If you pull water from a lake for irrigation, you have some version of a pump. A lake water pump is a great way to get water from the lake to the equipment you’re using for irrigation. However, the water pulled from the lake likely contains sediment. While we know that clean drinking water is a priority for human consumption, it stands to reason that other living organisms share this need. If clean water is important for our health, why wouldn’t it also be important for the health of plants or whatever specifically your irrigation system is feeding?
At Vu-Flow, we have a couple of different options for helping to clean up your lake water. A Vu-Flow screen or sand separator filter can help filter out the sediment that contaminates or clogs your irrigation system. The key is making sure you pick a filter or filters with the right sized micron rating for your application.
When it comes to filtering water from a lake, you’re likely to find larger sediment and may need to implement a step-down filtration system. Step-down filtration is the process of lining up a couple of filters in series in order to filter as much sediment or debris as possible. Starting with the coarser micron for your first filter and then your next filter in series would have a finer mesh. When filtering water from a lake, it would be wise to start with a 700-micron (24 mesh)* element and then step it down to 350 micron (40 mesh)* or 250 micron (60 mesh)* so your first filter catches all of the larger sediment that would clog the finer sediment filter.
The Vu-Flow basket strainer is an intake screen that is designed for use in a lake, pond, or canal. Similar to the elements found in the screen or sand separator, a Vu-Flow basket strainer is available in a few different mesh options. You can choose one that comes in 700 micron (24 mesh)*, 250 micron (60 mesh)* or 150 micron (100 mesh)*. These units are also considerably larger than our other filter bodies resulting in more surface area for filtering.
The basket strainer has a high-volume capacity of up to 100 gallons per minute. It has a 2-inch IPS female inlet slip fitting and is designed entirely with PVC and an easy-to-clean screen. Simply connect the basket strainer at the start of your lake water pump, and as water is pulled into the system, the debris you’re trying to eliminate from your water will collect on the outside of the strainer screen. It’s important to place the filter on a concrete block or something similar so it sits above the bottom of the lake or pond.
With the basket strainer in place you can then take that source water and direct it to a Vu-Flow screen or sand separator filter. Doing this will also create a form of the step-down method in that your coarser micron rating strainer will be eliminating your larger debris, while the filter you place later in the line, which should then have a finer micron rating, will take out a lot of the smaller sediment.
Using the Vu-Flow basket strainer as a part of your system will help ensure that you’re eliminating the debris that can cause harm to your system, but keep in mind too that you’ll also be protecting the investments you’ve made in your pump and everything else that falls in line after along the system.
Visit our website at vuflow.com or give us a call directly at 1-800-833-5171 if you’d like to learn more about how Vu-Flow can help protect your system, plants, etc. when pulling water from a lake. A live customer service representative will be available weekdays to help get you the answers that you need.
*micron size shown denotes general micron removal rates for industry and fall within expressed mesh size specified
