I need to pump the water from the brook behind the barn to the stock tank. The brook is down a bank behind the barn. It is a rented barn and there is NO power available or plumbing. We had a gasoline powered pump but NOW it no longer works!! The new ones are almost $300. I can't afford that as we a saving for our move. We are carring buckets to fill the stock tank and water buckets for the horses. I can't lead them to the brook, So I have to come up with a way to get the water to them. Help!!

-- PJC (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), September 06, 2001

Answers

I remember one of the Salatin books mentioning bilge pumps: those pumps that go in boats to pump the water out of the boat. Apparently they are cheap, run on twelve volts, and pump a lot of water a short height.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), September 06, 2001.

PJC, I don't know how steep the grade is to the creek from the barn, but have you considered a water ram? It doesn't use electricity at all.

-- Judy in IN (Whileaway3@cs.com), September 06, 2001.

Check out: Water Ram Theory

and

Homemade Water Ram Plans

-- Steve in So. WI (alpine1@prodigy.net), September 06, 2001.

How much of a rise between the barn and the creek? How far away. How fast is the brook? Can you make a water wheel and just run it down a trough?

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), September 06, 2001.

I think Gary is definitely on to something. . .

If the height of the brook elevation is HIGHER than the stock tank; then you are in luck. Water seeks its own level when flowing from one site to another. If you run a garden hose from the brook to the trough, the water level at the both ends of the hoses should match, no?

You would have to start the action by applying suction at the trough, but then it should work by itself. I once drained a 50 gallon fish tank INSIDE a house that was elevated three feet above the floor. I simply ran a hose outside, "sucked" the hose outlet and the water drained out onto the lawn.

Try a small scale model and see if this works. Hope this helps.

-- j. r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), September 06, 2001.

I've just got to ask. Who or how did you "suck" the dirty aquarium water to get it all going?

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), September 06, 2001.

Just as described ma'am . . . I closed my hand around the end of the hose, placed my mouth on the opposite end, and took "a great big DRAG!" You gotta apply enough suction to raise the water over ANY elevations between the hoses (sorry, didn't read the beginning of the question well enough). Beats the heck out of dipping with a buck, taking forever and a day.

Got a big laugh from my co workers, though. They said, "Boy, J.R., you really suck at this!" LOL.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), September 06, 2001.

The brook is below the barn maybe 20' away or so from the tank. Maybe 10' below the tank I just guess-timating. I can't suck that far!:) The stream can be from slow and narrow to a rushing torrent after a rain. Someone mentioned a bilge pump from a boat. I was thinking I could put clips on it to hook it to my car battery and a hose on the end and put it in the brook! Has anyone used a pump of this type??

-- pjc (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), September 06, 2001.

A good bilge pump might do the trick but not a cheap one! The 'lift' required on a small boat is only 3 feet or so.

Have you got a tractor? A PTO drive to the defunct gasoline pump might be worth considering.

-- john hill (john@cnd.co.nz), September 07, 2001.

I do not think a bildge pump will work. They are made to pump a lot of water but not high. John Hill gave you good advice. Perhaps a water ram or fix your old one. Good luck

-- ed (edfrhes@aol.com), September 07, 2001.

Is the gas powered pump so far gone that it cannot be repaired? Is it the pump or the gas engine which is bad?

-- Yup (Yup@nospam.com), September 07, 2001.

How far upstream would you have to go to reach a point where the water is above the level of the tank? If not too far you could run a garden hose from that point into the tank. You will only get a trickle though due to the friction but running 24 hours a day it should do a lot of "bucket equivalents"

-- john hill (john@cnd.co.nz), September 07, 2001.

You don't have to suck to get a siphon started. All you need is water in the hose, all the way from the water you want to move, to below the height of the water surface (or below where the water surface will be when you finish, if you're emptying something). Submerge the hose, making sure it's full of water with no bubbles of air. Stick your thumb over the end of the hose. Bring that end of the hose out, over whatever you need the water to get over, and below the height of the water surface. Release thumb: water will run.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), September 07, 2001.

Would it perhaps fit into your lifestyle to create a contraption that uses a hand-pump to pump water out of the creek into a barrel parked ten feet high overhead? A hose could run from the bottom of the barrel to the tank. Admittedly, this works better if you have a young warm body in your household that is bursting at the seams with excess energy.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), September 07, 2001.

The history of the California gold fields will give you plenty low tech. ideas for lifting water or you could go further back to the days of the Pharoahs and make a shadoof.

-- John Hill (john@cnd.co.nz), September 07, 2001.

I pump water about 50 yards out of a pond for my dogs and chickens with the use of a 12 volt dc pump from a farm supply store for about $50.00 dollars. Use regular garden hose and it there is sun available a solar cell from Northen Hyd. is enough to keep the battery charged. The solar cell is approx. $ 70.00 and mine has been use for 8 years with no trouble. Use a two way splitter on one end of the hose to allow easy priming of the pump, a short piece of hose with the end in a bucket of water works well. Same setup for solar shower works too.

-- jim phillips (jhphillips@ccrtc.com), September 09, 2001.