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health/water-pumps.htm
Three water pumps that you can build yourself using simple commonly available materials for less than $20. |
These pumps are based on common water pumping techniques, and have actually been built and tested in one of the monasteries wells. These pumps are extremely simple and inexpensive to build and operate.
For those who have visited before, we have added a piston pump, and modified the plans for the bubble pump to reflect an improved design.
The check-valve pump is the simplest of these pumps to make, and will pump water through a hose to where it is needed, but for the effort expended it moves less water than the other pumps. This pump can be put together in a few minutes without tools.
The bubble pump is easy to make and operate, but may not be suitable for all wells since it requires a lot of pipe under the water. It has no moving parts inside the well. This pump can be assembled in a few minutes.
Because the bubble pump runs by air pressure, the source of the air can be located some distance away from the well. (A windmill on top of the barn could pump the air, or you could pump from inside the house to be out of the elements.) You will need 0.43 psi of air pressure for each foot of water above the outlet of your air tube.
The operation of this pump is gentle, and I often sit for long periods of time, meditating while engaging in the gentle aerobic rhythm of the pump. (We use it to fill a pond.)
Theory
This pump works because the air carries water with it as it rises through the lift tube. This pump works best when 60% of the length of the pump is submerged, so it requires a well that is deep enough to accommodate the pump.
This is the water pumping technique used by the pioneers, and moves a lot of water in a hurry. It is the hardest of the pumps to make, and requires some tools and mechanical aptitude, but once the shopping is done, you can build it in an hour.
How deep will these pumps work to?
In theory, as deep as you like. In reality, there are some practical limits, for example if it is 60 feet down to the water level, then the bubble pump needs 90 feet of pipe under the water. Many folks wouldn't drill an extra 90 feet after they hit a reliable source of water...
With the check-valve pump, you have to lift the entire column of water with each stroke, so it eventually gets too heavy to move. You could rig up a lever to support the weight.
Perhaps the main limitation on these pumps is that they are operated by people power.
How Deep is your well?
We are pumping water from about 9 feet below ground level.
Which is easier to use?
The bubble pump is easiest to use. The piston pump moves the most water for the amount of effort expended.
Other Sites
A visitor pointed out to us that Noah's Ark has plans for a check-valve pump. Please visit http://www.millennium-ark.net/News_Files/INFO_Files/Hand_Pump.html since the plans are very nice, and there is more detail about performance than we have here. The site says that check-valve pumps remain workable down to about 75 feet, at which point they become too heavy for one person.
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