With a municipal water supply, you still have running water even in a blackout. But if you have a private well, what happens when there is no electricity? What will you use to wash up or cook for your family? How will you make coffee in the morning?
A simple solution is a hand-powered pump. They may seem like something from an old movie, but hand-powered pumps are still useful tools. A hand pump can be installed alongside the existing electric pump in most wells so that it's ready and waiting when the power fails. Read on to learn more.
What Are Hand Pumps Used For?
Hand pumps draw water up from an existing well when there is no power using manual pumping. They are great for an emergency, but can also supply water in remote locations. The Forest Service has hand pumps installed in some national parks for visitors and campers.
How Do They Work?
Many different kinds of hand pumps are in use all over the world. How each type works varies depending on its purpose and location. There are two main types typically installed in private home wells.
The first is a lift pump. With this type, when you push down on the handle a piston inside fills with water. When you raise the handle, the water is lifted up the pipe. This type of pump could theoretically lift water any distance but is limited by the strength of the user. Lift pumps are typically only used in wells less than
25 feet deep.
The second type is called a piston pump. Instead of lifting the water, these types use a piston to push water up a pipe from the bottom. Much less force is needed to push water up a pipe than to pull it, which means this style can be used in much deeper wells. Some piston pumps work at depths of almost 300 feet.
How Much Water Can I Pump by Hand?
Which pump you use determines how much water you can draw at once. The largest piston pump models can pump as much as thirty gallons of water per minute from depths of up to three hundred feet. Factors like the volume of the pump and the diameter of the piping determine how much water can be brought up at once.
How Difficult Is It to Pump Water by Hand?
The depth of the water level and the kind of pump determine how much force is needed to pump water. The hand pumps used by the Forest Service in campgrounds require less than
five pounds of force and can be used by a person in a wheelchair or by a small child.
Many hand pumps can also be fitted with a small solar-powered motor.
What Kind of Pump Do I Need?
The type of pump depends on the static water level of your well. Your well may have been drilled very deep, but the water level is usually much closer to the surface. The aquifer deep underground is at a greater pressure than surface water. Consequently, more water flows into the shaft as it is pumped out, keeping the level of the water near the surface.
The static water level in your well can vary over time and depends on factors like:
- Average rain or snowfall
- Periods of drought
- Elevation above sea level
- Atmospheric pressure
At
Action Well and Pump, we have the tools to measure the depth of your water. We can also estimate how much it is likely to change through use and environmental conditions and recommend the right-hand pump for the depth of your well, your climate, and your usage.
Solve tomorrow's problems before they start. Have a professional help you choose the right backup pump system today.
