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A Farm of My Own:  Hand water pump  |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 16 2006 : 12:51:43 AM
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Every time our power goes out, out water supply goes with it, because our well is hooked up to an electric pump inside the house (an old farmhouse that got its first indoor plumbing just 30 years ago).
I'd love to have an old-fashioned way to get water when power goes down -- as happens frequently here. Does anyone know of a way to tap into the existing water line from the well to the house for the purpose of adding a hand-pumping station? Or would we have to drill a new well just for the new hand pump? |
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Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2006 : 12:30:54 PM
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Can you hook up a generator somehow to run the electric pump? How deep is your well? A hand pump works on shallow wells...
EDITED: There are some hand pumps that work with deep water wells. If I can find a URL for them, I'll post it... |
Edited by - Bluewrenn on Jul 19 2006 3:37:48 PM |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2006 : 1:36:36 PM
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Edited by - Rosemary on Jul 17 2006 1:42:34 PM |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2006 : 1:41:10 PM
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I'm not sure about the generator question, Bluewrenn. I suppose it's possible to rig up anything, but I want to avoid depending on a backup generator. Keeping it fueled might turn out to be more of a problem than it's worth. I'll think about that, though.
As to the well, I believe it's quite deep, over 200 feet. I'm told there used to be a hand pump on a side porch off the kitchen way on the other side of the hosue, so it's possible there was once a cistern or shallower well there. After all these years, I wouldn't assume there'd be any way to reclaim it. |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2006 : 1:42:32 PM
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Ooh, thank you! I'll drill down through this information and see what I come up with.
So to speak. |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2006 : 08:00:32 AM
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Rosemary, If you're still looking for information, I know that there was an article about this in either one of MJ's magazines or her beautiful book. Do you have those? If not, let me know and I'll dig around until I can find the article. Or, another FarmGirl here might have better "mental notes" than I do. Anybody remember that piece? In any event, Rosemary, let us know what you wind up doing. I think this is of interest to many. Good Luck!
"All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
Julian of Norwich |
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sillyfoulks
True Blue Farmgirl
164 Posts
Elizabeth
Illinois
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2006 : 08:18:50 AM
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Rosemary, we have the same situation with the electicity and well water. We have been here 2 yrs and have lost power about 5 times, which really doesn't sound bad. The problem really is how long it is out of power, the longest was 4 days. I have also thought about the hand pump, but are actually hoping to get a back-up generator someday. Power around here usually goes out in winter when it is in the single digits or colder. The whole house shuts down, no heat, or water. For some odd reason our old has no fireplace or wood stove, something we hope to remedy some day. However, our son has asthma, and wood buring isn't the best thing for him. A couple times it almost got below freezing inside the house, which was a bit scary. Usually when the power goes out in winter, we pack-up and head to MIL's, which isn't the most ideal situation. We have just decided that the generator is the best thing for us, especially since it isn't just the well that is effected.
Elizabeth
http://livingcountrystyle.blogspot.com/ |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2006 : 1:46:27 PM
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I just couldn't help myself - I had to go back and check all of the back issues of MJF to find where the hand pump articles were - they are in the "Handful" issue in the "Seven Wonders" section. There is some great information there - just FYI!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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Phils Ann
True Blue Farmgirl
1095 Posts
Ann
Parsonsburg
Maryland
USA
1095 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2006 : 4:46:52 PM
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Rosemary, I just called to DH on his way to the shower... we have a hand pump, he did hook it up, and there isn't a separate well for it. However, he didn't want to come down right now and explain how to do it. LOL I will corner him later and tie him down and force him to tell... Meanwhile, I can tell you to keep the "rings" oiled so they don't rot due to disuse, and to have a bucket of water handy to prime it with if, like us, you use it only during emergencies. More later,
Ann
There is a Redeemer. |
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Phils Ann
True Blue Farmgirl
1095 Posts
Ann
Parsonsburg
Maryland
USA
1095 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2006 : 08:19:44 AM
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Hi again Rosemary,
This is what I've learned: There are two different kinds of hand pumps. The old fashioned "pitcher pump" can be used if the water table (not the well; they can be very different) is 20-25 feet below ground level at sea level. The limitation here is air pressure which forces water up the pipe, as a straw in a glass works. If your water table is high enough, you'd tap off of the well line below the electric water pump, and put in both a separate check valve and a hand cut-off valve. (You don't want hand pumped water leaking back either into the house water or the well as it's now contaminated.)
The other and more powerful pump is called a submersible pump, and puts a piston into your well. It pushes the water by way of a rod that goes into the well. The drawbacks are first, you have to have the handle directly above your well. Also, the deeper the well, the more strength you need to push the water up the rod. If it's too deep, it wouldn't be feasible.
Our own well is 80 feet deep, but the water table when the house was built (about 30 years ago) was 15 feet below the surface. I hope your water table is also high enough to be able to use the pitcher pump. I hope this makes sense, also.... and helps.
Ann
There is a Redeemer. |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 12:24:41 PM
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Gadzooks! A farmgirl trudges off across her North 40 (well, North 4, actually) for just a couple of days, comes back, and holy cows! There's a whole libraryful of fabulous info waiting for her to yank off her hat and contemplate. Ya'll are truly GIRLFRIENDS! I'll order the Hnadfuls edition of the magazine -- and yes, Rebekah, of course, I do have MJ's lovely book. Thanks, Libbie {hug} Oh God. I always hated when people did that {hug} thing in posts. Thought it was stupid. Live and learn! There really is a time for every purpose. Ann? {HUG} Wonderful advice. I will visit with our property's former owner, the guy who originally dug the well we are using now, and ask him what he can add. Eventually -- maybe even by this winter -- we'll figure something out. Of course, I will share.
Elizabeth, I feel your pain! We get through days like that (super cold, no power) with our single (for now!) ventless propane stove. You might want to look into that. Wood stoves, besides aggravating your son's asthma, are also a direct source of CO2 pollution and pollution from particulate matter (the fine ash that blows up the chimney and mixes into your neighborhood's air). Burning propane, though not as perfect a solution as, say, solar energy, has arguably less impact on the environment and is still pretty cheap. Our stove doesn't need electricity for the starter to work -- it's just a mechanical flint thingie. I'm not sure if that would be the case if you had it hooked up to natural gas but since they're basically the same model, I don't see why not.
Another thought for Bluewrenn -- aren't generators awfully noisy? I don't think I'd care to go that route, if that's true.
Off I go to order that back issue now. Thanks again, everyone! |
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Phils Ann
True Blue Farmgirl
1095 Posts
Ann
Parsonsburg
Maryland
USA
1095 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 4:05:59 PM
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Rosemary, my DH added a couple of comments during dinner tonight...
If your well and electric pump are connected by only one line rather than by two, and if the pump is above ground, you would probably be able to connect a hand pump. I see in your original post that the electric pump is indeed inside the house, so here's hoping...
Ann
There is a Redeemer. |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 4:08:07 PM
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| Ooh! That's good news! I'll keep plugging away at this. Thanks again. (And pass it along to the DH.) |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
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A Farm of My Own: Hand water pump |
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Hand water pump
