler system.

It’s different than other pumps because it’s purpose is to maintain the adequate water pressure in the sprinkler heads. So you get a good coverage of water in your yard.

It’ll help you pump water from a source like a pond, lake, or borewell to your sprinkler system. These pumps aren’t especially powerful, but you don’t need them to be.

The important thing when it comes to a sprinkler pump is that it is able to spread the water out consistently to the different points of your lawn.

What are the different types of sprinkler pumps?

There are different types of sprinkler pumps that you’ll need to choose from.

Centrifugal Sprinkler Pump

The centrifugal sprinkler pumps are quite common. It makes use of centrifugal force to get the water from its point of origin to your yard.

Centrifugal pumps use impellers to get the job done. These impellers look and function almost like water wheels.

Submersible Sprinkler Pump

Submersible sprinkler pumps are also fairly common. These submersible pumps are placed underneath the surface of the water and they push the water to your sprinklers.

Booster Sprinkler Pump

Booster pumps operate by leveraging pressure.This is the type you need to have if there’s not a ton of water pressure present in your area.

Floating Sprinkler Pump

A floating pump is similar to a submersible pump. The biggest difference between the two is that a floating pump is connected to a float. This makes it stay on the surface of the water.

Do you need a sprinkler pump?

It can be hard work trying to water a medium-sized or large yard. You may not have the time or energy to do that.

That’s where many sprinklers can be useful to get the job done with efficiency. The problem is when you are drawing water from a pond, lake, or borewell. Your sprinklers are not going to get the required water pressure to work well.

Such a situation means that you need to use a sprinkler pump to get that pressure to your sprinkler heads.

How to choose the best sprinkler pump

There are several factors you need to consider when it comes to choosing the best sprinkler pump for your needs.

Type

We’ve see there are different types of sprinkler pumps available for your use. It’s easy to find a centrifugal or submersible pump as they’re quite common.

Centrifugal pumps require a little more work before they can be used but they are reliable. Submersible pumps stand out for how efficient they are, but they can be more difficult to maintain.

Floating pumps are easier to keep over the long haul, but they are much harder to find on the market. For some homeowners, booster pumps are necessary purchases because of the water system they have in their home. Booster pumps increase the pressure of the water and they can make some previously unusable sprinklers compatible with your yard.

They can also run up your electric bills and that’s not something you want if you’re looking to maintain your yard on a budget.

You may have the luxury of picking out a specific pump for your yard, but in some cases, your water system will dictate which one you need to get.

Pressure Requirements

Water systems vary from one home to another and that means that pressure requirements also change. There may be temptation on the part of some homeowners to just purchase the most powerful sprinkler pump on the market and be done with it, but that is not a wise decision.

By installing and using a needlessly powerful pump in your yard, you are just wasting both energy and your money.

You can refer to the gallons per minute (GPM) and pounds per square inch (PSI) ratings of the sprinklers you have installed in your yard to figure out what kind of pump you need.

Water Level

You also need to take into consideration the type of water supply you will be using. Sprinkler pumps work in different ways. Some have no trouble pulling the water up and moving it to your yard, while others will be unable to provide the water if it’s positioned too low beneath the pump.

The more powerful submersible and booster pumps should run into no problems even if they are asked to draw water from a source located way beneath their position, but the same cannot be said for many centrifugal pumps.

Durability

You need to invest in a quality sprinkler pump to ensure that it can last for a long time working in your home. You also have to be mindful of how much maintenance it requires for it to be able to stay functional.

Submersible pumps are pretty reliable, but you do need some specially designed sleeves to make them work properly. As long as you can stay on top of that, a submersible sprinkler pump should remain in good condition for an extended period of time.

Centrifugal sprinkler pumps are serviceable items, but they have more components that can be broken. They require more attention from you, but if you can provide that, these should be able to hydrate your yard for many years.

Booster sprinkler pumps are lauded for their high-end power. But as is the case with many high-powered machines, durability can be an issue for them. If you assign a larger amount of importance to durability, you may want to steer clear of booster sprinkler pumps.

Precautions when using a sprinkler pump

It can be difficult to keep close watch over how the sprinkler pump is performing at all times. That’s why you need to take certain precautions before you install one in your home.

The first thing you have to watch out for is overheating. If you leave your pumps working for too long, there’s a real chance that they will get way too hot and sustain lasting damage. To avoid this potential issue, always remember to leave the discharge and suction lines open when you are using the pump.

You should also make sure to shut down the pumps whenever they are not in use.

It’s important for you to be aware of what the operating pressure level needs to be for your sprinkler pump. There is a tendency for some homeowners to crank the power of the sprinkler pump up to the max and let it stay there, but that is a bad idea.

Sprinkler pumps that are operating at maximum capacity all the time are going to have a shorter shelf life. According to the DIY Network, you can refer to the markings that are found on the sprinkler heads to know what the right operating pressure is. You can also use that to calibrate the sprinkler pumps.

How to use a sprinkler pump

To get started with the sprinkler pump, you will first have to figure out where it needs to be placed. There are different options to consider here.

If you’re using a centrifugal pump, make sure you position it in such a way that it won’t have to reach too far down to retrieve the water. Submersible and booster pumps are going to be more helpful if your water source is located at a lower point.

After working out a suitable location for the sprinkler pump, you can now move on to the installation process. You can handle this part yourself if you so desire. Or you can choose to have a professional do it for you.

You should calculate how many sprinkler heads are going to be drawing water from your pump before turning it on. If you’re planning to have multiple sprinklers working at the same time, that has to be factored into your calculations.

Don’t forget to adjust the flow and pressure levels for the pump. You can’t have the flow rate and pressure level elevated at the same time, so select which one you need more for your yard.

