A borehole pump hangs on three things: the drop pipe that carries the water up, the submersible pump cable that carries power down, and the safety rope that holds the pump if anything else lets go. Get the sizes wrong and the motor runs hot, the pipe splits or the pump ends up at the bottom of the hole. Cable and pipe are sold by the metre and in rolls, and the right size depends on the pump, the depth and the distance. Send one request and independent pump shops near you quote you directly.
Drop cable and why length matters
Submersible drop cable is usually flat, sometimes round, and made to stay under water for years. It is sized to the motor current and the length of the run, from the control box all the way down to the motor. The longer the run, the more voltage is lost along the cable, and a motor that gets too little voltage runs hot, struggles to start and can burn out. Deep holes and control boxes far from the borehole need thicker cable. The installer or electrician works out the size from the motor rating and the full length, so give them the pump depth and the distance across the surface.
Joints and splice kits
The drop cable is joined to the short motor lead on the pump, and that joint spends its life under water. It is sealed with a splice kit, heat shrink or a resin joint, made carefully so no water can creep in. A badly made joint is a common cause of a pump that trips, and finding it means pulling the pump. If your borehole is far from town, keep a spare splice kit; it is one of the parts on our pump spares page.
Drop pipe: HDPE and steel column
Most domestic pumps hang on HDPE poly pipe, which is light, comes in long rolls with few joints, and is rated in classes for pressure. The deeper the pump, the higher the pressure in the pipe near the bottom, so deeper sets need a higher class; the supplier matches the class to the depth and the pump's head. Pipe is joined with compression fittings, and the joint at the pump outlet must be secure. Big, heavy sets on farms and in industry often hang on steel column pipe in screwed lengths, lifted with a crane truck. See deep well pumps for heavier sets.
Rope, clamps and the borehole cap
- Safety rope: stainless or nylon, tied to the pump and secured at the top, so the pump can be lifted if the pipe breaks.
- Cable ties or clamps: hold the cable to the pipe every few metres so it does not tangle or chafe.
- Borehole cap: holds the pipe at the top and keeps out dirt, insects and surface water.
- Pipe to the tank: HDPE from the borehole head to the tank or house, often buried.
Cable theft is a problem in many areas, so burying the surface cable in conduit and locking the cap helps. For the whole job, see borehole pump installation.
What to put in your request
- Pump kW rating and single or three phase
- The depth the pump hangs at
- Distance from the borehole to box and tank
- Cable, pipe, rope or all three
- Joint kits, cap and clamps needed
Pump Cable and Pipe for homes, farms and businesses
- Homeowners: new cable, pipe and rope for a garden borehole pump going back down
- Smallholdings and plots: a longer cable run so the control box can move closer to the house
- Farms: heavier cable and column pipe for a deep three phase borehole
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: replacement drop pipe and cable for a communal borehole after a split
- Offices, shops, hotels and lodges: pipe from a lodge borehole to tanks on a stand, buried in a trench
- Factories, plants and depots: cable and pipe for a factory borehole and its line to the plant
- Mines and quarries: column pipe and heavy cable for site water boreholes
- Municipalities, schools and clinics: replacement cable for village boreholes after cable theft
- Contractors and drillers: an installer buying cable and pipe by the roll for several installs
Frequently asked questions
Do you sell cable and pipe yourselves?
What size submersible cable do I need?
How is submersible cable priced?
Can I reuse the old pipe and cable with a new pump?
Pump Cable and Pipe by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg