Customer Reviews

Wayne RUP160 1/6-Horsepower 3,000 GPH Oilless Submersible Utility Water Pump

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Some Needed Info

Whenever I see such disparities in reviews, it makes me wonder why some individuals are having such poor results. One assumes that they must be doing something very wrong in order to have such a product not perform as expected. Yet my experience with the Wayne RUP160 1/6-Horsepower 3,000 GPH Oilless Submersible Utility Water Pump makes me appreciate both the positive and negative reviews.

First of all, according to the manufacturer:
1. At least ½ inch of water is needed to prime and operate the pump
2. The pump should not be operated if the water level is 3/8 inch or less
3. There is no mention of "the bottom suction can get water within 1/8-inch of the surface"
4. A discharge hose of 1-1/4 inches should be used
5. Despite a 3/4in. adjustable discharge adapter which connects to standard garden hose I couldn't find it listed that a garden hose would be acceptable
6. Do not allow pump to run dry. The shaft seal depends on water for lubrication. Operating pump without water will damage the shaft seal and cause pump failure.

So, after finding a "safe room" in our temporary rented home to have approximately 1 inch of stagnant water in it which was next to my bedroom I decided to get this pump to transfer water to a 2 foot holding tank (this was after purchasing to larger sump pumps including the Little Giant 6-CIA, 1/3 HP, 45 GPM - Automatic Submersible Sump Pump, 10' power cord (506168) which would then pump the water out a 1 ½ inch hose).

I purchased this pump with the Apex 15-Foot Connector Hose Remnants #REM 15 (which was listed as 5/8" x 15') which connected to the garden house adapter, drop it into the water and turned it on. I could hear the pump running but nothing was coming out my 15 foot hose which was lying on the ground. To be sure, I placed the pump in a 12 inch bucket of water and still no water was coming out the hose. Feeling confused and starting to feel that this room would never be dry I took off the hose, dropped the pump back into the 1 inch water and presto water started flying out the pump at least 4 or 5 feet and bouncing off the wall. I concluded the 15 foot hose was to long and cut the hose into but still no luck. I continued shortening the garden house until it was approximately 12 - 18 inches and finally got enough water flow to fill up my holding tank. Note I haven't hooked it up to a 1-1/4 inch discharge hose yet.

So my main conclusions would be:
1. Strongly consider using a 1-1/4 inch discharge hose for good results
2. If you are looking a water levels consistently less than ½ inches consider another pump
3. Prime the pump in at least ½ inches of water
4. Remember not to let the pump run dry

Addendum: Please see history above. On July 17, 2009 I took off the garden hose adapter and the 3/8 inch garden hose and used the Little Giant SDHK114 1-1/4 Inch-by-24-Foot Sump Pump Discharge Hose Kit and what a difference. This little pump was quickly pumping water at least 10 - 12 feet straight up with no problems.
I will therefore raise my rating to 4 stars and stress:
1. Use a 1 1/4 discharge hose
2. Minimum water level 3/8 to 1/2 inches
3. Don't run dry and the pump does not shut off automatically
4. I would forget about the garden hose and garden hose adapter

I purchased this submersible pump to replace another utility pump that had operated for 3 years plus in my small water garden. This pump has never been run dry as I have it installed in a skimmer box. I purchashed this pump in July 2009 and it has stopped working less than 3 months after installing. I contacted Wayne Water systems to ask why this pump is going bad. They stated that this is not a pond pump and is not rated for Continuous-Duty. However if you look on their website the RUP160 states "Continuous-Duty Pump You Can Take Anywhere". If you perform a search of "Water Garden" on their site there are 10+ pumps that come up to include the RUP160. I would not buy another product from Wayne Water systems as they have failed to honor their year warranty.

The pool was closed a month ago, and there had been some serious rainfall over the past few weeks. Nearly 2500 gallons of rainwater laid atop our pool cover (500 sq ft x 1 ft of water), and our old pool cover pump had died. The pump arrived yesterday (01Nov07), turned it on and 2.5 hours later, the pool cover was dry (1800 to 2030 hrs)! This job would have taken our old Jacuzzi (or the little giant) pool cover pump several hours to complete. This is a great buy! Equivalent utility pumps at the home depot and lowes are at least 2X the price!
The instructions were also very clear, with troubleshooting tips if the pump begins to malfunction. This was not available with our previous pool cover pumps, which we paid at least $100 for.
Rather than keeping this pump in the shed, it is now stored in a special place in the basement. All Hail the Wayne!

Easy to use, powerful, and extremely quiet. Pumps water like crazy, even through a 50 foot hose.