Maintaining your sprinkler pump

Priming is the most important aspect of sprinkler pump maintenance. When you’re priming a sprinkler pump, you’re getting it in the right condition to work for your yard.

The priming process is pretty straightforward for most sprinkler pumps. You will first have to remove a cap located on the pump’s housing and then fill that space up with water. Once the casing has been filled, you can turn on the pump to start the priming process.

You could get a pump that primes itself so that you have one fewer thing to worry about.

You will have to inspect the pump to see if it may be leaking. If the pump emitting louder sounds than normal means that there’s a leak that needs to be addressed.

You will want to drain your sprinkler system completely before the winter months arrive. If you allow the water to remain in the pipes when the weather turns cold, it could freeze and damage the pipes and the pump.

Reviews

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Don’t let the portable frame of Voluker’s Stainless Steel Lawn Sprinkling Pump fool you. This is one more machine that can deliver the type of reliable performance you need in what is essentially a maintenance tool.

You can see pumps that feature a greater horsepower rating than this item’s 1.6 HP mark, but this machine does not lag far behind in that department. Place it in the water source of your choice and it will begin to pump efficiently and quickly.

Because of its more portable design, you can also easily move this pump if the need arises for that. It’s also easy to work with this pump once the time comes for maintenance.

You will most likely run into some issues using this pump at first, but you should get the hang of using it after a short while.

Overheating is also not a big problem with this pump because of the thermal overload protection applied.

Pros	Cons
700 Gallon/H capacity 1.6 HP power 66 PSI water pressure Portable design Stainless steel handle	Learning curve to use it

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Last update on 2024-04-24 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

Flotec is one of the more respected brands when it comes to sprinkler pumps and the company continues to deliver quality with its FP5172 Pump Sprinkler.

You can make use of this pump to power up to 30 sprinkler heads. It’s got a decent PSI rating as well, so you can use it to operate pumps that require a little more juice.

It is worth pointing out that this pump does struggle when it’s turned up to its maximum capacity however. Avoid keeping it in that state for long if you want to properly protect it.

The manufacturers have made use of thermoplastic to construct the casing of this pump. The aforementioned material protects well against rust and corrosion, but it is prone to cracking.

I also don’t appreciate how tightly this pump has been packed, but that’s an issue you can still resolve.

The self-priming feature of this sprinkler pump means you will have to put in less work to keep it in good shape for a long time.

Pros	Cons
Self-priming Corrosion-resistant Capable of handling 30 sprinkler heads Heavy-duty, fiberglass construction 47 PSI water pressure	Struggles at maximum capacity Prone to cracking

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Last update on 2024-04-24 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

The casing cracking over the course of working is not as big of an issue when using the PLS100 Lawn Sprinkling Pump from Wayne. To create a pump with a more durable frame, the folks at Wayne decided to use stainless steel.

There is no doubt that the stainless steel has upped the durability of the casing itself, but the usage of the material also appears to have had an adverse effect on the pump.

When the pump is working during the hottest times of the day, it gets really warm. It gets hot to the point where overheating becomes a real issue. If you can, try to use this pump early in the morning, later in the afternoon, or maybe even during night time.

In terms of performance, the pump offers decent pressure, but its flow rate is more remarkable. It’s a good pump to use if you intend to pair it with a water source that is not located deeper into the ground.

Pros	Cons
Flow rate of 720 gallons per hour Portable stainless steel construction Fan cooled motor draws water up to 20 feet Maintains pressure up to 80 PSI Durable construction	Overheating can be an issue

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Last update on 2024-04-24 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

The second Wayne product in this article is the WLS150 Lawn Sprinkling Pump. Much like the Wayne pump mentioned previously, this machine is remarkably sturdy. The cast iron used in the housing features tremendous durability.

As you probably expected, the cast iron casing does have a tendency to get hot, but not to the point where the pump itself seems to be on the verge of burning up.

There is still an issue with the way that this pump is put together however. The wiring is difficult to work with and you will likely spend a lot of time just trying to figure it out how to get this pump installed.

Aside from that issue with the confusing wiring, I have no other complaints about this pump. I would even like to praise the power it packs. It’s the type of power that can be useful to just about any homeowner with a lawn that needs to be watered.

Pros	Cons
3480 gallon per hour capacity 30 PSI water pressure Assembled in the USA Durable cast-iron, corrosion-resistant build Reinforced thermoplastic infuser and impeller	Wiring is difficult to work with Tendency to get hot

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Last update on 2024-04-24 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

Perhaps the power levels offered by the previously reviewed pumps are still not enough for your yard. In that case, you may find the RLSP-200 Pump from Red Lion to be more compatible with your yard and water source.

Boasting a 2-horsepower engine, this sprinkler pump will be able to reach lower sources and get the water to your yard much faster. You can have it work at maximum power for a good amount of time, but it’s not ideal to leave it unattended if you’re doing so. The cast iron casing can still get pretty hot.

The bigger issue is with some of this pump’s internal components. Some of them are simply not built to last for an especially long time. You will either have to replace those parts or get an entirely new pump. You may end up having to spend more than expected on this pump because of that.

Pros	Cons
80 GPH flow rate 47 PSI maximum water pressure Thermoplastic diffuser and impeller Durable cast-iron, corrosion resistant build Limited two-year warranty	Internal components are not durable Tends to get hot

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Our recommendation

The best sprinkler pump you can buy is the Stainless Steel Lawn Sprinkling Pump from Voluker.

This pump does not feature any kind of huge flaw that will make it unusable for a certain group of homeowners. Premium performance was also not sacrificed just to free this pump from common issues.

It’s equipped with a motor that is capable of moving plenty of water in a timely manner and it also features great durability.

The fact that this sprinkler pump is also portable is just the cherry on top.