Choosing a pump is not about picking the biggest motor or the lowest price. It is about matching the machine to the job. At Solanzo we have spent years engineering pumps for every duty, and the questions our engineers ask are always the same three: how much water, how high, and how often.
1. Flow rate: how much water do you need?
Flow rate (measured in m³/h or litres per minute) is the volume of water the pump must move. A domestic water supply might need only 2–4 m³/h, while an irrigation line can demand ten times that. Always size for your peak demand, not your average. A pump that runs flat-out all day wears out early.
2. Head: how high must the water go?
Total head is the vertical lift plus the friction losses in pipes, bends and valves. A borehole 40 metres deep with 10 metres of pipework friction needs a pump rated well above 50 metres; at exactly 50 the flow collapses to a trickle. When in doubt, round up.
3. Duty cycle: continuous or intermittent?
A circulation pump in a heating loop runs for hours; a pressure booster fires in short bursts. Continuous-duty applications need robust bearings, quality seals and thermal margins, and this is where Italian manufacturing discipline shows its value.
4. Match the pump family to the task
- Self-priming jet pumps: shallow wells, garden irrigation, domestic supply. Easy to install above ground.
- Submersible pumps: boreholes and deep wells, where the pump sits inside the water itself.
- Vertical multi-stage pumps: high pressure in a compact footprint, for buildings, boosters and industry.
- Centrifugal pumps: high flow at moderate head for circulation and transfer.
- Pressure boosters: where supply exists but pressure does not.
5. Think about energy, and the future
The most expensive pump is the cheap one that wastes electricity for twenty years. Efficiency class and motor quality decide the real cost of ownership, and choosing equipment that can adapt to photovoltaic power protects the investment for decades ahead.
Get it specified, not guessed
Every Solanzo product page lists flow, head and operating limits. Send us your lift, distance and daily demand, and our engineers will size a system for your application at no charge.