Suffolk firm Broadwater Machinery has started bringing in this unusual Canadian-made Watermaster floating pump.

It’s a design that has been around for almost 50 years, says Broadwater’s James Stearn, but this is the first time it has come to the UK.

It weighs 36kg and uses a 5.5hp petrol engine. There’s no need for a suction hose – water simply passes through a series of 25mm inlet holes at the base of the pump. The design of the impeller means the pump can handle pretty much any liquid or sludge, says the company.

The discharge pipe is a 150mm diameter lay-flat type. A length of 60m is supplied so that the user can cut it to shape and a 120m length weighs about the same as the pump itself. It can also be easily rejoined by sliding one length over another.

Fixing the pipe to the pump is done in seconds, says the company, and flow rates at a 1.5m lift are said to be 3,180 litres (700gal)/min or 190,000 litres (42,000gal)/hour.

Cost of the pump plus 60m of pipe is £2,750.

See also Cold weather kit for chilly winters