well pump

[DAT19K]

anybody have any ideas or experience with getting water out of the well if there is a loss of electricity? i built a "bucket" out of pvc pipe w/ a flapper valve and cap on the bottom. i was wondering about hand pumps on the market.

[Bugflipper]

The depth of the well is needed so folks can give a more accurate answer. There are quite a few solutions but they decrease with depth.
Have a good day.

[keith44]

anything much over 25 feet and you're gonna need some kind of positive displacement pump and a motor or engine power.

[blind ear]

Manual surface suction pumps won'tlift water over 33 ft, one atmosphere of pressure. For pumping from the water level the weight of the water colomn the weight of the pump mechanism (if manual) and the rate of delivery all play a part.
-
How deep is the water underground?
do you plan to use an electric or manual pump system?
How many gallons per minute do you need?
-
ear

[bilmac]

There are two types of hand pumps. The chieper "pitcher pump" has it's cylinder in the pump body, so it relys on a vacuum to work. Like Kieth says it will only lift water 25'.
 
 But the pumps that are chest height and ment to be installed over the well have their cylinders at the bottom of the well, so theoretically they can lift water from the center of the earth. This is the same set up as windmills use, just different ways of applying the power. Water drains back when not being used so they don't freeze.
 
Solar pumps are becoming more reliable now. They can be fairly affordable, or pretty pricy, it all depends on how far you have to lift water and how much you want.
 
 If you look at solar I would not consider any that had batteries in the system. We installed several that just ran when the sun was shining. With a system like this we stored water rather than storeing electricity in a battery. A more low tech and sustainable way of doing things.

[Lloyd Smale]

I keep a pitcher pump ready and also have my generator to use until the fuel is all gone.

[DAT19K]

i believe it is 110'. i want something simple and low tech as possible and that can be in place with my primary electric pump. not sure what is realistic number as far as how much water i would need in case the electricity goes down. i guess it would depend on how long or if even the electricity was restored. 4 adults, couple horses, couple dogs. i'm not "well" versed in this subject. i appreciate the input and education.

[keith44]

i believe it is 110'. i want something simple and low tech as possible and that can be in place with my primary electric pump. not sure what is realistic number as far as how much water i would need in case the electricity goes down. i guess it would depend on how long or if even the electricity was restored. 4 adults, couple horses, couple dogs. i'm not "well" versed in this subject. i appreciate the input and education.

Get a generator, and a spare deep well pump

[Ranch13]

Solar pump with generator backup.

[hillbill]

if you have a normal cased well with pipe and wire running down the center of the caseing, then you are not going to be dropping any well buckets or other devices down the caseing to get water.the pipe and the torque arresters around the pipe will not allow it.you could easily pull the pump,pipe and wire and then drop a bucket down it.
 
the best option is as mentioned. a nice quality generator. find out what size pump you have if you can then you can see what kw generator you will need to run it. it is very easy just to find the circuit used for the well pump in your breaker box and energize it with the generator and the well will work like normal. be sure you shut off the main breaker at the meter pole so you dont backfeed down the line and injure someone.

[Ranger99]

   there is a pump called "simplepump"
that is supposed  to go way past 100 feet.


when I get the funds, I'll have one.

[tacklebury]

Interesting.  Just adding link to it.  Thanks for throwing the name out there
 
http://www.simplepump.com/

[hillbill]

Interesting.  Just adding link to it.  Thanks for throwing the name out there
 
http://www.simplepump.com/
[/quote
 
that is a good looking product! but it looks like yu need to have your pipe run over the top of the well to attach to it. does it work with a pitless adapter in place?my well has a pitless adapter where the pipe comes out of the caseing 3 ft under the ground on its way to the pressure tank to avoid freezeing.

[Ranger99]

uh. . . . . . .
that part i couldn't say.
around here in northeast Texas,
all of the works( pressure tank,well head,
ect.) gets built into a well house to guard
against weathering,vandalism,etc.
i do know those folks that make that are in
nevada close to where folks go snow skiing
at, so i'm sure there is some provision for
cold climates. my interest was in the ability
to manually pump water in times of electrical
power loss other than dependence on a generator
or electrical power of any kind.