Hello, I bought this pump about 2 yrs ago to have on standby for the rare occasions when my basement flooded. I had no need to use it until about 2 months ago.........at that time, it did a good job and I had no complaints. Today, we had a big storm in the northeast, and once more my basement took on water. This time the pump would not work for me. It ran, and moved water without the hose attached, but once the hose was put in, the motor struggled, and it did not operate with enough power to move the water the appx 5 feet vertical ( at a 45 degree angle) I needed to get it out of the basement. I could feel the weight of the water in the hose up to about 3 ft, but that was as far as it would go. I called Wayne about this and they theorized it was the beginning of the motor failing. The woman told me it was nothing I had done wrong. She also told me the pump had a 1 yr warranty, and that was that. Never mind that this is only the second time I used it. The Wayne representative, while not overtly rude, was cold, robotic, and indifferent. Additionally, I was told that Wayne offers no repair service, so you are stuck with what you buy. These pumps are purchased for intermittent use, and to be ready when needed. What use are they in that regard if they are prone to fail after one use? And the Wayne phone rep I spoke with could use a lesson in cultivating customer relations. After this experience, I certainly will be buying no more Wayne products.

This pump works great for moving water around in my garden. I was looking for the oil-free kind so it would not kill any plants if there was an internal leak. I got 2 of em i use these pumps daily in my grey water system.
Plenty of power for garden use, but for bigger jobs, get a bigger pump with more horsepower. A great deal for only $50 shipped.

worked well to empty my hot tub. i picked it up once out of the water and it lost it suction when i put it back in the water. unplugged it and re pluged and it worked fine.

This pump functions quite well and could possibly run at the advertised 3000 gph rate. Some reviewers have commented that it does not. There are two sizes for the exit port: a standard 3/4" garden hose, and a larger diameter (I don't recall the size), with an adapter fitting in the large diameter port on which to thread a garden hose. If you remove the adapter and let the pump run with the larger exit port, the volume of water pumped by the Wayne RUP160 is tremendous. With the adapter in place, sure, it's probably around 100 gph, maybe up to 150 gph. Fit a large pipe to the outlet and the liquid blasts out of it like a fire hose.

Addendum (7/18): Now in use for ten days. Still works like a champ BUT...I measured the output (it's only at around 180-200 GPH, NOT 3000 like they state!) Granted the 75' hose is part of that 'issue' but, the hose is all down hill. Also, I now run it for 8-9 hours and virtually no issues, still purring like a kitten. So...if you need/want much more rapid output, this may not be the pump for you if you need to run a long hose. Works fine for our circumstance.

Ordered this pump on Tuesday, got it on Wednesday! Set it up on Thursday AM and ran it for 4 hours. Our use is a bit unusual - we have a horse riding ring with a ditch along one side. Normally, it drains on it's own but all the water we've gotten has overcome the system and it is flowing into the riding ring... the water is still coming into this ditch even after no rain for 4 days! Anyway - the pump started right up and the water flies thru a 75' garden hose. Works like a champ. I give it two hours off and run it another 4-5 hours....each day since...so, we're on day 3 and about 24 hours of actual use so far and it's still purring along! My wife is thrilled to have use of the riding ring again. Oh..and even after 75' it still has enough pressure to hook up a spray gun to water down the dust in a very dry section of the ring (go figure). We also plan on using it to get water out of rain barrels...

I purchased this multi-purpose water pump to replace my previous (and more expensive) Craftsman pump that died after 2 years of light use. The Wayne pump featured here has been impressive after a week of thorough use. The unit quickly clears a large in-ground pool cover (~30x15x8 ft) with some slight accommodations. I am pleased with the unit considering it was not solely designed for pool uses.

The important aspects:
- The water intake is through a grate at the very base of the unit.
- Unit has no on/off switch; plug it in and it starts. Unplug to turn off.
- Discharge is designed for a 1 1/4 in. hose - expect a performance hit if you do not use such a hose (this should be expected)
- Garden hose adapter works but use of a garden hose limits the throughput severely (but performance is acceptable considering)
- Submersible as advertised but limited by length of the power cord.
- Generous cord length (12 or 15 ft?)
- The unit is very quiet - I had to check if it was on the first time I plugged it in.
- The pump is heavy enough (8 lbs) despite plastic housing. It sinks on a pool cover somewhat but the hose line/power cable keep it aloft.
- The unit, being cylindrical, will tip easily on surfaces.
- I can't attest to long-term durability. A previous Craftsman pump was rubbish and this unit definitely outperforms from day 1 - here's hoping.

Overall the unit works well for me but the absence of some features/options may be too much of a problem for some. The lack of a power switch may seem moot but if you are moving a pump in a wet environment this becomes a hazard with often wet hands. An adapter to attach an intake hose, an automatic shutoff, and on/off switch would have made the unit much more versatile and desirable.

One last note for pool users: Another post advised taking a small bucket (empty chlorine bucket!) and drilling holes in it. Place the pump unit in the bucket and lower it in the water. This keeps the large debris (read: Leaves) away from the pump intake, makes it easier to lower/raise the pump, and keeps the pump a bit more stable. Considering mounting the unit into the bucket to keep it from tipping. I still grant the unit 4 stars as the performance is excellent and I probably expect too much for the price.