How Does a Hydraulic Ram Pump Work?

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

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[@juliogaiger5221]

But How does the escape Valve closes??

[@fermitupoupon1754]

@@juliogaiger5221 The waste valve is normally open, the rush of water past the waste valve is what slams it shut. The pump valve is normally closed, the water column that is being pumped up provides the bulk of the force to keep that valve shut. Though for starting purposes most pumps have some sort of pre-load on that valve to help the water hammer cycle get going.

[@fermitupoupon1754]

@comfrey kid A hydraulic ram pump has an efficiency that's well below 10%. These things are not efficient, they waste most of the water that passes through them. And they aren't good at pumping large volumes of water. So if you have a small amount of head over some drop of water, you're better off building a turbine specifically for that flow rate and head height, rather than waste the bulk of the energy in that flow in order to make a smaller flow with less energy.

[@theodiscusgaming3909]

@comfrey kid this isn't even close to free energy, in the most basic sense you are converting kinetic energy (of some part of a stream) to potential energy (of some other parts of the stream). You end up losing some energy in the process, since no system is perfect. The ram pump requires a flowing stream. It makes more sense to just use the entire stream for turbines.

[@liam_hurlburt]

@@juliogaiger5221 As the water flows through the open waste valve, the valve itself acts as a slight barrier to the flow. This causes a small pocket of pressure to build up on the underside/upstream side of the waste valve. Because there is a difference in pressure on both sides of the gate of the waste valve, the gate 'wants' to move but while the pressure is low the force from gravity prevails. Once this pressure is strong enough (usually just a few psi) to slightly lift the gate of the waste valve, the valve begins to develop an even greater pressure imbalance. This is what causes the waste valve to close (see 4:53 ). The waste valve closing stops the momentum of the flowing water which is converted into a spike in pressure which briefly opens the main valve. Once this pressure dissipates, the main valve closes and, because the chamber is now low in pressure the waste valve opens again under the force of gravity allowing the water at the inlet to start building up momentum again. Once this flow becomes great enough to start building up the pressure pocket in the waste valve again, the cycle restarts

[@BblazeFilms]

I am a recent graduate in Mechanical engineering and a ram pump was my senior project. Your original video on the topic of water hammer was a resource I used to understand the theory of these pumps, so thank you. I love your explanation in this video and hope other students can use the knowledge you provide in their academic endeavors.

[@mohamedbalhouari5439]

Can it push water a distance of 2 km?

[@fortpatches]

@@mohamedbalhouari5439 Theoretically, sure. You would have to calculate the horizontal distance as an equivalent vertical head. The vertical head would depend on the vertical drop from the water source to the pump - the greater this drop, the further you could do. It would also depend on the height changes across the 2km distance, how smooth the pipe is (including joins between the pipe segments), how many bends there are in the pipe (the straighter the better), the pipe diameter, etc.

[@clockguy2]

When I was in Boy Scouts, our local scout camp was established back in 1946. The original water system to the mess hall was supplied from a spring via a ram pump to a water tower some 150 feet away. They later replaced it with a well pump when their water needs had outgrown the relative small amount of output, but they never took the ram pump away. Well, The joke of the day was to ask the new campers "Had they seen the Ram?". Thinking they were going to see real live goats, a pack of scouts would follow you on a long goose chase culminating in the let down of seeing a rusty old water pump by a spring and then getting a lesson in hydraulics and water hammer. Boy, those were the days!

[@SiegePerilousEsauMaltomite]

Snipe hunt

[@ranga2050]

~~ Those....... were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end~~

[@lavishlavon]

when i's inna boyscouts they always be doin parlor tricks wit my pee-pee. THEY TOLL ME I WOOD GETTA BADGE 4 IT THEY TOLL LIE

[@thatdudnum67potatoe45]

oh i need some compass bearing oil

[@ev6558]

Yeah that must have been a real let down to only see an old pump when you were expecting the white-knuckle thrillride that is goats.

[@hgbugalou]

I feel like you and the "clear plastic pipe" guy are good friends at this point.

[@christianlassen1577]

I must be on the right channels and forums if half of the commenters are using pictures from obscure cartoons from the 90s

[@alexanderdesfosses]

I feel like he is pretty will know with the food coloring guy too

[@motomech83]

what is the trade name of the clear plumbing? does it have a schedule rating? it would save alot of diagnostic time in semisolid systems if i could find clogs without opening them up

[@danpaterson7314]

@@motomech83 I’m now imagining small kids running down stairs to see their poo make it’s journey

[@Elbert844]

​@@danpaterson7314it will make potty training fun.

