Combining flow from different pumps?

[Anonymous]

If you hook the outs of two pumps to a manifold will they be working against each other or will they give more flow? Seems simple, but I don't know for sure...

 

[MI0706]

Depends upon flow rating (or pressure rating) of said pumps... If they have identical ratings, they will work together...

If they do not, the one with higher flow (or pressure rating) will overpower the smaller one...

 

[Anonymous]

The net output will be more flow. The amout will depend based on the combination of pumps and the maniflod.

 

[Anonymous]

Both Ampmaster 3000's.
How would you do the manifold to maximize flow?

 

[Anonymous]

The manifold would have to be big enough to handle the flow from both pumps. In your case 4" PVC would probably be a good choise. Also make sure your outlets are sufficent in size and number to handle the flow. Three 1 inch outlets would probably not be a good idea, but 6 may work fine.

 

[Anonymous]

Ideally, the flow would double, but in reality, it will be slightly less. Issues such as what Wazzel said affect the efficiency of combination.

If one fail, there will be little or no flow due to back circulation. Real engineer use larger pump instead

 

[Anonymous]

Ideally, the flow would double, but in reality, it will be slightly less. Issues such as what Wazzel said affect the efficiency of combination.

If one fail, there will be little or no flow due to back circulation. Real engineer use larger pump instead

Or two seperate lines if redundancy is needed.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other comments above. FWIW, I have 2 Iwaki pumps of the same size that are connected individually to my sump (ie, though separate bulkhead fittings). The outputs feed into a manifold via a standard pvc "Y" fitting. The manifold has 4 pvc "T's", each with a ball valve, for splitting up and regulating the flow back to the tank (via 3 of the outputs) and back to the sump (via a return loop that I used when I had the sump set-up as wet/dry). One pump is strong enough to at least pump some water back to the tank, which provides me some insurance if one of the pumps fails while I am not around.

On the other hand, you can achieve the same thing by having each pump feed a separate return(s) back to the tank.

One exception, if you have a really high return head (back pressure), you could use the 2 pumps serially to obtain the necessary pressure to get the water back to the tank. This would not be a common arrangement, but might be worth exploring if you have really long return runs.