Can I suck water from my well if I'm only 5' above my static level using a manual pump?

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erkme73

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Ok, the title is a bit of a loaded question, but bear with me.

My well head/cap is located at the top of my property - about 40' above my home. I was originally told that the static water level was 70' down (with a total depth of 270'). All else being equal, I figured the water was only about 30' below my home site.

Today, I actually measured the static depth, and it's only 44'. I'm sure that fluctuates, but it got me thinking...

In a grid-down/extended power outage scenario, I had considered using a manual (simple) pump to draw water up at the well site. But, if the differential between my home and water level is <10', what would keep me from having some kind of manual pump at the house - and drawing water through the existing plumbing?

If the line from the well to the house is primed and full of water, then what the line does between the static water level and the house shouldn't affect the effort needed to move water, right? So, having a manual pump of some kind that I could valve in at the main water entry point should let me move water into the house and pressurize the tank.

The question is, does such a manual pump exist? Does what I'm describing even make sense or seem feasible? The alternative is to go back to the simple pump idea - which I'm sure will be both expensive and less practical (don't feel like hiking 400' up hill to manually pump water outside).

Any ideas would be appreciated.
 

Reach4

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There are manual pumps that can draw water from very far down by having a rod carry the force down. Check https://www.simplepump.com/ That pump then pushes the water up, rather than using suction.

There is at least one other.

You cannot have a pump draw water by suction from 40 ft below ground or 40 ft below the pump or 40 ft below the highest pipe carrying the suction.

You can do 25 ft reliably except at higher altitudes. 30 ft some of the time, but not reliably. 36 ft never.
 

erkme73

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Thanks for the reply @Reach4. If the water is only 10' down (vertically) but, 450 away (horizontally), couldn't I use a manual pump at the far end to move the water (assuming the entire line is primed)? I guess I could hook up a cheap Harbor Freight pump at the house input and see if it can draw water. If it can, then I know the lift is within reason - then it's a matter of finding a hand/manual pump that I can put inline at the same location.

Here's a crude drawing:

upload_2019-10-11_12-10-45.png


So, the vertical height difference between the static water level and the house water inlet is only about +/- 4'. I realize the line goes up 44' to the top of the well, and then back down 40' (vertically) to get to the height of the house. But I was under the assumption that as long as that line is primed/filled, the height between the water level at the start and the end is irrelevant.

That assumption is based on what happens when draining a pool. If the hose is flowing water, and the middle of the hose is lifted way above the height of the pool, water continues to flow via gravity. Getting prime, of course, would be challenging - but I'm working under the presumption that the line will always be filled.
 
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Reach4

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Thanks for the reply @Reach4. If the water is only 10' down (vertically) but, 450 away (horizontally), couldn't I use a manual pump at the far end to move the water (assuming the entire line is primed)?
Yes. You could use a manual pump. The Simple Pump can be used to pressurize a pipe and drive the water up and over. No priming needed. The Simple Pumps can also be electrified. Then you can operate by electric when power is present, and use the handle when power is off.


That is 10 ft down is very different than 44 ft down, but for the hand pumps that does not matter. They work deeper than suction pumps. At 10 ft down, you could use an electric suction pump at the wellhead.
Today, I actually measured the static depth, and it's only 44'.

Bison also makes hand-operated pumps that use the rod to lift water if you want to compare.
 
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Reach4

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Nice picture. The Simple pump should be able to even pressurize water into a pressure tank, if that is what you want. The altitude drop will make for easier pumping.
 

LLigetfa

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Forget how you think a siphon works because a siphon cannot lift 44 feet. If you look at the principle of how a mercury barometer works, a water barometer works on the same principle except that instead of inches of mercury, it would be measured in feet of water.
 
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