On Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8:48:26 PM UTC-4, Home Guy wrote:
I've been looking around for a cheap pump that can I can use to move
water around from various 55-gallon rain-water collection drums. I'd
also like the pump to be able to develop some decent pressure to push
water to at least a single sprinkler head.

Spending more than $100 sort-of defeats the purpose of collecting rain
water to begin with, so something like a convertable jet-pump (minimum
$250 around here) is out of the question.

There are some 1/6 to 1/3 hp sump pumps that I can get for $50 to $75,
but I'd have to modify them so I can attach an inlet hose (most of my
drums are sealed with only a 2" opening at the top so the sump-pump
can't be dropped down into the drum).

So - can a sump pump be modified to be able to draw water from an inlet
line - or will priming it be a bitch? And can then generate enough
pressure (what - 20 to 40 psi?) to drive water through a 50-foot garden
hose and a single sprinker head?

I am writing from the future - long after this original post. I similarly wanted to know the approximate psi of an average or any hp sump pump. I arrived at this thread and found no answer but just bunch of guys saying, " We do not have the answer, because we are smarter than you, but here is a reference to a pump engineering guide that will help you calculate something."