EcoPlus Convertible Bottom Draw Water Pump 265 GPH - Submersible Applications Only, Ideal for Hydroponics

This water pump is a real pro. It's quiet, powerful, and seems very dependable when fully submerged. The description makes it sound like the pump can routinely operate in as little as 1/2" of water. It can, sort of, but it sounds like a plane coming in for a hard landing when it does. I'd give this five stars if the description had been more clear. Even though it does seem like a good water pump, I had to return mine because it won't work the way I thought it would based on the description. If you intend to use this with less than 3-4" of water for full submersion, plan to have a very loud and cantankerous little contraption on your hands.

Nice replacement pump for my swamp cooler as the original return pump that came with the swamp cooler I purchased draws water from the side. I’ll probably benefit from a bottom drawing return pump.

I was excited to see a pump with a bottom draw, as I use it in hydroponics, and when I change the solution, I want to remove as much as possible. Typical fountain pumps can leave as much as 2" in the bottom that they can't pick up. So, I bought this. It worked fine when I tested it, but upon using it, it was quite noisy. But, it ran fine for about 2 weeks, running 24-7. Then, I needed to change the solution, and during the pump out, it became noisier and then quit pumping, though it was still running. To make matters worse, the maker has chosen to protect the 'motor' from moisture by sealing the entire unit in epoxy (I have to wonder if the real motive was to prevent repairs!). Maybe all submersibles are made this way, but it certainly makes it impossible to analyze the failure mode, or attempt to do any repairs to the pump. Therefore, it was a waste of money. The maker told me that these are 'magnetic' units. Not at all certain what he meant by that, as it appears to be a simple rotating impeller on the end of a motor shaft. If you consider how they operate, all electric motors that rotate are magnetic, so for them to say that because these are 'magnetic' as a reason why they cannot run against a valve that is limiting their output without getting noisy and eventually failing. If this is the case, then the makers could have very easily thought to advise you of this in the product listing, or at least in the instructions. Also, it would have been very easy for the makers to have designed a small slider valve that, instead of making the pump run against a pressure created by a downstream valve being used to regulate the flow rate, would instead restrict its input, achieving the same thing as a valve downstream from the pump. I've seen fountain pumps with this feature, but not with a bottom draw feature. This is under warranty, so I will be making a warranty claim, and the next time I use one of these, I'll hot weld a small piece of plastic over the intake to restrict the pump's output. However, I think it's worth noting that even though I did operate it against a pressure, it didn't fail until I ran it wide open & unrestricted. Then, it failed after pumping appx 9 gallons of liquid! If you're considering this pump, please also consider this limitation. Personally, I get the feeling that the maker has been cheap in their design and build. It didn't have to be that way!

This is a great little pump. I dropped this unit into one of my rainbarrels on top of a brick. I picked up some fittings and tubing and connected it to a garden hose. Now instead of only gravity to move the rainwater to my front garden, I can water by hand directly to the plants in less time. I use a simple nozzle on the end of the hose that doesn't require a lot of pressure. I may duplicate this for another rainbarrel.

This pump lasted 2 weeks in a small 30 gallon pond. The impeller wobbled and tore the plastic impeller and rubber seats for shaft too pieces. Stay away!!!

I use this in a bucket as a sump that floods just over the pump on a timer for one minute. Its a noisy little sucker but it has been working well for about a year.

So maybe I got a bad unit but this thing is LOUD. Like rattle your brain loud. I really don’t expect this to last very long with the way it sounds. Luckily I’m using it in my shop and not my house where I sleep. Will update if/when it fails.

After several seasons of use, the pump in my evaporative cooler failed. I ordered this EcoPlus 727800 Pump as it has a bottom draw - ideal for drawing water that might fall below the pump's top. The pump fit the hoses, works great, is as quiet as the old pump, and my evaporative cooler is working again.