I’m curious as to if any other
readers have had difficulty getting good information on hand pumps? I am not
technical by any definition of the word, but here is my situation: I just
purchased a homestead in the country with well water. The pump runs by
electricity. I have spoken with several well drillers in the area, explaining
that I want a hand pump for grid down. The stock answer is “get a generator”. I
live in southeastern NC. I understand there can be problems with trying to
connect a hand pump to an already existing electrically-powered well. I can
afford to have a second well drilled that uses a hand pump. One company mentioned
a “deep well jet pump” but indicated it is complex and something about the
chlorine that needs to be used and water not being able to rise to the surface
if the chlorine level is off(?). Another said the static water level must be at
10-12 feet from the surface, that a 2-inch diameter shaft would not work, and a
4-inch shaft is a “waste of money”. I was also told that a hand pump can only
work to a 30-40 foot range, while another company (the jet pump company) said I
could get drinkable water at 100 feet and pristine water at 200 feet. I am
confused and can’t seem to find any drillers within a 75 mile radius who have
any sense of preparedness. Is this a common problem and do you offer any
suggestions, especially in terms of geographically-specific help? Thanks. – MB
Hugh Replies: There are two basic kinds of hand pumps in use, and the
only difference is where the pump is located. In the normal “pitcher” pump that
we think of, the pump valves are located in the body of the pitcher itself. The
water is drawn out by means of creating a vacuum in the drop pipe inside the
well by the action of the pump. The air pressure will then push the water up
the pipe where the pump can push it out of the mouth. The maximum theoretical
depth that these pumps work is based on the air pressure. At sea level, that is
about 14psi, which equates to about 33ft. Due to loses in the system
(friction), and usable flow rates, you will generally find that 24ft is about
as high as these kinds of pumps will lift water. They are entirely adequate, if
your water table is within that range. If you have a good cased well, you can
still be using water from the 200ft level. Your well screen should be towards
the bottom of the well and as you draw water off the top of the well, it will
be replenished with fresh water from the bottom of the well. Even though your
shallow well water may not be good for drinking, the deep water usually will
be. This type of hand pump has good flow and can easily generate 20gpm from
hand pump action. The Simmons 1160/PM500 is a
good example of this type. With this type of pump, you will generally have a
powered pump for normal operation. When you lose power, you simply pull the
powered pump off and replace it with this pump.
The second type of pump actually has
the pump and valves at the bottom of the drafting inlet and is usually
connected by a metal or fiberglass rod in the center of the pipe to the handle
at the top. These types of pumps actually push the water up the pipe, rather
than relying on air pressure. Since they can generate much greater pressure,
depths of 100 to 200 feet are realistic, though the volume of flow will
generally be much less (usually around 1 to 3 gpm). There are a number of
different types that can be used. If you have a submersible electric well pump,
you can use the Bison pump inline with your
submersible. If you already have a submersible pump, you can run a Simple Pump right alongside if you have a 4”
casing. This is the arrangement I am currently using.
A word of caution is in order if you
are drilling a new well. If you ask most well drillers how deep you need to go
to get good water, they will generally give you a number. (In our area, it is
250ft). If you look at their trucks, that is how much drilling stem they have.
They get paid by the foot, and if they can get you to drill deep, it’s good for
them. If you have water at 12 feet, ask your county extension where good water
is. You will find that in almost all areas of the United States, good water is
obtainable at much less depth than a driller will tell you. Of course, you must
also balance that with the characteristics of the water table in your area. If
you are in a river bottom area, your water table is probably pretty stable. If
you are out on the plains, it may vary considerably, and you will want to plan
accordingly.
From the Survival Blog
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