Design parameters, like blade number, blade outlet angle and impeller outlet diameter, affect pump performance and energy consumption. Deep well pumps with splitter blades (DWPwsb) are manufactured to achieve energy saving and improve efficiency. Splitter blades are generally located at the centerline of the main blades. Blade number and blade discharge angle should be conveniently determined when splitter blades are used on the impellers. In this study, impellers having different numbers of blades (z = 5, 6, 7) with and without splitter blades (35%, 60% and 80% of the main blade length) were tested in a deep well pump. Tests have been conducted on a total of 12 impellers, and the characteristics of deep well pumps without splitter blade (DWPwosb) and DWPwsb were obtained experimentally. These results show that splitter blades cause negative effects on pump performance in impellers with blade numbers of 6 and 7. When the splitter blade is added to the impeller with the blade number of 5, the efficiency increases with flow up to 10 l/s flow rate, after which it decreases as the splitter blade length increases. The highest efficiency and the lowest energy consumption were obtained in DWPwsb with 80% of the main blade length. At the best efficiency point (b.e.p), an energy saving of 6.6% and an improvement of 1.14% in efficiency were achieved. An analysis of the additional cost of the splitter blade and the application in an agricultural area were performed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.