Glossary

An accumulator tank also known as a pressure tank is a storage vessel designed to hold water under pressure. 

BAR is a metric unit of pressure.

1 BAR is defined as exactly equal to 100 kPa, or 14.50 PSI

A bilge pump is a submersible pump which removes water from your boats bilge (the hull of the boat). 

A booster pump is a generally a surface mounted pump used to maximize pressure in a fluid line or pipe line when pulling water or fluid from a storage tank or storage pit or pump station when there is low water pressure and flow which needs to be increased.  

Cavitation occurs when the liquid in the pump turns to a vapor at low pressure. This happens because there is not enough pressure at the suction / lift end of the pump. When cavitation takes place, air bubbles are created at low pressure which can make your pump noisy and cause damage to your pump.

A centrifugal pump is a mechanical device which is designed to move fluid or water by means of the transfer of rotational energy from one or more impellers within the pump. The momentum of the impeller produces an increase in pressure or flow at the pumps discharge.

A check valve is a valve used in plumbing and commonly used in conjunction with pumps to allow a solution to flow in one direction only. 

A diaphragm seal is a flexible membrane that seals and isolates an enclosure. The flexible nature of this seal allows pressure effects to cross the barrier but not the material being contained. 

A float valve is a simple controller to which responds to changes in fluid level. It can also be called a liquid level controller. The float valve will open or close according to its required use.

A foot valve is a valve used in plumbing and commonly used in conjunction with pumps to allow a solution to flow in one direction only. A foot valve is also known as a check valve. 

Friction loss is the loss of energy or “head” that occurs in pipe flow due to viscous effects generated by the surface of the pipe. Friction Loss is considered as a “major loss”.

Grey water pumps are predominantly submersible pumps which are used as a fitting within a grey water recycling system. 

Pump head is a measurement of pump pressure usually written in metres / head and is the maximum height vertically in metres the pump is able to push the water or fluid against gravity. 

Jet pressure pumps are mounted above ground and are a non-submersible pressure pump. 

Mechanical seals are intended to prevent the fluid ( water or oil ) used by a machine or pump from leaking to the external environment ( the atmosphere or a body of water ).