# Comparison of pumps

This article lists different types of pump and provides a comparison of certain key design features. Different types of pumps are suitable for different applications, for example: a pump's maximum lift height also determines the applications it can be used for. Low-lift pumps are only suitable for the pumping of surface water (e.g., irrigation, drainage of lands, ...), while high-lift pumps allow deep water pumping (e.g., potable water pumping from wells).

## Direct lift devices

| Pump type | Cyclic/continuous ? | Maximum lift height | Production cost | Efficiency | Output | Size of device | Fabrication requirements | Difficulty of production | Durability | Difficulty of repair | Suction lift ? |
| Continuous bucket pump | continuous | 5m-50m | low-medium | medium | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Counterpoise lift or Shadoof | cyclic | 1m-4m | low-medium | low-medium | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Mohte | cyclic | 3m-8m | low-medium | low | medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Persian wheel "Tablia" | continuous | 3m-10m | low-medium | medium | medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Persian wheel "Zawaffa" | continuous | 3m-15m | medium | medium-high | medium-high | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Pivoting gutters and "dhones" | cyclic | 1m-1,5m | low-medium | low-medium | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Reciprocating bucket hoist | cyclic | 100m-500m | medium-high | medium | medium-high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Rope & bucket and windlass | cyclic | 5m-50m | very low | very low | very low | ? | ? | basic | ? | ? | no |
| Scoops and bailers | cyclic | >1m | very low | very low | low-medium | ? | ? | basic | ? | ? | no |
| Scoop wheel "Sakia" | continuous | >2m | medium-high | medium-high | medium-high | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Swing basket | cyclic | >1m | very low | very low | low-medium | ? | ? | basic | ? | ? | no |
| Waterwheels or noria | continuous | >5m | low-medium | low-medium | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Watering car | cyclic | >3m | very low | very low | very low | ? | ? | basic | ? | ? | no |

## Displacement pumps

| Pump type | Cyclic/continuous ? | Maximum lift height | Production cost | Efficiency | Output | Size of device | Fabrication requirements | Difficulty of production | Durability | Difficulty of repair | Suction lift ? |
| Archimedean screw | continuous | >2m | medium | medium | medium-high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Chain (or rope) and washer pump | continuous | 3m-20m | medium-high | medium-high | medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Coil pump and spiral pump | continuous | >6m | medium | medium | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Diaphragm pump | cyclic | 5m-10m | medium | medium-high | medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Flash wheel and treadmill | >2m | low-medium | low-medium | medium-high | ? | ? | ? | traditional/industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Flexible vane pump | continuous | 10m-20m | medium-high | medium | medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Gas or vapour displacement pump | cyclic | 5m-50m | medium | medium | medium-high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no/yes |
| Gear and lobe pump | continuous | 10m-20m | medium | low-medium | very low | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Open screw pump | continuous | >6m | high | medium-high | medium-high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Peristaltic pump | continuous | >3m | medium | medium | very low | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Petropump | continuous | 10m-100m | medium-high | high | low-medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | ? |
| Porous rope | continuous | 3m-10m | ? | ? | low-medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Progressive cavity pump (Moyno) | continuous | 10m-100m | medium-high | medium-high | medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Piston pump, bucket pump | cyclic | 2m-200m | medium-high | high | medium | ? | ? | traditional/industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Plunger pump | cyclic | 100m-500m | high | medium-high | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | yes |
| Pulser Pump | cyclic | 1-300m | low-medium | low | low-medium | small-huge | ? | traditional | very high | easy | no |
| Semi-rotary pump | cyclic | 5m-10m | low-medium | low-medium | low-medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Water ladder | cyclic | >2m | medium | medium | medium | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |

## Velocity pumps

| Pump type | Cyclic/continuous ? | Maximum lift height | Production cost | Efficiency | Output | Size of device | Fabrication requirements | Difficulty of production | Durability | Difficulty of repair | Suction lift ? |
| Centrifugal (regenerative) pump | continuous | 10m-30m | medium-high | medium | medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Centrifugal (turbine) pump | continuous | 3m-200m | medium-high | medium-high | high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Centrifugal (volute) pump | continuous | 3m-20m | medium | medium-high | high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Flap valve pump | ? | 2m-4m | very low | low-medium | very low | ? | ? | basic/traditional | ? | ? | no |
| Inertia pump, joggle pump | cyclic | 2m-4m | low-medium | medium-high | low-medium | ? | ? | traditional, industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Jet pump (water, air or stream) | continuous | 2m-20m | medium | low-medium | low-medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Mixed flow pump | continuous | 2m-10m | medium-high | medium-high | high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Propeller (axial flow) pump | continuous | 5m-30m | medium-high | medium-high | high | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |
| Rebound inertia | cyclic | 2m-60m | medium | medium-high | very low | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | yes |
| Resonating joggle pump | cyclic | 2m-10m | medium | medium-high | medium-high | ? | ? | traditional | ? | ? | no |

## Buoyancy pumps

| Pump type | Cyclic/continuous | Maximum lift height | Production cost | Efficiency | Output | Size of device | Fabrication requirements | Difficulty of production | Durability | Difficulty of repair | Suction lift ? |
| Airlift pump | Continuous (with collector) | 5m-50m | medium-high | low-medium | medium | ? | ? | industrial | ? | ? | no |

## Impulse Pumps

| Pump type | Cyclic/continuous ? | Maximum lift height | Production cost | Efficiency | Output | Size of device | Fabrication requirements | Difficulty of production | Durability | Difficulty of repair | Suction lift ? |
| Hydraulic ram | cyclic | 10m-100m | medium | low-medium | low | ? | requires flowing water as power source (e.g. river) | industrial | high | ? | no |
Note: reciprocating pumps are cyclic, rotary pumps are typically continuous.