[@nheather]

One of my favourite real life anecdotes. Back in the early 90s I worked on a computer system for a factory that was being built in Armenia. We had a document summarising how the factory was going to work. In places, the document referred to ‘water goats’ and it made no sense whatsoever. Turned out the document had started out in English, being translated in Russian some years back and then been translated back into English so we could read it. The multiple translations had turned ‘hydraulic rams’ into ‘water goats’.

[@louf7178]

LOL. How important good translations are.

[@brendanoleary4787]

My grandfather used to talk about the ram pump that sent water up to the big house back in the 1800’s. It had a lift of about 100 feet and at night you could hear it clicking. Amazing the “off the grid” people have not made this technology more popular.

[@powerful_smr5383]

they have

[@texschuler]

Man, how do those older people know so much? If you were to listen to one, i wonder if you could steal some of that knowledge

[@BodywiseMustard]

1800s * You may be thinking of the apostrophe in '00s.

[@texschuler]

@@BodywiseMustard why do you think it wasnt the 19th century

[@shawntailor5485]

One I made for about 30 dollars has been my soul source for 35 years . Mine runs on less head then what is said to be possible. My waste gate is much more efficient.

[@TheKajunkat]

Your videos make it into our safety meetings in our engineering and inspection department on a pretty regular basis. You're a natural teacher your demonstrations are effective. Thanks for all you do.

[@Timsturbs]

in electronics its called boost converter

[@JRabba1995]

Beat me to it

[@StrawPietro]

Beat me to it 2

[@fe3tpls36]

Beat me to it 3

[@pixelmace1423]

Beat me to it 4

[@noahhastings6145]

Beat me to it 5

[@whynotdean8966]

It's things like this that convince me that engineering is black magic. If you came to me, and asked me build a system that pumped water 10 feet into the air, without electricity or fuel, I would have told you to bugger off. It's not possible.

[@ffccardoso]

magic it's just advanced technology that you don't understand yet.

[@Debbiebabe69]

Flowing water = energy = Fuel. You can use this fuel in many ways, one is to use a ram pump, another would be to have a 2 chamber device, one with a turbine/generator and the other with an electric pump. One of the big problems with 'youtube armchair scientists' is they dont know the difference between an impossible 'perpetual motion device' and harnessing solar/hydro/wind power.

[@sirBrouwer]

@Dusk Dawg he would think that you where demonic.

[@Adderkleet]

@@Debbiebabe69 That's the point OP was trying to make, though. "I never would have considered wasting water can give me energy to pump". I'm half-tempted to see if my physicist friends know about this, because I didn't (but I studied chemistry, not fluid dynamics).

[@victornpb]

Moving water = current

[@MarcTompkins]

When I was in high school in the 80s, we moved to a remote piece of land with a small creek at the bottom of the property. When we first moved there, we were living in a trailer about 80 feet uphill. We built a ram pump to fill a 150-gallon tank we got from a friend. Our ram pump used a Rainbird sprinkler as the waste valve (so it was noisy as hell) and we didn't think to add an air chamber to buffer the vibration; it had a tendency to rattle itself to bits over time. I had to repair it, or the uphill pipe, every couple of months. Eventually we got a more reliable, higher-volume water source going - but I still remember it fondly, because it saved me from carrying 5-gallon buckets of water up the hill every day!

[@russmbiz]

Thats genius. Theres a lot of inventions ive seen where i thought "yeah, i could have invented this". But i dont think i would have ever figured out the ram pump on my own. I also love the spiral type pumps. They use a coiled pipe in flowing water. The flow of the water rotates the coiled pipe and allows the water to move from the outer windongs to the center, which is where the output is. Beautiful and genius.

[@TrikesterHal]

My family moved to an isolated farm in NW Arkansas in 1962. There was no electricity but we had a strong spring in a valley next to the house we were building. Included with the property was a ram pump (very old because it was made of caste iron!). The first winter we lived in a small travel trailer which was parked beside a tall pine tree. Dad hung an old water heater tank in the tree. The hydraulic ram was used to fill the tank so we had water into the trailer. I was small then but I vividly remember that old pump. Many years (like 50) I went to an exhibition of old tractors and farm equipment. As I toured the exhibit I noticed an old ram pump sitting on the floor. I asked the guide what it was and she said, "I have no idea." It was my turn to be her guide. This video taught me exactly it works. I understood intuitively and now I understand the science/engineering behind it. Wonderful! I'm subscribed now... I want to learn more and more.

