Looking for alternative way to draw water from well

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

I am interested in an alternative method in addition to the electric pump on our well - something that can be used readily used in a power outage. Is there such an animal?

-- Cindy Hoffman (smoketownuniv@aol.com), October 18, 2001

Answers

No personal experience, but one of of my former customers had a crank in the basement that would fill a holding tank (about 100 gallons) It was alot of work, but it worked! Sorry I don't have the details, maybe someone else does.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), October 18, 2001.

Yes there is.

I am not sure exactly what it is called,(something like emergency pump) but Lehmans has it. It is a metal tube with a check valve on the bottom. When it is lowered into the well it opens to let in the water. When you lift it up the valve closes and holds the water. Works on any well with enough room to drop it down in. I believe it comes in several sizes.

For more info go to www.lehmans.com or call 888-438-5346, the paper catalog is worth the price if you are homesteading. They have everything, but they are not cheap. But if you need it and can't find it anywhere else it is worth it .

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), October 18, 2001.


Cindy, Check this out: http://www.motherearthnews.com/doityourself/diy180.pump.shtml

This article gives detailed instructions for making your own pump from PCV Pipe. Great Article. Hope this helps! Blessings, Renee

-- Renee at Briar Creek (ribcreek@juno.com), October 18, 2001.


We have a hand pump connected to our well. Not the small pitcher type pumps, they will only pull water from a very shallow well. Ours is about 4 feet tall, because our electric part of the well is a submersible pump it left room to drop pvc down beside it for the hand pump. With the hand pump up on a plat form it gives us gravity feed for water pressure. It is still alot of work, 20 strokes just to fill a 5 gallon bucket, it also has a regular hose connection on it, hard work but a heck of alot nicer than no water when you have stock!

Make sure you are well versed on what you are doing and disenfect all parts with bleach before you open your well head! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 19, 2001.


I use a pitcher pump on a 52 ft deep well. Had to get a reducer couple adapter to use 3/4 inch pvc instead of the normal 2 inch line and use a 3 ft cheater handle for leverage. It will pump a gallon in about eight strokes. Also Countryside had diagrams of the pvc slide pump in a back issue from last year.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair67@yahoo.com), October 19, 2001.


Lehman's also has another option...one that I'm about to have installed. It's a water diverter that you can install inline with your existing electric pump system. It allows you to use a hand pump, installed on the top of the well, to fill the pressure tank in your home (no water comes out of the hand pump--it goes directly to the pressure tank). That way, you can continue to get water from your faucets, etc., during a power outage. As above, though, I'm expecting it to be lots of work to draw up the water.

This is an expensive option, by the way. Lucky for me, the company that makes the diverter and pump is in the town next door, and I know someone that works there:>)

-- Sharon/WI (pinnow@inwave.com), October 19, 2001.


Countryside had a number of articles on drawing water from a well without electricity in Jan/Feb 1999 issue. We also have a booklet called The Country Water Supply. If you're interested in either, you can e-mail me personally.

-- Anne-marie (annemarie@tds.net), October 19, 2001.

I don't know what the layout of your land is, but, can you use a windmill? If so, I have a BowJon windmill for sale. It is about a year and a half old. Works well and can pump from a good depth. Ours is set at 300 ft. The reason we decided to sell is that we found out the hard way that we don't have the right situation. It is a combination of several factors. I am willing to tell you mre if your interested. Just e-mail with any questions.

-- Scott P (sppowers@townsqr.com), December 19, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