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.
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.