[@zacharysmith4787]

I lived in Bentonville shortly, NW Arkansas is some beautiful country.

[@AliHSyed]

That is actually so clever. Never seen this before

[@SuperAWaC]

they are very common

[@churblefurbles]

Wranglerstar had some vids on it in 2014, its how I learned about them.

[@AliHSyed]

DefinitelyNotDan 🤔

[@ExcaliburDawn]

Yeah ,they power high squirting fountains in 19th century water gardens all over the UK.Perfect for the job 👍

[@PrinceAlhorian]

Water, Steam and Vacuum hammering is a fascinating "problem" but each have some unique uses as well. Hydraulic ram pumps are one of them, industrial steam hammers are another. A problem is just an solution in disguise for another challenge (or so my professor in university once told me).

[@MushookieMan]

Steam hammers used compressed steam, not the "steam hammer" effect.

[@prydzen]

P=NP?

[@ianallen738]

@@MushookieMan Indeed, there is no "steam hammer" effect because water vapor is easily compressible. If you tried it, all you would get is condensation.

[@JonathanLaRiviere]

“We live at the bottom of an ocean of air”. Wow. Engineering poetry!

[@mrxmry3264]

some may consider it poetry but it is true.

[@maxwyght1840]

And 100% accurate too. It just so happens that said ocean is about 1000x less denser than water, however you ARE still somewhat buoyant in it. To the point where your WEIGHT(The value of force acting on you in a gravity well) and MASS(the intrinsic property of an object comprised of atoms) are actually measurably different. That's right: The bathroom scale IS lying to you. You are about 1.1 grams per kilogram heavier than it actually says

[@federicomaisch6812]

Maybe, another point that could be further clarified is the by converting kinetic energy into potential energy, the water could be stored at a higher elevation for future use. I do enjoy your videos.

[@jackx4311]

In practical installations, it usually IS stored at higher elevations. The set-up shown is just to demonstrate the principle of how a ram pump works.

[@railgap]

Uh, yes, congratulations, that is the entire point of the video. How many times did you need to watch it?

[@uncivilstar7677]

There is a difference between potential energy, and hydrostatic pressure. :) Potential energy here would be called static pressure. Because the fluid would be at rest respectfully, however the reaction in the video is directly related to the hydrostatic pressure, and water hammer.

[@spencerwhite3400]

Your water-related civil engineering videos are genuinely one of my favorite types of videos ever!

[@Odqvist89]

Engineering: The act of transforming a problem into an opportunity.

[@benderrodriquez]

... and occasionally a catastrophic disaster.

[@workdesu]

*art*

[@angelaabrams9108]

...into a livelihood

[@MrPassw00rd]

The smart way a lazy guy works

[@SN2D]

@@benderrodriquez that´s why there are safety requirements

[@chrisogilvie8133]

The function of the air dome is to provide somewhere for the sudden rush of water to go when the waste valve shuts, without having to accelerate the water in the "lift" pipe, ie the pipe going up to the tank. When the air dome is big enough the output has a steady flow, with little pulsing. One of the rampumps that I made used a 2" by 70 foot alkathene drive pipe with about a 2 foot fall. The home made waste valve was bolted on to a 12 gallon drum, which functioned as a dome. (They can handle quite a high pressure!) The gasket was made to also function as the output valve. It cycled away very lazily, with the waste valve staying shut for about 1/2 second every cycle, while the drive pipe water flowed into the drum. The water flowed steadily from the 3/4" lift pipe about 20 feet above. Until a big flood came and took it all away! Which is one of the problems to be thought about when installing a rampump! They are lots of fun and very satisfying to make and play with.

[@ptheolo]

I study Mechanical engineering. Although you are a Civil engineer and you make videos on civil engineer's field you explain it very simply that even a lay person can comprehend most of it. That with an addition of a simple subject makes these kind of videos boring but you take up on some more complicated subjects which makes it perfect. Keep up!

[@oogrooq]

I passed the PE Exam ! Cheers Grady.

[@justgame5508]

Physical Education?

[@noahhastings6145]

Grats! Is there really any purpose to going that path outside of the civil/construction field?

