Deep Well • Rural Water Supply • Farms • Pacific Islands • Diesel-Powered
Diesel borehole pumps for reliable water extraction.
Custom-built diesel borehole pump sets for underground wells, rural properties, farms and Pacific Island water supply — designed for simplicity, durability and years of trouble-free operation.
A borehole pump needs to do one job well: extract water from underground, reliably, day after day, with minimal maintenance. Shaw Diesels builds diesel-powered borehole pump sets in-house, pairing Lister Petter diesel engines with Mono progressive cavity pumps on fabricated steel base frames.
Every unit is built to match your bore — depth, yield, water quality and site conditions all determine the engine size, pump selection and drive configuration. We supply new borehole pump sets built to your specification, reconditioned units, and full rebuild and repair services for existing installations.
How a diesel borehole pump works.
A surface-mounted diesel engine drives a downhole pump to extract water from depth.
A diesel borehole pump set consists of a surface-mounted diesel engine connected to a progressive cavity pump installed down the bore. The engine drives the pump via a drive shaft or rod string, drawing water up from the aquifer to a surface discharge point — typically a storage tank, trough or pipe network.
The beauty of a diesel borehole pump is its independence from mains electricity. In remote locations, rural properties and Pacific Island communities where grid power doesn’t reach, a diesel pump set is often the only practical solution for extracting groundwater.
Who needs a borehole pump?
Anyone extracting water from an underground bore or well where mains electricity isn’t available, isn’t reliable, or isn’t cost-effective to install.

Pacific Island communities
Village water supply, community wells and island infrastructure where grid power doesn’t exist.

Rural properties & lifestyle blocks
Domestic water supply from a private bore where the property is off-grid or too remote for mains power.

Farms & stations
Stock water supply from deep bores for dairy, sheep, beef and cropping operations.

Remote & off-grid sites
Mining camps, construction sites, DOC facilities and remote infrastructure.

Emergency & disaster response
Portable borehole pump sets for civil defence and humanitarian water extraction.
Built for simplicity.
Simple enough for anyone to operate. Tough enough to run for years.
Shaw Diesels builds borehole pump sets that are deliberately simple. Air-cooled Lister Petter diesel engines with hand-crank starting — no batteries, no electrics, no complications. The only routine maintenance is oil and filter changes.
This simplicity is by design. Many of our borehole pumps operate in remote locations where there are no mechanics, no spare parts shops and no electrical supply. The pump needs to be operated and maintained by the people who use it, with basic hand tools and locally available consumables.
- Hand-start — hand-crank starting, no batteries or electrical system required
- Air-cooled — no radiator, no coolant, no water pump to fail
- Lister Petter engines — proven, fuel-efficient diesels built for remote and harsh environments
- Mono pumps — progressive cavity pumps designed for continuous borehole duty
- Steel base frame — fabricated in-house, bolted to a concrete pad on site
- Minimal maintenance — oil, filters and basic checks are all that’s needed

Borehole pump service and support.
Shaw Diesels provides full lifecycle support for borehole pump sets — from initial site assessment and specification through to installation, commissioning, scheduled servicing and eventual rebuild or replacement.
- Site assessment — we assess your bore, water requirements and site conditions to specify the right pump set
- Custom fabrication — every unit built in-house to match your specific application
- Installation & commissioning — delivered, installed and tested on your site
- Scheduled servicing — regular maintenance to keep your pump running reliably
- Emergency repairs — fast response when your water supply goes down
- Rebuilds — full engine and pump rebuild when the hours add up
- Genuine parts — Lister Petter and Mono parts in stock or sourced to order
Sales, parts, service and custom builds.
Shaw Diesels supports every borehole pump set we build — from fabrication through to ongoing maintenance.
Irrigation & Water Pumps
Diesel-powered borehole pumps for underground wells, rural properties, farms and Pacific Island communities.
Custom-Built Pumps
Custom-fabricated pump sets for slurry, concrete, dewatering, effluent and industrial applications where a standard unit won’t do.
Repairs & Servicing
Scheduled servicing, emergency repairs and engine overhauls for diesel pump sets across New Zealand.

