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Writer's pictureStehan Ceronio

The Ultimate Guide to Borehole Pump Systems

We have had a lot of customers calling us enquiring about borehole systems. When we reply and ask what type of system they are looking into, most customers are astonished to learn that there is a wide variety of borehole system applications. That is why we have decided to write this post to explain each of these systems as well as give a short guide on the products and brands we prefer to use in our installations. That is why we believe this is the ultimate guide to borehole systems in South Africa.


Different borehole pump systems and their applications:


1. Borehole pump to tap: This is the most basic system and also the cheapest because it generally doesn't need nearly as much infrastructure as the other systems. A borehole pump to tap system is generally where water is pumped directly from the underground water-table into a series of pipelines for your outside garden taps. Thereby, allowing you to water your garden with borehole water.

2. Borehole pump to irrigation: This system is very similar to the above-mentioned borehole pump system. Here, water is pumped from the water table to your irrigation's main water-line. The irrigation controller is programmed to send power to the borehole pump as soon as one of the irrigation zones are activated. If you would like to learn more about how automatic irrigation systems work please click here. This system can also function as a manual irrigation system which is simply connected to your exterior garden taps. So therefore as soon as you open the tap it will send water to your irrigation system.

3. Borehole pump to tank: This system makes use of one or more water storage tanks to store water from the borehole. So, the borehole pump sends water straight to the tanks where the water is held until it is needed for irrigation or perhaps a garden tap. In order to get the water from the tanks to its final destination a booster pump is connected to the tanks. This booster pump draws the water from the tanks and pumps it into either the irrigation mainline or wherever the customer desires.

4. Borehole pump to the house: This final system is the most expensive system due to the infrastructure needed. Here, just as with the “borehole pump to tank” system the borehole pump sends water to the tanks. From here a booster pump pumps water into a series of filters before it enters the house. This ensures that the water entering the house is clean.

Our clients have the choice of whether they want there borehole water to be clean enough to drink or simply for general use. This is controlled by the type of filters installed. The cleaner the water at the end, the more expensive the filters.


Now that we have explained the different types of borehole systems I would like to also just give you a short explanation of exactly what a borehole system consists of.

What does a borehole pump system consist of?

First you need a borehole, drilled down to the water table. Next, a borehole pump is attached to a pipe as long as the borehole is deep. The borehole pump and pipe is then lowered into the borehole. From here another pipeline is attached and leads to either the water tanks or the garden mainline, depending on the system the client has chosen.


That is the basics of a borehole pump system. if you would like to see a visual interpretation of these systems please follow this link https://youtu.be/8GAKisBPBoY

The best borehole pump brands in SA:

Below we have compiled a list of what we have come to know as the leading brands in borehole pumps and motors. We have used the brands below for decades and will happily put our guarantee on any of these systems. If you would like to learn more about any of the brands below please just click on the brand names and it will take you to their makers' websites. Let's dive into each brand and see why we love them so much.




Franklin Electric has been around since 1944 and has always been one of the best pump brands money can buy. I would like to use a true story of one of our client's experiences with a Franklin borehole pump to explain just how excellent their products are.


We were contacted by a lady about a year ago and asked if we could please come and inspect her borehole pump. She said that the pump had stopped working a couple of days ago and she wanted to get it going again. So, upon arrival, I asked the client when the pump was installed, who installed it and when last it was serviced. She replied saying that the pump was installed 25 years ago and it has never been removed to be serviced. I was astonished. I was expecting to hear that the pump was probably around 5 years old or so because that is usually when you can start seeing little issues affecting the system. Nonetheless, we continued to do our general checks on the system to see if we could find the fault. It ended up being a simple electrical issue but we decided to pull the pump out any way to service it for the first time in 25 years. This is how we found out that it was a Franklin pump that had been pumping for 25 years without a single issue. That is incredible engineering.


This story goes to show that Franklin Electric is definitely one of the best borehole pumps in the world. That being said, Franklin knows that they have an excellent product and consequently their prices are very high.



Grundfos pumps is a South African favourite when it comes to pump and water supply brands. Chances are that even if you are not in the water supply trade you have heard of Grundfos. Most probably because you saw it on your grandfather's farm. In fact, the brand has such a presence in our country that many South Africans think that Grundfos is a South African brand. The truth, however, is that Grundfos was established in 1945 in Denmark.


As far as the quality and pricing of Grundfos products go, I would say that they are in the same league as Franklin. They are expensive but their products are of the highest quality and will last for years.


An interesting trend we've noticed among our customers is that Grundfos has created a sort of cult following among their constituents. These users of Grundfos products love the brand so much that they actually refuse to install anything other than a Grundfos pump.


Ebara is a brand that has been operating since 1912 as the above picture suggests. They are experts in all kinds of water management systems and therefore their range of borehole pumps is outstanding. We have been doing business with Ebara for over 20 years now and have never had a problem with any of their products.


They seem to have settled themselves as a bit more of a middle-class man's pump supplier. Their products are far more affordable than those of Grundfos and Franklin Electric while still offering excellent reliability.

Elsumo is our most trusted supplier and usually our "go-to" brand for most of our borehole pump installations. We have been working closely with Elsumo for as long as we can remember. Their products are incredibly affordable but offer some of the best value for money in terms of reliability and performance.


The salesmen and technicians at their branch in Marlboro are highly trained and really know their products. We have come to know their borehole pumps very well and would recommend their systems to any one of our clients.


Speroni pumps is an Italian company that has been exporting their borehole pumps to South Africa for over 20-years now. Almost 70% of pumps we extract from clients home boreholes seem to have a Speroni wet-end on them. The reason for their substantial use in South African homes is that they are very affordable while still offering Italian engineering which has become so highly sought after in the water supply field. They have well and truly secured their position as the best Italian water pump supplier amongst their competitors such as CRI or Foras.


Our advice to our customers:

We have now tried to explain what sort of borehole pump systems you have to choose from and we have also given you a glimpse into the best brands for these systems. We would like to end this post by saying that all of these brands and systems are highly effective, reliable and efficient.


If you have been thinking about getting a borehole system installed, think of Watertech first. We have over 35 years of experience in installing these systems and have had tremendous success with them. If you ever have any questions, or need repairs or just want us to come and take a look at your borehole pump options please do not hesitate to contact us. We love what we do and we want to do the best job we can for all our customers. We treat our customers like family and always make sure they have the best systems out there.


Contact us on:

083 284 0491 or

or visit our website on www.watertechirrigation.co.za










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