My Little Water Moving Project

Okay, so I had this idea the other day. Needed to move some water from a rain barrel to water some plants that are just too far for the hose to reach easily. Dragging buckets back and forth gets old, you know? So, I thought, why not try putting together a simple battery operated water pump?

Getting the Bits Together

First thing, I needed a pump. Didn't need anything massive, just something small. Found a little submersible pump online, the kind people use for fountains or aquariums, I think. Looked like it ran on 12 volts, which was perfect.

Next, the power source. I remembered I had an old sealed lead-acid battery kicking around in the garage. The kind you might find in an emergency light or a kid's ride-on toy. Charged it up overnight just to make sure it still held some juice. Seemed okay.

Then, just needed some basic stuff:

• Some flexible tubing that fit the pump's outlet.
• A simple on/off switch. Found one in my spare parts box.
• A bit of wire and some electrical connectors (spade connectors worked for the battery I had).
• Wire strippers and crimpers.

Putting It All Together

This part was pretty straightforward, really. No fancy electronics here.

I took the pump and looked at its wires. Usually red for positive, black for negative. Took a length of spare wire, stripped the ends. Crimped connectors onto one end of the wires to attach to the battery terminals.

Then, I cut the positive wire going to the pump. Stripped both cut ends. Took the switch and wired it in line there. So, the power would go from the battery positive terminal, through the switch, then to the pump's positive wire. Simple interrupt.

Connected the pump's negative wire directly to the wire going to the battery's negative terminal. Gave all the connections a little tug to make sure they were solid. Didn't want anything popping off mid-pump.

Finally, I pushed the clear tubing onto the pump's outlet nozzle. Made sure it was snug.

The Moment of Truth: Testing

Okay, time to see if this contraption actually worked. Took a bucket, filled it with water. Dropped the pump into the water, making sure it was fully submerged. Laid the outlet tube over the edge of the bucket.

Took a breath, connected the wires to the battery terminals – positive to positive, negative to negative. Double-checked that. Flipped the switch.

Heard a little whirring sound from the pump underwater. And hey, presto! Water started flowing out the end of the tube! Not a fire hose or anything, but a decent little stream. Enough for watering plants, definitely.

Using the Thing

Been using it for a couple of weeks now. I just drop the pump end into the rain barrel, run the tube over to the flower beds, connect the battery, flip the switch, and let it run. That old battery lasts maybe 30-40 minutes before the flow starts to weaken, which is usually long enough for what I need.

It's great for emptying out the last bits of water from the kids' paddling pool too, saves tipping the heavy thing over. Just need to make sure the intake doesn't suck up too much grass or leaves.

It's a simple setup, but it does the job. No more lugging heavy buckets. Pretty pleased with how this little weekend tinker turned out. Easy project, solved a real problem for me.