SubmersibleWell & SumpExternal Controller

Submersible kit

The pump goes down the well and stays there. The controller stays on the surface where it can be reached, with only the motor cable going down. Built for wells and sumps where a surface pump cannot reach the water.

Always primed, nothing to lose prime, and nothing above ground to steal except the array. The trade is that servicing it means pulling it back out.

Where this kit fits

Suits

  • Hand-dug wells, small boreholes and deep sumps
  • Water resting deeper than about 8 m, where no surface pump works
  • Sites visited rarely, because there is nothing to prime or restart
  • Drinking water points and community schemes as well as irrigation

Not the right kit for

  • Wells that have not been properly developed; sand is what destroys submersibles
  • Sites where the pump may need to move between plots through the season
  • Situations where nobody can pull the pump if it needs attention

An example specification

Below is how one real buyer specified this kit type: a World Bank funded irrigation programme. It is a useful picture of the shape and the level of detail a careful procurement uses, and we can build to it.

Pump power0.3 HP and above
Head30 m and above
Flow at that head31.7 L/min, which is 1.9 m³/h
ControllerExternal, mounted on the surface
ArrayTwo modules, 380 W each or more
Pressure pipePVC to ISO 1452, PN16, 32 mm bore, 5.80 m lengths
Suction hose25 mm, 6 m per kit, where a surface section is needed
FastenersStainless or hot-dip galvanised, anti-theft type

These are that tender's minimum requirements, not an industry standard and not a fixed product datasheet. Your own specification will differ, and we quote against yours. Note the shape of the duty requirement: a minimum head and a flow at that head, stated together. Why that matters.

What is in the kit

Every line comes with manufacturer, model and part number on the quotation, which is what makes two offers comparable and what we can be held to on delivery.

Submersible pump and motorStainless body, sized to the well casing.
External controllerOn the surface, in reach, with dry run and tank full inputs.
Motor cable and splice kitMade off to length, with a splice kit for the joint.
PV modules and frameTwo modules on a fixed or portable frame depending on the site.
Rising main and fittingsPressure pipe from pump to wellhead, plus a non-return valve.
Well cap and cable supportSo the pump hangs from the cap rather than from the pipe.
DocumentationInstallation and operating manual; editable source files on request.

Not included: civil work and concrete, the well or the intake structure, installation labour, freight beyond FOB China, duty and clearance. Those are arranged at your end, and we would rather say so here than at delivery.

The other kit types

Frequently asked questions

How deep can a solar submersible pump kit go?

There is no suction limit at all because the pump sits in the water and pushes. What limits it is the pump curve and the motor cable. Small kit-scale submersibles are typically specified for 30 to 60 m of head; deeper wells move into full borehole system territory rather than a packaged kit.

Why is the controller outside rather than on the pump?

So it can be reached. A controller down the well would have to come out with the pump for any adjustment or fault, and on a submersible that means a tripod and a day of work. Keeping it on the surface also makes the dry run and tank full inputs easy to wire.

What kills solar submersible pumps?

Sand, and running dry. Sand comes from a well that was never properly developed, and it wears impellers and seals fast. Running dry comes from a pump set too low or a well that yields less than expected, and it is why dry run protection is the one function worth confirming in writing.

Can a submersible kit pump drinking water?

Mechanically yes, and these kits are widely used on community water points. Whether the water is safe to drink is a question about the source and any treatment, not about the pump. Confirm the pump wetted materials suit potable use if that is the application.

Ask for kit pricing

Tell us the quantity, the water source and roughly where it is going. Kit economics move a lot with volume, so a realistic quantity gets a much more useful number back.