(and simplepump was the most rugged and
durable looking of the kind i had seen)

[Ranger99]

also. . . by lowering a bored well bucket
down the casing of a deep well with a
submersible pump, you run some risk
of losing your bucket, possible damage
to piping or wires. . . . .
not worth the risk to have to have the
well service company come out and drag
all 100 some-odd feet of pipe and wiring
(my buddy's well is 500 feet) to recover
your lost bucket and/or repair wiring or
pipes and maybe have to replace an
expensive pump. . . .


just sayin'

[keith44]

also. . . by lowering a bored well bucket
down the casing of a deep well with a
submersible pump, you run some risk
of losing your bucket, possible damage
to piping or wires. . . . .
not worth the risk to have to have the
well service company come out and drag
all 100 some-odd feet of pipe and wiring
(my buddy's well is 500 feet) to recover
your lost bucket and/or repair wiring or
pipes and maybe have to replace an
expensive pump. . . .


just sayin'

 


pulled my dads pump from 130 feet several times.  PITA but not a big deal, keep the flex pipe and wires lashed together, and a rope (nylon) fastened to the pump.  Replace the rope every 5 years. Wires need inspection at that interval anyway.

[Ranger99]

just sayin'. . . . .

[keith44]

you are right about lowering a bucket into a cased well while the pump is in place, but pulling a Jet pump or deep well pump is not so big a deal that the do it yourselfer can't pull their own, with the help of two friends or neighbors.

[SHOOTALL]

A 1 inch pipe with a check valve worked up and down can get waret out of a well .
When you figure how high you will lift water it is only from the top of the water to where you need it.  The intake , pump or foot valve could be 400 ft in the ground but it water filled the casing to with in 50 ft of the ground the you only pump 50 ft + what ever you need above ground. The pipe fills on its own to that point. Often a drilled well is made deeper to store water but the water enters the well only a short distance from the surface.

[Ranger99]

i understand all that.
i didn't say it was impossible, it
would be a royal p.i.t.a. without
the proper stuff to do it with, plus
the weight of the water in the pipe
to deal with.
if i didn't have the bucks to pay to
have a pro do it, well i'm sure i'd be
out there to figure it for myself.
there are a few things i'll pay someone
to do, for instance i have to cut a tree
that is adjacent to a power line and i
could easily drop it , but if i do it i stand
a huge chance of taking out the wire and
some adjoining property. i'll pay a bonded
tree trimmer to let him take the risk.




no big deal - i was just saying if someone
doesn't have the skills or tools to do a
job right, if they go ahead and try a fix
and screw it up, it will cost more in the
long run than paying somebody with the
skills and equipment that can do the job
right.


when i have to go behind someone's botched
job, it cost more of my time to fix their inept
repair work and as a consequence i have to
charge more




just sayin'

[Bugflipper]

You can lift water with air. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=air+lift+water+well+pump&oq=air+lift+water+well+pump&gs_l=youtube.3..0l2.12106.16590.0.20153.11.11.0.0.0.0.51.493.11.11.0...0.0...1ac.UIe0a_1f2m8 It doesn't require a whole lot of cfm in small diameter pipes. Lets say 1/2" pvc pipe and the cheapest 1/8" hose you could find. With a regulator you could run that for days off a normal garage compressor and no power. The bigger the pipe the more cfm required. The pipe needs to be at least twice as long as the water depth for efficiency. 60% is optimal, but as little as 10% will raise water.


With power, you can irrigate farm land this way. It's not really hard to get 60 gpm or more with enough cfm in a 4" or larger well pipe. For sustainability it's not hard to rig a compressor motor up to a wind mill. Even if a miniature decorative windmill and an aquarium pump. You just need to match the correct airflow to the diameter of pipe. There are pages with the equations needed to determine what cfm per diameter for raising water to specific depths.

[SHOOTALL]

i understand all that.
i didn't say it was impossible, it
would be a royal p.i.t.a. without
the proper stuff to do it with, plus
the weight of the water in the pipe
to dal with the only water weight that is of concern is the weight of the water above normal water level in the well .as yo lift water or push depending on your type of pump the void in the pipe is filled as water is removed .
if i didn't have the bucks to pay to
have a pro do it, well i'm sure i'd be
out there to figure it for myself.
there are a few things i'll pay someone
to do, for instance i have to cut a tree
that is adjacent to a power line and i
could easily drop it , but if i do it i stand
a huge chance of taking out the wire and
some adjoining property. i'll pay a bonded
tree trimmer to let him take the risk.




no big deal - i was just saying if someone
doesn't have the skills or tools to do a
job right, if they go ahead and try a fix
and screw it up, it will cost more in the
long run than paying somebody with the
skills and equipment that can do the job
right.


when i have to go behind someone's botched
job, it cost more of my time to fix their inept
repair work and as a consequence i have to
charge more

pumps are simple but most try to complicate them. they most all come with instruction , if you follow it and don't try to second guess it things work well.


just sayin'