[@stevecooper1824]

@@justgame5508 Professional Engineer

[@justgame5508]

Steve Cooper Ahh never heard of it

[@stevecooper1824]

@@justgame5508 Yeah, if you're not an engineer it's really not a big deal. It's important for any public-sector engineers and can open doors in any engineering career, but it's obviously an industry-limited designation.

[@LandtoHouse]

Thank you for the shout out! Great video. By using a ridged drive pipe your setup could pump twice the water. ... but the increase in pressure might cause those light pvc valves to stay closed. Brass or steel valves work very well. (But dont show what's going on of course)

[@kevindinsmore3042]

Can you be more specific of your theory and what parts are needed to build it

[@wholianromero]

me: *has a final exam in 6 hours and needs to be concentrated* also me: oh, Practical Engineering released a video 30 seconds ago, let's watch it! Edit: I passed my exam!! The subject is called “Test and study of materials” and I want to thank Grady for the videos about concrete!! And thank y’all for the good luck wishes!!

[@potato733]

The same here, I learn a lot more here though!

[@hudsonf5675]

same here... wish this was actually on my exam

[@sebastiandarras2416]

Same here, exactly in 6 hrs!

[@coleweede1953]

Yo same. Good luck on your finals make sure you try.

[@tailehuynhphat9570]

You watch this to prepare for your engineering exam duh

[@training7574]

Wonderfully clarifying. I was so mystified by this device on a museum and all detailed explanations that did not get to the heart of the matter. Also, the crisp style and fine demonstrations are commendable. Thanks!

[@KaizenSteelDrums]

You just blew my mine. Love all your videos. Such an amazing time we live in. God bless the internet.

[@WhippperSnaperater]

"We first need to build a little bit of foundational knowledge in the behavior of fluids" - Perfect timing, I literally just sat the exam for my fluids 3 class

[@angusmorris4154]

How does a hydraulic ram pump work? I really don’t need to know but these videos are so great

[@DieBastler1234]

It's really easy to believe that the engineering disciplines you're not into yourself are simple and boring. Thank you for opening my eyes :)

[@jackx4311]

Despite all the knocking comments below, I found the explanation very clear and easy to follow - thank you!

[@abcstardust]

This is actually the Best video I’ve seen so far describing the Ram Pump, and how it works! Thank you So Much for posting!

[@thanext]

I am working with a lot plastic pipes and hydraulic gradients recently for my master thesis. While it can be annoying, it is also a lot of fun and I was wondering how you could turn constructing these systems into a hobby....Glad to find out that there is indeed a lot of fun stuff to do!

[@vizcaya-D818]

I failed in my engineering subject but I love hearing this vid untill the end...I'm just a gardener wanting to lift water from a stream beside may garden which is lower then my planting area..I think ram pump will do this for me..

[@evilpandakillabzonattkoccu4879]

3:53 oh, that's how those work! Thank you! Every time I see one on an aircraft, I think 'I need to look up how that works' but I always forget. That was not only a pleasant surprise but it was a clear illustration of its function! Much appreciated!

[@overratedprogrammer]

I too immediately thought of planes

[@spelunkerd]

I stumbled across a ram pump while on vacation in New Zealand, at a back woods toilet far from any source of electric power. I made a mental note to search the term on return. To my surprise, Brady was already on the task, with the best video explanation of the topic yet.

[@brianthesnail3815]

This is absolutely fascinating. When I was a child I lived on a farm in the UK near a large country estate that used to have a grand house and a large artificial lake fed by a small stream. My father always used to talk about 'The Ram'. I now know what that was although it was just a broken rusty set of pipes hidden near the edge of the lake in a forest and never worked when I was alive. It was basically a ram pump that supplied water from the lake to the large country house and associated farm. It was working during the 1800s along with a water powered grain mill.

[@k7y]

this mostly used to collect water from rivers where waste water just goes back into river

[@M33f3r]

That or a garden to the side of the river / stream.

[@clockguy2]

I have only seen them near springs. You need clean water coming in to keep them from clogging.

[@onewordhereonewordthere6975]

I don't think that's correct . wherever whenever you need one. It's great information ! It will work long and hard for free !

[@FailedZerg]

You can collect the "waste" water. I'm not sure why everyone just says it has to be wasted. why cant you put a bucket underneath the pump and collect it?

[@seldoon_nemar]

@@FailedZerg because it's at the same elevation as the input. Why collect it instead of just walking to the source?

[@TechStuff365]

The lost gardens of helligan in Cornwall England have 3 ram pumps capable of pumping 9 gallons of water per minute to a height of 300ft. They supply the house and botanical gardens.

