A drum pump is the compact end of the range: an alloy venturi head that screws into a standard drum bung and turns the drum into a vacuum. Two fittings, a hose and an air line, and a site has fluid recovery capability without buying a machine.
Installation takes a few minutes. The pump body screws into one bung; a camlock set goes into the second, larger bung; the suction hose connects to the camlock. Open the air and the pump evacuates the drum, and from then on anything the hose reaches is drawn in.
What a small venturi pump can lift
The entry pump is the one that surprises people. At 20 CFM it will reach around 17" Hg, which is enough for sump oil, coolant and grease, and it does that on an air supply a modest workshop compressor can sustain. The larger heads exist for volume and for thick material rather than for raw vacuum.
| 20 CFM | Low air, high vacuum. Sumps, coolant, oil, grease |
|---|---|
| 30 CFM | General fluid recovery at greater volume |
| 40 CFM | Heavier fluids and longer hose runs; the usual explosion proof size |
| 60 CFM | Sludge and high-volume transfer |
| Vacuum | Up to around 17" Hg |
| Drum fitment | 44 / 55 gallon and 205 / 210 litre steel drums |
| Modes | Vacuum only, or two-way with reverse pump out |
| Shut-off | Float valve closes the air automatically as the drum fills |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Two-way pumps, and why the drum stays safe
The reversible heads carry a second air inlet. Switch across and compressed air is directed into the drum, pushing the contents back out through the drop pipe and the hose. The drum cannot be over-pressurised because the venturi throat is never sealed — excess air leaves the way it came in, continuously.
Emptying is therefore the same job as filling, done in the other direction, with the same hose and no lifting. On an oil change bay or a machining cell, that is the whole business case.
Explosion proof configuration
Where the fluid is flammable or the area is classified, the pump is specified as a bonded assembly. The differences are deliberate and all of them matter:
- 38 mm anti-static suction hose in place of standard hose, with the helix terminated at both ends.
- Metal fittings throughout — steel reducing bush rather than poly, metal camlock, metal hose tail.
- Chrome wand and metal floor tool instead of plastic rods and crevice tools.
- Grounding strap from the assembly to a verified earth point.
- Certification under the ATEX directive and UKCA EX, applied to the assembly.
Screwing a certified pump into a drum does not by itself ground anything reliably. The drum has to be steel, the strap has to be connected, and the drum has to be standing where it can actually reach earth — not on a pallet or a rubber mat.
What comes in the box
- Alloy drum pump body with silencer.
- Control valves — vacuum, and reverse on two-way models.
- Male and female metal camlocks, hose tail and clamps.
- Reducing bush or elbow to suit the drum bung.
- Suction hose, suction rod and crevice tool sized to the model.
- Instruction sheet and 5 year warranty.
If the volume is beyond what a bung-mounted pump can handle, the next step up is a full lid assembly — see drum lid vacs — or a drum top head with a much larger intake.