Does anyone know of a source for an old fashioned hand-operated well pump, like the kind you used to see on the farm forty years ago? They are typically lever-operated, cast iron well pumps. Since we have a good well and good water, and live on the outskirts, if I lose power due to the inevitable mess that the Y2K problem will cause, it would be nice to have one of these piped up in parallel with my existing Electric well pump.

I guess a 5KW generator could be hot-wired to run the pump, too, but since the average well pump draws so much current, it would be nice to have more primitive technology for a change. If anyone knows if a company still makes these, I would sure like it if you could drop me a line or a posting. Thanks.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 1998

Answers

We have a 225 ft. water well with a submersible (sp?) pump, and this is a question that has been on our mind recently. How can we keep the water flowing when we have no electricity? Just what are our options? TIA

-- Anonymous, August 09, 1998

We too have a 225 foot well although we are presently on public water so we can install it as a back up. Lehman's sells the deep water and shallow pumps although they are starting to backlog badly.

Only fair prices but good service and knowledgable, honorable people. Web site and e-mail is working only so-so, so here's all the contact info: www.lehmans.com, 330-857-5757 Fax 330-857-5785 e-mail GetLehmans@aol.com Mail PO box 321, Kidron Ohio 44636

We were able to find an 80 year old well company in our area via the yellow pages who ordered a manuel pump for us; pitcher (shallow wells) pumps may be available at the local farm store.

The farm store people are usually a wealth of info as well.

At 225 feet, it'll be about 80# of pressure per stroke (cancel your health club membership) get covered buckets to carry the water w/ and make a yoke- much easier to carry 2 buckets than one.

Technical stuff- you'll need the exact length of your rods- hopefully you can reuse them. You may need a special threaded fitting to hook the exsisting rods into the new pump head. The drop pipe also has to fit. You'll probably need a flange to secure the whole assembly to the casing. The optional threaded connection for a hose also seems like a really good idea.

Cost: Pump head (deep water) $300-$400, rods another $400, flange $35-$60 Pitcher pump head $50-$175

That said, I'm not certain how you could do it in parallel- there is only one hole. Consider the need to recycle your grey water as well. We've put plastic buckets w/ spigots by each sink to use as the "replacement" tap unless you want to do the wash basin thing. Plastic buckets will collect the water from the sink as it's used- pretty good for plants or flushing toilets.

Need to consider biodegradable, natural soaps if using on plants. And, don't forget your wash set up- that will be fun. Got the wringer and hand agitator to use in the sink. Take my word for it- wash boards are not fun and best suited for stains.

Good book (got mine from Lehmans- Cottage Water Systems) might also check http://countrylife.net a general homestead webpage. Hope this gives you a start.

Erica

-- Anonymous, August 09, 1998

Pitcher pumps (20-30 ft draw) are available through your local hardware store for about $50.00. Deep well hand pumps are avail from Lehmans. They cost a lot. They also require a lot of "elbow grease" to operate. Also remember, you dont end up with "running water" with a hand pump. Running water requires a pressurized tank with some mechanical means of turning on the pump when the pressure drops. You can, of course, set the tank up high & gravity feed your house, but, you still hafta pump up into the raised tank. IMO, depending on how much $$ you have and how long you think the need for your own water w/o power will last:-) think about putting in a pitcher pump for drinking water, run your elec pump an hr a day for showers, flush the johns etc, with a generator.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 1998

The company Alternative Energy Engineering can supply you all with equipment that will work for your applications. We can supply equipment to either run your exsisting well pump completely off the grid or with different pumps that can be in reserve.

We have been in business for 20 years.

I look forward to answering any letters or comments.

Please contact me above and/or check out our web page at

www.alt-energy.com

Sincerely,

Jay

-- Anonymous, August 20, 1998

Electric Utilities and Y2K

Well I've read thru all the replies thus far and I'll add a couple things. One fellow mentioned, "I'm not certain how you could do it in parallel..there's only one hole.". If your pipe leading into your house somes out the side of the main well pipe with the main pipe capped, I saw where someone mentioned in another forum that you could uncap the main pipe and drop what you need for pumping straight down the main well pipe. Someone can respond and say if this is so or not. So it seems it depends on how your piping is configured. I'll also pass on what the fellow at our local plumbing supply house told us this Sat. He deals with some of the Amish in the area and was told that the smaller pitcher pumps that are said to handle 20-30' depth will kick the handle back up quite fiercely so you might want to watch for that. I imagine you could do some damage to your arm if you're not expecting it. My husband asked if installing a check valve within the pipe leading to the pitcher pump might help cut-down on some of the kick-back and the gentleman waiting on us agreed. We're STILL looking into which pitcher pump or water pump is right for us. Does ANYONE know of a pitcher pump that has a place on its side where you can screw a hose onto the pump? I saw a picture on the web (not at a supply house) and wondered what the manufacturer and model # of the pump was. We sure have been spoiled by electricity..grin

-- Anonymous, August 23, 1998

Have you considered solar power for your pump? We are planning to use this method. Sunelco has a $5.00 catalog that gives you complete directions, prices, etc. They can be reached at" 1-800-338-6844

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1998