Watering planters by hand with a bucket gets old fast. The Water Pump fixes that: drop it in a river, lake or the sea, give it a little power, and it pushes water down a hose to your sprinklers, purifiers and barrels on its own, all wipe long.
This water pump Rust guide covers the craft cost and blueprint, where you can place it, how much power it needs, the fresh water and salt water farm setups, how it compares to water catchers and purifiers, and the tips that keep your line running.
- What It Does
- Stats
- Craft Cost
- Placement
- Fresh Water Setup
- Salt Water Setup
- Power
- Vs Catchers
- Tips
- FAQ
What Does the Water Pump Do in Rust?
The Water Pump is an electrical deployable that pulls water out of whatever it is standing in. While it has power, it fills itself and pushes that water out through its output, which you connect to other water parts with the Hose Tool. Cut the power and it stops.
That makes it the heart of an automatic farm. A pump feeds sprinklers, sprinklers water your planters, and your hemp, berries, corn and pumpkins grow without you ever touching a bucket. It is also the only way to feed a Powered Water Purifier without hauling salt water by hand. For the basics of fresh, salt and radioactive water, read our Rust water guide.
The pump does not change the water it collects. Put it in a river and you get fresh water. Put it in the sea and you get salt water, which hurts plants and players until you purify it.
Rust Water Pump Stats
| Stat | Water Pump |
|---|---|
| Craft cost | 250 Wood, 200 Metal Fragments, 1 Gear |
| Workbench | Level 2 |
| Craft time | 30 seconds at Workbench 2, 15 seconds at Workbench 3 |
| Blueprint | 30 scrap to research, 30 scrap node on the Workbench 2 tech tree |
| Power draw | 5 rW |
| Health | 300 HP |
| Placement | Must be placed in a body of water (river, lake or ocean) |
| Water type | Same as the source: fresh from rivers and lakes, salt from the sea |
| Fresh water line | Up to 4 sprinklers from one pump |
| Recycle | 150 Wood, 120 Metal Fragments, 60% chance of 1 Gear |
| Shortname / Item ID | waterpump / -1284169891 |
The Powered Water Purifier is powered.water.purifier and the sprinkler is electric.sprinkler. Every ID is in our full Rust item IDs list.
How to Craft a Water Pump in Rust
- Get the blueprint. Put a water pump in a research table with 30 scrap, or unlock its node on the Workbench 2 branch of the tech tree for 30 scrap.
- Collect the materials. 250 wood, 200 metal fragments and 1 gear.
- Craft at a Workbench 2. It takes 30 seconds, or 15 seconds near a Workbench 3.
The gear is the only part that slows you down. Gears come from crates, barrels and recycling, and the same gears go into turbines and other Workbench 2 crafts, so keep one aside for each pump you plan to build.
Where to Place a Water Pump
The pump has to be placed in a body of water. It will not go down on dry ground or on a floor inside your base. Rivers and lakes are the best spots because they give fresh water you can use straight away. The ocean works too, but every drop it pumps is salt water.
- Pick a spot you can defend. The pump sits outside your walls by design, so build close to the water and keep the hose run short.
- Mind the tool cupboard. You need building privilege to place it, so the water’s edge should be inside your tool cupboard range.
- Lay the hose. Use the Hose Tool to connect the pump’s water output to the next part: a sprinkler, a purifier, a fluid splitter or a water barrel.
Fresh Water Pump Setup (River or Lake)
This is the setup most players should build. According to the Facepunch farming guide, all you need to do is power a pump in fresh water and plug its output straight into up to four sprinklers.
- Place the pump in a river or lake.
- Power it with at least 5 rW: a Water Wheel, a large solar panel, a battery or any generator. See the power section below.
- Hose it to your first sprinkler, then chain up to four sprinklers over your planters.
- Add a switch on the pump’s power wire so you can turn the water off. Planters do worst when soaked, so you do not want the line running non-stop on a wet map.
Sprinklers water every planter in their spray, so a pump with four sprinklers covers a full block of large planters. That is enough for a cloth farm, berries for scrap tea and ore tea, and corn and pumpkins for food.
Salt Water Pump Setup (Ocean)
On a coastal base with no river nearby, the sea is your only source. Salt water damages plants, so it has to go through a purifier first. The Facepunch farming guide recommends two water pumps plugged into one Powered Water Purifier, with the purifier’s output feeding up to four sprinklers.
- The Powered Water Purifier turns 2 ml of salt water into 1 ml of fresh water and uses 5 rW. That 2 : 1 ratio is why you need two pumps to keep it busy.
