Pumping water out of pit

Blake K

Active member
I'm putting in a pit this summer on an small "island" within my impoundment. This pit will flood and completely fill up with water most likely 3 to 5 times a year as I cant control when the river floods high enough to come overtop of my levees. I'm looking for suggestions as to cost effective/lightweight/easy of use solutions to pumping out the water. Please keep in mind due to our soil here, we cant drive a four wheeler to the pit and thus force to wade in to the pit which is about an 150/200 yard wade. Been looking at the Predator 2" semi trash pump from Harbor Freight($200), but the weight of approx. 55lbs has me concerned since it would have to be carried out to be used. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!
 
Blake K said:
Been looking at the Predator 2" semi trash pump from Harbor Freight($200), but the weight of approx. 55lbs has me concerned since it would have to be carried out to be used. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!

Don't carry the pump, float it. sled for transporting gear Pick the appropriate size and pull it along as you wade. I would think the 71x44x16 would be more than adequate to be stable, it would certainly carry (float) the weight.
 
Can you install a 12v. sump pump and leave it there?, then just need a battery with a solar trickle charger, you could keep it in the pit in a floating box/container.
 
pick up an old 10ft. johnboat and float it out. Those little jons also come in quite handy for putting out and retrieving decoys in an impound , shallow pond application. Just load up and wade around with boat giving you some stability. Throw a couple sheets of fastgrass over it if you have to stash near blind while hunting.
 
No where to hide the boat(I actually have (2) 10' jon boats) once we finished. We would end up having to float the boat back out and haul it back to the my storage area to hide it. Unfortunately thought about this method as well, but in this situation just doesn't work. Thanks however for the idea!
 
Blake K said:
No where to hide the boat(I actually have (2) 10' jon boats) once we finished. We would end up having to float the boat back out and haul it back to the my storage area to hide it. Unfortunately thought about this method as well, but in this situation just doesn't work. Thanks however for the idea!

How about the gear sled 60 or 71 inch sled too big to hide? I'm sure it would float the pump. You will have to hide the pump too, no? Leave it in the sled and camo cover the whole thing?
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Blake K said:
No where to hide the boat(I actually have (2) 10' jon boats) once we finished. We would end up having to float the boat back out and haul it back to the my storage area to hide it. Unfortunately thought about this method as well, but in this situation just doesn't work. Thanks however for the idea!

How about the gear sled 60 or 71 inch sled too big to hide? I'm sure it would float the pump. You will have to hide the pump too, no? Leave it in the sled and camo cover the whole thing?

Was hoping the pump would be small enough to put inside the pit when I hunted, then could take it back out when finished hunting for the day.

Like the 12v sump pump idea, but with the water at times throughout the year getting more than 3 to 4 feet above the pit, not sure the battery and solar would survive.

Wonder if a 1" clear water pump would work? Its plenty light and would take approx. 1/2 hour to pump out the pit if my calculations are correct. I just figure there would be too much trash in the backwater for it to work.
 
Hi
Just a couple of thoughts. You may want to float the pump out in a small skiff or pond box. Then just sink / submerge the skiff by the decoys. We used to sink our pirogues all the time when we hunted little islands.. My only concern is that the high water will float the pit box out of the ground.
Good Luck
 
Paul Strombeck said:
Hi
Just a couple of thoughts. You may want to float the pump out in a small skiff or pond box. Then just sink / submerge the skiff by the decoys. We used to sink our pirogues all the time when we hunted little islands.. My only concern is that the high water will float the pit box out of the ground.
Good Luck

That is/was my concern with the pit. However the pit manufacturer and others I talked to did a great job convincing me that would not be an issue in my situation with the style of pit I am purchasing. Keeping fingers crossed on that.
 
I have a similar problem. I cut a hole in my floor, dug a small hole, lined with gravel and installed a 3600 Gln/hr bilge pump. It came with 6 feet of wire so I connected alligator clips and keep a 12v battery on a high shelf. I just hook up the battery when I get there and it pumps it out pretty quick. You could put a float switch on but will drain your battery faster. $80 some on amazon.
 
I like the bilge pump idea, cheaper then a sump pump, even if you have to cart the battery back and forth, its lighter then a trash pump. I wonder how long a small lawn tractor battery would last?
 
I do not have a picture so I will do my best to describe it. You can take ABS sch 35 pipe (lighter than Sch 40PVC) and cut a section 1 ft taller than the bottom of your pit. Use a T connection and come another 4 ft or so up past the T and a section of pipe (you're call on that length) out the side of the T. Drill large ( 2" or better) holes in the bottom ft of the pipe.
Fashion a cone out of a sturdy material that is about 10" deep and attach it to a pole that is 2 ft longer than the pipe. We used to use leather as the cone and the straps are then one piece. You can just use rivets to fashion the cone.
You have just made a pump that doesn't need a battery. Depending on the person, a pit that is 5 x 10 might take 30 min. We used this type of pump on the bay front in sunken pit blinds. They flooded must tides. This was my job as a young boy
 
gcs said:
I like the bilge pump idea, cheaper then a sump pump, even if you have to cart the battery back and forth, its lighter then a trash pump. I wonder how long a small lawn tractor battery would last?

I bought th e cheapest car battery and it has lasted all winter on 1 charge. It hasn?t been super cold but we?ve had a ton of rain and it?s been working.
 
I do not have a picture so I will do my best to describe it. You can take ABS sch 35 pipe (lighter than Sch 40PVC) and cut a section 1 ft taller than the bottom of your pit. Use a T connection and come another 4 ft or so up past the T and a section of pipe (you're call on that length) out the side of the T. Drill large ( 2" or better) holes in the bottom ft of the pipe.
Fashion a cone out of a sturdy material that is about 10" deep and attach it to a pole that is 2 ft longer than the pipe. We used to use leather as the cone and the straps are then one piece. You can just use rivets to fashion the cone.
You have just made a pump that doesn't need a battery. Depending on the person, a pit that is 5 x 10 might take 30 min. We used this type of pump on the bay front in sunken pit blinds. They flooded must tides. This was my job as a young boy[/quote]

I would love to a picture or a diagram of this set up. Very intriguing
 
That device is an old fashioned hand bilge pump used for larger decked over boats. My old 34foot bayboat had one that was galvanized steel sheet metal. There was a covered hole in the deck located in the deepest part of the bilge, put the pump through and start pumping. the length was governed by the height of the boat, the bilge water just ran over the deck and out through the scuppers.I think mine was about 3 inch round.
Gives a good workout. [;)]
 
Seems like there should be a siphon option with a pump attachment to get it primed/started. Would be slow, but easy and light.
 
I work for the local electric utility. Our trucks have hydraulic pumps that are amazing but that out the window, we also use 2? electric pumps that work pretty good but then you need power. If you already owned a little Honda generator you could carry that out and get a decent pit down pretty quick. The other thing is possibly run power out there? I think there?s either the expensive solution or the laborious solution of walking or floating stuff back and forth

Tony
 
I've put 3 12 foot ones in. I had one start to push up.

We planted small trees almost like a C shape around the island to help funnel ducks and break up the island. Had to add dirt to stay over the high water mark as well. It came out good once things grew up. That wide open water can be tough pressured puddle ducks.

I second the gear sled. Not just for getting the pump in and out but for everything in general. I don't know the recommended weight but we fill these full.

I would throw in a nice bucket seat in case the pump fails someday!
 
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