PTO or engine trash pump?

[William1]

I ordered hose today, directly from Abbott Hose (the company that sells to TSC).
3) 20' 3" suction
2) 100' 3" discharge

I still need to get some PVC (and fittings) to make pipes for intake and for discharge. I'll have to position the discharge a few feet off the ground to enable it to flow and somewhat self level and every hour, move it 20', hence the need for a solid discharge pipe, strapped to a saw horse or tree.

60% of what three 'kits' from TSC would of cost. I also spoke to a few guys that pump muck from ponds. They all use larger systems (5" to as big as 8") but other than the amount of time it will take me (time is money to a pro), think the 3" will be fine. They said it will chew the leaves and occasional pine cone no problem.
I spent 7 hours Saturday and five hours Sunday raking out surface solids, close to 40 buckets in my little BX. I've made a 'wall' of these organics in my dump area that will serve as a silt barrier. My neighbor has a few hundred feet of silt fence I'll install too. I saw a few Copperheads during my weekend escapades, most were tiny babies, 8" long and as fat as a pencil but a few that were three feet long and an inch or so around. They could not get away from me fast enough and go hide in the muck. I wonder what the pump will do to one of them....
Hopefully, in the next few weeks, I'll be able to test it out. It is too hot (97) to be out there in waders right now, like wearing a fat sweating suit. It might be a better project to do in October!
I'd of never been able to move all the organic solids like I did without the BX.

 

[Daren Todd]

Now if you want to move sludge, this is the way to do it but...... A 300hp pump, plus a 300hp tractor and pto pump as a feeder probably isn't in the budget

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[William1]

ROFL!!!!

The real way to move sludge and muck is to do it with a phone call and a pitcher of iced tea sipped from inside my house while I watch a crew make it magically go away and simply write a bad check...............

 

[Daren Todd]

ROFL!!!!

The real way to move sludge and muck is to do it with a phone call and a pitcher of iced tea sipped from inside my house while I watch a crew make it magically go away and simply write a bad check...............

Definitely the tea, maybe a couple adult beverages or 4 to help ease the pain of that bill What you didn't see in the picture, is the barge going back and fourth across the pond stirring up the pond

 

[RCW]

William and Daren -

Around here, those big tractors and slurry pumps aren't used for just "sludge"; they're used for cow "sludge." As you guys know, probably cows, pigs, and chickens where you guys are from?

Every year, my mother-in-law was around April. Farmers were hauling manure from slurry pits to fertilize corn fields.

She used to complain EVERY time a spreader truck went by! That could be 150 times a day - just like clock-work.

Even though Slurry-Store stuff is much different, it smelled like roses to me!!

 

[Daren Todd]

William and Daren -

Around here, those big tractors and slurry pumps aren't used for just "sludge"; they're used for cow "sludge." As you guys know, probably cows, pigs, and chickens where you guys are from?

Every year, my mother-in-law was around April. Farmers were hauling manure from slurry pits to fertilize corn fields.

She used to complain EVERY time a spreader truck went by! That could be 150 times a day - just like clock-work.

Even though Slurry-Store stuff is much different, it smelled like roses to me!!

Look closely at that pond Trust me..... I had a crappy day

 

[RCW]

Look closely at that pond

I figured what was in there, just didn't know who/what made it!

 

[Daren Todd]

I figured what was in there, just didn't know who/what made it!

That was one of the sediment ponds at a waste water treatment plant. Those guys do paper mills, dog food plants and vegetable packing plants, and big farm pits. The worst, is the big chicken farms though Dog food plants and pig farms are about a tie for second on the make you hurl scale.

Growing up in vermont, most of my friends were dairy farmers. Like you, the smell of cow manure doesn't bother me in the least

 

[William1]

Well.... today was the first day I tried to do the muck pumping. All the people I had arranged to (hired) to help me bailed for one reason or another. Just me and my pretty weak 63 YO wife. It was not pretty.

Had a hell of a time getting the pump to take a prime. I had 40' of suction hose and 200' of discharge, with a rise of about 10'. Constantly losing prime.

