Portable Water Pump

The Wheeler Family Web Site

A Portable Water Pump

When we are camping, lifting a 5 gallon (25 litre) water carrier is a lot of effort every time you need some water. So a few years back, I built the first prototype of a portable water pump.
This uses a standard 12V "caravan" pump, available from most camping shops or online stores like Towsure

Disclaimer: Whilst information on this page is given in good faith in order to help others, no responsibility for this information is assumed and all liability in respect of such information is disclaimed.

This is a photo of the completed pump:

It would normally be clipped to a table with the pump itself inside a 5 gallon Aquaroll water carrier (or similar). Operation is simple; push the black button on the die-cast box, and water comes out (pretty quickly). The water stays in the single length of plastic tubing so it is all reasonably hygenic. The pump takes between 2.5A and 3A, but as it's not running that often, battery usage is minimal.

Parts used:

	Water Pump Whale 881 or similar: http://www.towsure.com/product/2609-Whale_Submersible_881 though cheaper pumps are available.
	1.5m of 10mm clear tubing Our local camping shop used to sell this, but there are many sellers of this on ebay
	Spiral Wrap This is a standard electrical product, I used 15mm wrap, order code CBBR0911 from CPC though note that this is a 10m length!
	Switch Box The die-cast box I used is 55mm x 60mm x 25mm; order code EN81815 from CPC
	Clamp This was found in my junk box. I've not found anything similar on sale these days, though order code ST01298 from CPC will work.
	Switch The biggest problem I've had with this is finding a suitably reliable switch. In the end, I used a "Horn Button", order code CP03043 from CPC - so far, this has lasted well, and is big & solid enough to survive outdoor use.
	Pipe Support This is a length of thin 10mm wide aluminium that I found in my junk box.
	Wire In the photo shown, this is 5A mains cable. The second model uses 13A "figure-of-eight" cable, which is probably more appropriate.

The pipe is fixed to the pipe support using electrical tape. I tried heat-shrink tubing but it didn't like the sharp bends.

The various bits are just bolted to the die-cast box, and rubber grommets are used for the cable entry points.
I sealed the box with some clear bathroom sealant - this should help with long term corrosion.

This page was last updated on 31-Mar-2010. All information on this site is the copyright of various members of the Wheeler Family. You are welcome to view or keep a copy for your personal use, but not to pass any of it off as your own!