Manual Water Pump
A manual water pump comes in handy not only for draining out the excess water out of your pool,spa or basement in case of a flood, it can also be used to empty your rain barrel or a rain chain of barrels.
The biggest advantage of a manual water pump is that you don't need any electrical power so no matter where you are you will be able to use it.
When all else fails,you still have the power of your arms.A manual water pump is ideal for living off the grid or in case of a power outage.
You may have a rain chain or a rainwater cistern or if you are stuck and don't have electrical power to pump excess water out of your rain barrel,that's where a manual water pump will become your best friend.
Some hand powered water pumps might offer you the option of hooking up a drill to turn the crank in case your arm gets tired.
The manual water pump is of course very handy when there's no electrical power or when you simply don't want to make any noise and bother the neighbors.
Portable Electric Pump
A portable electric pump might be better if you are in a hurry to empty your rain barrel or pump the water between containers.
It may have a clip just like a belt clip that lets you hook them on the side of the barrel so you can switch them from one rain barrel to the other.
This type of pump with a power cord can weigh less than 5 pounds,so it's very light to carry it around the garden anywhere else you might need it.A portable electric pump doesn't go inside a rain barrel.
Some pumps are submersible,but I prefer the clip on ones,less of a hassle of opening the lid on your rain barrel.The electric pump uses an intake hose to draw water from the water barrel,and this hose can be dropped inside your water barrel or attached to your spigot(faucet). Always try to keep things as simple as possible!
Battery Powered Pump
A battery powered pump also known as a submersible pump can be placed inside your rain barrel to pump the water out.There might be a time when you don't have electrical power,you're in a hurry,but you don't want to use a manual water pump,that's when you can use something like the Water Buster Power Pump©, this is an example of a battery powered pump.
This pump is completely submersible as it's sealed to marine specifications and since it's battery operated you don't have to worry about getting any electrical shocks.
The pump is equipped with three d-cell batteries so you can pump water continuously for up to 5 hours at 200 gallons/hour.
There are other similair products out there,I mention this one since it's a no hassle pump,easy to use,small and relatively light.If you really want to go green weather you have one rain barrel or a rain chain,go with a manual water pump.
