Hand pump

[Greenmonster123]

I want to install a hand pump on my well for when I lose power. I want the ability to pump up the tank so that all the interior fixtures will work. I found this http://www.simplepump.com

Has anyone used one of these?

 

[ACWxRADR]

Green,

How deep is your well... How far down is the static water level from ground level? This water level will be the deciding factor in selecting a hand op pump for your objectives. I have recently browsed some hand pumps for my own well application. I wasn't scrutinizing the pumps too much, I was just looking to learn more about them, mostly. I didn't find this particular pump at the time. It appears to be good, but I don't know what the price is for everything required.

You should do some further investigation on this before you make any purchases.

If your water table is near the surface, you might be able to get potable water from a more shallow depth and then you could purchase a less expensive manual pumping system. This may mean installing an entirely separate well system (boring a new well hole). Around my area, we have shallow water tables and can use a pressurized pitcher style pump to draw water from 28 feet or less. These well systems are very inexpensive, but you have to ensure that your water is potable by sending samples into a lab for analysis. I estimate $250 -$500 for the entire installation - done with the best materials.

You may want to look into this option before you dedicate yourself to the pump you featured in your initial post. I am going to bet that that pump and all the materials required are going to be high priced. I estimate that you would be looking at $500 or above just for the pump unit alone. Installing such a pump would be a lot less effort, but if you need to satisfy a budget restraint, look into the other options first.

RADAR

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Greenmonster123]

I am 33 to water so a regular pitcher pump won't work.

 

[ACWxRADR]

Green,

Ok. That rules that option out. You will have to use a piston pump (like the one you posted or like what a water windmill would use). One with a rod down the well string and a suction piston at the end to actually "jack" the water up the pipe instead of "sucking" it up with a vacuum from the top. The other options being ruled out, the style of pump you indicated originally is the only option that I know of, but I have no personal experience with the particular brand or model you posted.

I think you are on the right track. But, there are other manufacturer's of that style of pump out there. Shop and check prices and specifications. Hopefully someone else will chime in with advice on a make and model pump for your use in this application. Right now I am at the same position as you are, I think. I know that these pumps exist from several different manufacturers, but which one is best for the job and the best price? I think that is the information you are seeking and I cannot help much in this regard, I just don't have any personal experiences that would lend assistance here. Sorry.

RADAR

 

[Valveman]

Hand pumping from 33 feet will be hard enough. Pumpimg up to 40 psi in a tank will be the same as pumping from 92 feet plus the 33 foot lift. It will be as slow as pumping air in a tank with a bicycle pump. If you have never tried that I cantell you it takes a long long time.

 

[ACWxRADR]

Hand pumping from 33 feet will be hard enough. Pumpimg up to 40 psi in a tank will be the same as pumping from 92 feet plus the 33 foot lift. It will be as slow as pumping air in a tank with a bicycle pump. If you have never tried that I cantell you it takes a long long time.

Very true, but when you must have water, you will have to do it. Slow, yes. But hauling a five gallon bucket of water from a stream 3/4 miles away and pouring it into a cistern and going back for more takes even longer! The pioneers didn't complain, they just did it. Of course, they are all dead now, too.

RADAR

 

[Reach4]

Simple Pump has a very good reputation. It is not cheap. It can pump from hundreds of feet.

 

[ACWxRADR]

Simple Pump has a very good reputation. It is not cheap. It can pump from hundreds of feet.

That is the brand that Greenmonster posted about. I don't know the price, you have to request a quote I see. I wonder how much they are?

RADAR

 

[Reach4]

I wonder how much they are?

http://www.simplepump.com/PRICING/Example-System-Pricing.html is an example. I guess that is not all that expensive considering.

The pump can draw water from the same casing which also has a submersible mounted.

 

[ACWxRADR]

I nailed that one... At least for the price of the pump.

1 Pump Head Assembly
$500

And I was just guessing. Full price for all installation materials = $1640! Wow!

That sounds very expensive, but still... Not all that ludicrous. At least it isn't out of line with what I expected. I knew it would be high price, but it is about where I expected it to be.

RADAR

 

[Craigpump]

A another option is Bison pump, they make a unit that goes in the basement and interrupts the water line inside the basement. It will also pressurize the water system without going out in the weather.

 

[ACWxRADR]

Craig,

Bison Pumps is one of the brands that I looked at recently. They have several selections of pumps available and, as you noted, there is a pressurizing (sealed chamber) pump head that you can install inside the residence. The "Simple Pump" model that Greenmonster posted about looks like something designed for outside installation. One could probably install it in a basement, though. Installation could be anywhere there is ample space. But, I think both would need to be installed atop the well string as I believe they require a pipe and rod with a lift pump on the end to be inserted down the well. Therefore the installation is limited to the actual well site, wherever that may be.

RADAR

 

[VAWellDriller]

I've put in 5 Handy Well Pumps with good success... all were installed less than 100'. They are very similar to the simple well pump but cheaper I think. They can be used to pressurize a tank, but it's more work than you'll want to do... they are fine for filling a bucket though.

 

[PumpMd]

Listen to Valveman & Vawelldriller, it would take Forever to pump that by hand but it's good for a bucket.

 

[Boycedrilling]

Portable generators are easier on the pocket book AND the back.

 

[Texas Wellman]

I have installed two simple pumps. One with a 30' water level and one with a 100' water level. It's a well made device but in my opinion too expensive for what you get. The version I use goes in a 4" casing beside the drop pipe for the pump. Since the cylinder is so small it does not pump much water. They advertise 3 gallons per minute but imo that is generous. As far as pumping into the pressure tank if you figure 20 gallons of water to be a usable amount at 3 gpm that would take 6-7 minutes of constantly pumping to achieve this.

Open bucket works much better and I plumbed the last one to do either way.

 

[Smooky]

A generator is the way to go as Boycedrilling said. With a generator you can use it to power other things too. They come in handy for lots of other projects where there is no power. Easy to sell too.

 

[Greenmonster123]

I have a generator but when hurricane sandy came we couldn't buy gas for a week. I just wanted something to get me water if something like that happens again.

 

[Boycedrilling]

Last Saturday we went to Spokane, WA for a high school football playoff game, state quarter finals. We had had a high windstorm in Tuesday. We had recorded winds in excess of 90 mph in my fire district. We had semi's blown over, roads closed for blowing dust etc. Spokane had and still has huge power outages.

After the game (we won, on to state semi-finals this weekend) we went to a restaurant to eat. Driving down the streets, houses on one side had power, houses on the other side didn't. And it would vary block to block. 4 days later over 10,000 people were still without power in the Spokane area. The power company had over 125 crews working to restore power. They estimated it could take up to 10 days.

At the resaurant, we were visiting with a couple next to us. He had lost his power also. However a few years back he had installed a 14,ooo watt generator powered by propane with a propane tank. He hadn't needed it until now. He said all of a sudden it became the best investment he ever made.

My point is, UNLESS you really want to pump water by hand, a generator is a much better investment. If you are concerned about fuel for the generator, buy some stabilized gas or a propane powered generator. It's like waiting until you need a firearm, to purchase the ammunition.

All that being said, I have installed hand pumps for customers. I explained the economics to them and they still wanted a hand pump. They wanted their children to have the experience of actually having to exert some energy to obtain water.

My father was born in the 1920's. He literally grew up in a log cabin with no indoor plumbing of electricity, from when he was 7 till he went in the army in WW2. You don't take water for granted when you have to hand pump it.

 

[Texas Wellman]

If you really want a hand pump and have the means to swing it have a separate well drilled. It will allow a much bigger cylinder and will pump much more. It will also make servicing either one much easier.