- The whole line uses 15 rW: 5 for each pump and 5 for the purifier.
- A water barrel between the purifier and the sprinklers is optional, but it stores spare water so the sprinklers keep going if the power dips.
How to Power a Water Pump
A pump only works while it has 5 rW. Here is how far each common power source goes. The numbers match our Rust solar panel and battery guide.
| Power source | Output | Pumps it can run | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Wheel | 30 rW | 6 | Needs a river, works day and night, no fuel. The best partner for a pump. |
| Large Solar Panel | 0 to 20 rW | Up to 4 at midday | Nothing at night. Add a battery to cover the dark. |
| Small Rechargeable Battery | 15 rW | 3 | Needs charging from a panel, turbine or generator. |
| Small Generator | 40 rW | 8 | Burns low grade fuel, so it costs you to run. |
| Wind Turbine | 0 to 150 rW | Many | Output depends on height and wind. |
A fresh water line (one pump) needs 5 rW. A salt water line (two pumps plus a purifier) needs 15 rW. If you share the power with an electric furnace or turrets, add their draw on top.
Water Pump vs Water Catchers and Purifiers
| Water source | Workbench | Needs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Pump | 2 | 5 rW, a body of water | A steady farm line in any weather |
| Large Water Catcher | 2 | Nothing, holds 50,000 ml | Bases far from water, rainy maps |
| Small Water Catcher | 1 | Nothing, holds 10,000 ml | Drinking water early in the wipe |
| Water Purifier | 1 | A fire, 4 salt : 1 fresh | Drinking water from the sea |
| Powered Water Purifier | 2 | 5 rW, 2 salt : 1 fresh | Turning a sea pump into a farm line |
Water catchers are free to run and can sit anywhere, but they only fill well in rain and fog. The pump costs power and has to be in the water, but it never runs dry. Many bases use both: catchers on the roof for drinking water, and a pump line for the farm.
Rust Water Pump Tips
- Build by a river. Fresh water skips the purifier entirely and needs a third of the power of a salt line.
- Pair it with a Water Wheel. One wheel runs six pumps with no fuel, day or night.
- Put a switch on the power. Turning the line off stops your planters getting waterlogged.
- Use a water barrel as a buffer. It keeps the sprinklers going through short power gaps.
- Split the line with a fluid splitter to feed two rows of planters from one pump.
- Lift it uphill. A Fluid Switch & Pump on 1 rW pushes the water up to sprinklers on a higher floor.
- Protect the pump. At 300 HP, one satchel charge breaks it. Wall it in or keep a turret on it.
- Recycle spares. A recycler gives back 150 wood, 120 frags and a 60% chance of the gear.
- Remember the wipe. Your pump, farm and blueprints all reset. Check when the next force wipe is.
Rust Water Pump FAQ
How do you craft a water pump in Rust?
The Water Pump costs 250 wood, 200 metal fragments and 1 gear at a Workbench 2. The craft takes 30 seconds, or 15 seconds at a Workbench 3.
How much scrap is the water pump blueprint?
Researching the water pump costs 30 scrap at a research table. Its node on the Workbench 2 tech tree also costs 30 scrap.
How much power does a water pump use in Rust?
A Water Pump uses 5 rW. A Powered Water Purifier also uses 5 rW, so two pumps and a purifier need 15 rW in total.
Where can you place a water pump in Rust?
It has to be placed in a body of water: a river, a lake or the ocean. It pumps whatever water it sits in, so rivers and lakes give fresh water and the ocean gives salt water.
How many sprinklers can one water pump run?
One powered pump on fresh water can run up to 4 sprinklers, according to the Facepunch farming guide. For salt water, use two pumps into a Powered Water Purifier and run up to 4 sprinklers from the purifier.
Can you use a water pump in the ocean?
Yes, but it pumps salt water, which hurts plants and players. Run it into a Powered Water Purifier first to turn it into fresh water.
How much health does a water pump have?
A placed Water Pump has 300 HP. A single satchel charge is enough to destroy it, so keep it walled in or covered by a turret.
What do you get from recycling a water pump?
A recycler returns 150 wood and 120 metal fragments, with a 60% chance to give the gear back.
Sources and Further Reading
- Description, recipe, power and health: Facepunch Wiki, Water Pump
- Pump, purifier and sprinkler layouts: Facepunch Wiki, Farming Basics
- Craft time, recycle yield and decay: RustHelp, Water Pump
- Farming setups and planters: Corrosion Hour, Rust Farming 2.0 Guide
- The water monument, not the item: Water Treatment Plant guide