DIY Venturi Pump

This quality makes them useful for pumping liquid with a high percentage of solids such as slurries or sewage without clogging or contamination of mechanical apparatus. This DIY Venturi pump system is handy for removing mud and other solids from basements and sumps where other pumping methods would stall from clogging.

Standard Venturi Pumps

Many back up sump-pumps use the Venturi principle where a pressurized flow stream of utility water is directed into the throat of a converging Venturi, where it induces a partial vacuum that then draws water to fill the void. The kinetic energy of the higher-speed stream is imparted to the mixture of the entrained liquid and propelling liquid, and is proportional to the mass of the mixture. These units use a lot of clean water to move the entrained liquid, however, with many requiring at least one gallon per minute to entrain two gallons of waste liquid, for a sum total of three gallons ejected from the end of the pump.

A Slight Twist

The trick with this system is that it uses an extremely high-pressure stream from a pressure washer to drive the Venturi pump. This system has a much lower flow, but a much higher kinetic energy to inject into the Venturi, which serves several purposes. First, the ratio of volume of powering water to water ejected from the pump is much lower, bringing greater effectiveness and efficiency. Second, the high energy stream is able to disintegrate whatever solids there are in the Venturi and the downstream pipe line. Finally, the kinetic energy of this system is so high that it is more easily able to self-prime and remain clog-free.

Easy Fabrication

Assemble a PVC pipe fixture starting with two-inch diameter Schedule 40 PVC pipe and fittings. About two inches from a 90-degree Tee fitting, install a two-inch to 1-1/2 -nch reducer. Plug in ac1/2 NPT internal thread adapter to the side of the Tee opposite the reducer. Purchase a compression fitting that fits the brass wand tube of the pressure washer tip. Unscrew the tip fitting, slide on the compression fitting and re-install the tip. Now insert the pressure washer tube including tip and compression fitting into the PVC pipe adapter, and thread tight. Teflon tape on the threads will assure a tight seal.

Test the Venturi Pump

Connect the DIY venturi pump to 1-1/2-inch vinyl hoses with hose adapters on either end. Put the suction end into a five-gallon pail of clean water and squeeze the washer handle. With the compression fitting slightly loose around the tube, slide the nozzle back and forth into the reducer fitting until the maximum outlet flow is achieved. This will be the optimal setting, and the place where the compression fitting should be tightened around the pressure washer wand.