A motor pump set can be used on a shallow well or tube well, on a river or other water surfaces. Pumps can supply water under pressure in PVC pipes or lay flat hoses directly connected to the outlet of the pump for the water needs of vegetable, fruit and rice crops.
In certain cases it is possible to modify the motor to run on kerosene fuel as well instead of petrol. In most countries kerosene is widely available and cheaper than petrol. Tests in Madagascar have shown a reduction of the running cost of 25% with kerosene and a reduction of 60% of the running cost in comparison with a petrol pump-set available on the local market.
{{procontable | pro=
- Low cost<br>
- Easy to transport. <br>
- Consumes 50% less fuel compare to traditional pumps. <br>- Improved pumps could yield , so twice as much water as traditional pumpsfor the same amount of fuel.<br>- The advantage of a two stroke engine (vs. a four stroke engine) is that it lasts longer, and is easier and cheaper to repair.
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{{procontable | pro=
- Low cost <br>
- Fuel consumption is also about 40% less than that of the presently available pump sets <br>
- The advantage of a two stroke engine (vs. a four stroke engine) is that it lasts longer, and is easier and cheaper to repair
- In certain cases it is possible to modify the motor to run on kerosene fuel as well instead of petrol. In most countries kerosene is widely available and cheaper than petrol. Tests in Madagascar has shown a reduction of the cost running of 25% with kerosene and a reduction of 60% of the cost running in comparison with petrol pump-set available on the local market
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==Technical specification==
====Manufacturing ====
Different types of small and efficient motor pumps are manufactured in several countries, such as China and India..
As an example, the [[http://www.practicafoundation.nl Practica Foundation ]] imports a low-cost two stroke, low power (1.5hp) engines from China, which has a fuel consumption of 0,5 litres/hour when pumping 3 l per second from 6m depth. The pump has a suction head of 7 meters depth with a maximum total head of 30 meters. The discharge is at maximum 25 cubic meters/hour, and the pump weighs 15 kilos. At 8 m depth the yield is 8 cubic meters per hour. It can be used to irrigate up to 1.5 ha of land. The price is 130-170 Euro, depending on the country of implementation.
Practica monitors the quality of the product, and can facilitate procurement of these pumps and spare parts from China, the establishment of a dealer network, training of mechanics and general promotion. Practica also has developed an operation and maintenance manual. The low-cost pumpset is used in Madagascar (some 50 units), Burkina Faso (100 units), Nicaragua (70 units), and Chad (50 units).