Submersible Pump

A submersible pump is a multi-stage centrifugal pumpset directly coupled to an electric motor, both housed in a sealed enclosure that operates fully submerged inside a tubewell or borewell. It is the standard groundwater-lifting device in Indian agriculture for irrigation depths beyond about 30 metres.

Function

The motor drives a stack of centrifugal impellers in series; each stage adds head, allowing the pumpset to lift water against high static heads from deep bores. The unit is suspended on the rising main, with its power cable strapped alongside. Water enters through a strainer at the suction, passes through the impeller stack, and is discharged into the rising main.

Design and specifications

BIS IS 8034 (second revision, 2002) prescribes technical requirements for clear-cold-water submersible pumpsets used in tubewells. Indian commercial pumps typically have stainless-steel construction with copper-wound radial-flow motors, single- or three-phase supply, and are sold in 0.5-60 HP capacities with 3-10 inch outer diameters. Major manufacturers include Kirloskar, CRI, Texmo and V-Guard. Many models carry BEE star ratings under the agricultural pump energy-efficiency programme.

Operation

The pumpset is lowered into the borewell on the rising main, with electrical connections made at the wellhead. Control is via a starter panel at the pumphouse; remote control is widely retrofitted using a Gsm Mobile Pump Starter or Gsm Motor Starter. The pump must operate fully submerged; running it dry damages the motor.

Subsidy and adoption

Submersible pumpsets are eligible under several DBT-agriculture, PMKSY and state irrigation schemes; energy-efficient BEE-star variants attract additional Discom incentives. Adoption is essentially universal in deep-borewell irrigation across western and southern India.

References

IS 8034 (2002) Submersible Pumpsets. Bureau of Indian Standards.
Agricultural Water Pumps. Kirloskar Brothers Limited.