Humble student seeks Pump Guru

[bokken]

Hi-

I am trying to figure how to best get a hand water pump set up next to an existing electric one on a 85 ft deep well; and to understand the differences between the various types and brands of handpumps. I went to a well company and they told me that the best ones are made of bronze and cost about $2500- yikes! If you know about this stuff and are willing to give me an hour or so of instruction, I could trade some woodworking or carpentry (35 years exp) or just buy you lunch.

thanks, Mark

827-1101

[Braggi]

Hi-

I am trying to figure how to best get a hand water pump set up next to an existing electric one on a 85 ft deep well; and to understand the differences between the various types and brands of handpumps. ...

Mark, dare I ask what your purpose is?

-Jeff

PS. 85 feet is a long way to pump water by hand.

[Braggi]

... PS. 85 feet is a long way to pump water by hand.

OK, I thought about it for about two minutes and realized I could design a pump that could do it pretty cheaply. Then I did a search and found these guys: Simple Pump Company -- Hand Pumps -- Hand Lever Pumps, Small Motorized Pumps, Solar Powered Pumps -- Hand Pumps -- Water Pumps

Check it out and let us know what you think.

-Jeff

[Bryan]

If the well head is big enough to take a separate opening, you can install a second pump. Most well heads though are just big enough for the one pipe and usually the pressure relief valve for the electric motor.
Older wells (bucket wells) have large well caps and you would cut through the cement cap (carbide drill) and simply drop the pipe down.
Nowadays the well installers require schedule 80 but this would not be necessary for a manual pump - schedule 40 would be fine and save a lot of money. Make sure you have a rope attached to the pipe so you don't lose it while finishing the connection to the bottom of the pump. There would also be some sort of rubber gasket applied to the bottom of the pump itself to make a snug fitting. I dont know if there is something available but probably the pump manufacturer sells the proper seals. They would have better advice on installation as well. The local well pump supply houses DON'T do these kinds of pumps so they won't have much to offer in terms of help.

Are you installing this to save electricity? Or for emergency use?

Well pumps normally don't use much electricity for a household use.
For irrigation they can use more but still not a lot unless watering a large lawn (think acreage).

For emergency use, you would probably be better off with buying a storage tank above ground that would provide water when the power was off.

85 feet is not very deep and the manual pumps can definitely bring up the water. You'll need to setup a bypass valve on top so you can isolate the output of the two pumps going into the house. That is simple plumbing problem.

Hi-

I am trying to figure how to best get a hand water pump set up next to an existing electric one on a 85 ft deep well; and to understand the differences between the various types and brands of handpumps. I went to a well company and they told me that the best ones are made of bronze and cost about $2500- yikes! If you know about this stuff and are willing to give me an hour or so of instruction, I could trade some woodworking or carpentry (35 years exp) or just buy you lunch.

thanks, Mark

827-1101