Hello, :)

We are going to look at some land today--yet again. It has 2 good springs. One was used to provide water for the home but for some reason the guy pulled all the pipes out.

I understand the principle of how to do this but wondered if there was anywhere I could see how to do it. Hubby is concerned about needing a pump. I mentioned gravity but he said we'd have no water pressue then.

I need a good info source that will make sense to him as I rarely do (make sense that is).

Thanks for the help!

Kathleen in AR

-- Kathleen (krob777@msn.com), February 13, 2002

Answers

Kathleen, (I love your name!) My father and I are working on an old house on his farm in TN. The spring is about 600 yards away from the house, and up on the mountain. By the time the water gets to the house, the pressure is adequate to run washer, bathroom, and kitchen. It would all depend on distance and drop to the house. Evidently, if they've done this before, it must have worked. It sounds like all you may need to do, is clean out the spring, and install new black pipe. Good luck!

-- Judy in IN (whileaway3@cs.com), February 13, 2002.

Water presure is a function of drop in elevation from the source to the destination and the pipe diamater. I think I have some info at home but will have to check tonight

-- Gary in Ohio (gws@columbus.rr.com), February 13, 2002.

Water gains pressure from its own weight, 40 something % of a pound per foot of drop. A 100 foot drop gives just over 40 pounds of pressure at the delivery. Run the biggest pipe/tube that is practile for the most quanity before reducing to home size pipe. Install a trash screen at the entry and a "T" fitting with a gate valve at its bottom to trap sand or other debris before entering the house pipe.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), February 13, 2002.

Even if the drop does not give you enough head to pressurize your system, you can easily install a pressure tank with a small pump to do that. Just a bit more plumbing, a bit of wiring, a bit of expense and you will have consistent stable pressure. If the head is too high, then you will need a way to reduce the pressure for your household plumbing.

Good luck.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), February 13, 2002.

Is it legal to use a spring for water where you are? Here in Minnesota they even strongly discourage shallow wells for the last 20 years, much less a spring. I don't think you could get a house permit for that. There may have been a reason the old pipes were pulled, I'd look into all that before depending on getting it going again.

The others have good advise on how to do it physically, I think you get 2# of pressure for every foot of fall, but you have to subtract away pipe resistance which depends on diameter & length & # of elbows. If you have a shallow fall, think bigger pipe! :) If you can't generate 20 lbs or more, the simple 110 volt pump & pressure tank will work well.

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), February 13, 2002.

There a good information on Hydraulic Ram Pump which need no eletric,it can pump to your house. check it out in the internet and you may find some good information. Bruce in Virginia

-- Bruce Westfall (westfall@cstone.net), February 18, 2002.