After hours, I moved about a 4' X 8' X 2' deep section. That suction hose is too heavy for a single old guy to wrestle with and schlep about.

So after 4 hours.... I quit.

I started to coli up the discharge hose and encounter blobs of muck. No way was it going to drain and it was HEAVY. I reattached a 20' section of suction hose with the strainer to the pump and a single 100' of discharge. This time with the discharge more or less flat, no rise this time, just out of the lake and back in.

Engine running, I removed the prime plug. Five gallon pail of water poured into the funnel. Second pail of water into the funnel. Sudden geyser out of the primer port (30' up!). Got the primer plug in and ran the pump ten minutes. Flushed the discharge right out. Did the same with the other 100' of discharge (no need to prime, it held it this time).

Lessons learned:
I am too old for this crap
Prime, fire it up and continue to prime until the geyser occurs.
I needed three young helpers and not a 63 year old lady with no physical strength.
Be more careful when sticking the intake end in the muck, let more water flow. Tough part is the water is only a few inches above the muck. Hold the intake too high and you suck air. The weight on the intake PVC (tip of the 3" pipe cut at a 45 degree angle) and reinforced hose made it to easy to stick in too deep, too quickly.

I've a neighbor who has pumped muck before. He said he might be able to help me next week........

 

[William1]

Tried it again today, this time with three helpers. I was more successful doing it by myself....Arghhhhhh

 

[William1]

I tried it one more time with the pump and was once again met by abject failure.

My neighbor in the concrete business took pity on my and brought over an excavator and drove it in the lake. Another neighbor loaned me a 3 cu yard dump trailer and his large JD tractor. (I first tried to use my little Nissan PU, it was not pretty) 20 trips were made to my dump spot. We got 2/3 of what I wanted to move done. We are going to finish it off tomorrow.

Now to sell my 60' of suction hose, 200' of discharge and the pump. I tried.

Hopefully this will not have to be done again until after I have moved and am long gone. With my little Kubota FEL I can easily rake and pitchfork out most of the annual accumulation of organics (which had never been done until a few years ago) and that should greatly reduce build up.

 

[sheepfarmer]

William, I am glad you are not struggling around in the muck any more, that sounded pretty grim. Hope you can put that issue to rest, it was sure a valiant effort!

 

[William1]

William, I am glad you are not struggling around in the muck any more, that sounded pretty grim. Hope you can put that issue to rest, it was sure a valiant effort!

Thanks. No one can ever say I did not try. The can say I am not too bright sometimes though!

Today we finished up. 20 yards or so of material. About four hours work. This time, my neighbor had the guy that normally runs the machine do the excavation. He is a maestro. No splashing or spilling. Drove the excavator right in the lake and then right back out with no fuss. I drove the tractor and did the dumping. I really suck backing up and turning. Now to let the material dry out until spring and I'll grade it.

The pumping, had it worked would of been tolerable even if it took me a week working on it by myself. I do not mind a job as long as progress is made. Pumping would of been less damaging to my lawn too. But it (like I hope I do) will recover. I have not yet done the fall 'lawn service' and we are supposed to get rain Monday. So if I can get all the leaves up tomorrow, then I can aerate on Tuesday and spread the lime, seed and starter and be done by Wednesday after noon. Then hibernate until spring, other than snow plowing.

 

[OldeEnglish]

I've sludge pumped it in a 12 ft diameter shallow well and struggled, I couldn't imagine doing a larger body of water.

 

[William1]

Ha!
I thought I was going to have 60' of expensive suction hose and 200' of discharge hose stored for the rest of my life. Well, the guy that excavated my pond with me, tried to help me pump the muck, called and wanted to buy it! Seems he had a large concrete job and a water issue. He was going to rent but decided my hose and pump would be cheaper. So it is sold! Then my wife wanted me to use the money to buy a new fridge!

The end of the saga

 

[skeets]

Aint it funny how women always know how to spend new found money before you do