[@PaulCJakubik]

Thanks for these videos. I am a plumber in Australia and, although not an engineer, hydraulics are fundamental to my job and your videos are very informative. I have a question about domestic plumbing. I have noticed a phenomenon at my home with the bathroom taps which have jumper valves, ie taps with standard washers, not ceramic disc cartridges or mixer taps. Occasionally, with all taps shut in the bathroom and no water flowing or drips of any kind, I will open the cold tap at the basin and the shower head starts to drip through the hot tap. It only happens when the shower hot tap has not been shut firmly but enough to not drip. I cannot understand why water would be released through the hot tap after opening a cold tap. The only effect I can see is that the static pressure would drop slightly in the cold system when the cold tap is opened but how does this affect the hot water pressure and cause a drip to start? The hot water is heated by a gas storage heater, with a non-return valve fitted on the inlet to the heater. It puzzles me and as a plumber I am interested in any thoughts or ideas. Regards, Paul Jakubik Melbourne Australia.

[@amarabidali5316]

yh we had something similar but with a kitchen tap, it would leak when the shower was used, in the end we just changed the whole tap to stop it, the disc cartidge on the hot end was the problem. As you mentioned i also suspect it due to static pressure.

[@damirradivojevic1662]

The only place where hot and cold come together is at the heater. The pressure drop probably gets through the non-return valve, which disturbs the hot water, maybe some shock wave or something and that triggers the dripping from the shower. That's my guess. A have a different thing at my home, when i open the cold water suddenly, there comes some kind of trumpet noise from the boiler/heater. Again from the non-return valve, which obviously doesn't seal very good.

[@michaellesak6912]

it may be that the line pressure is holding the tap shut, but the momentary pressure drop when the cold is opened breaks the seal to allow a drip path. once the cold tap is closed pressure in the lines returns to max and the tap seals back up. drips due to pressure drops are very common on o-ring seals, and since the cold water is the pressure source for the hot water opening a cold tap drops water pressure on both the cold and hot water. probably a combination of worn or decaying seals and pressure that sits right at the 'sweet' spot to cause the phenomena. higher line pressure would make it never drop low enough to start dripping, while lower pressures would ensure a constant drip until the valve is closed tight. i work with water treatment equipment, every seal is an o-ring and i frequently see leaks that start dripping after pressure is relieved.

[@MichaelOnines]

Elon Musk's team learned the hard way that check valves aren't perfect. They can't completely prevent changes in pressure from propagating back down the line.

[@neoplasmax]

Try just connecting the tap to the drain.. and slightly open... Since pressure high up at top being the hottest.. should force a rotation.. I don't know though just guessing.. I know my water heater I connected the output of my line to the drain and now I have instant hot water but it uses a bit more energy and you have to run a return line from all the taps to get it to work but sort of same principle when installing a heated floor from your water heater.. but the shifts in pressure should lessen.. Maybe I'm talking out my butt but seems feasible.. If you give the water some place to go, it won't force through a weak tap somewhere in the home.. basically what I'm getting at.. may have somehting wrong but you get it.. I'm not a plumber but I have done my own repairs and installs.. cause I have high curiosity and tend to learn through just doing something myself.. whether I know anything about it or not..

[@TrailerTrashAZ]

I've said it before and ill say it again. I wish I had teachers like you during my youth years im sure I would have chosen a different career path. Thanks for the great content

[@videogalore]

These things fascinate me! There's a ram pump at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales, UK, that has been running continuously for 15+ years to aerate their pond by discharging a jet of water 2+ metres above the ground at quite a high velocity. Quite a sight even on a small scale!

[@CrankyPantss]

That was another interesting video, Grady. Thanks for explaining your topics in a plain and simple enough way that even I can understand them. Your homemade props are always helpful, too. Well done.

[@asbjo]

Though rampumps are extremely inefficient, they are inefficient in the best way possible. If water is taken from a spring or creek, the pump can just be place a bit down the stream, redirecting a bit of energy, to do some work, from a system that otherwise would do no work at all. The water used ends up the same place. No pollution. No impact. However, it is probably not suitable for large scale water pumping outside some niche activities. My god, there is a lot of waste water. :) Also, I find ram pumps to be very acoustically pleasing to listen to! “Water flow sound, click, pause, click, water flow sound, click, pause, click.....” could sit next to one for hours, do some meditation and reflection over practical engineering, applied science and how the world works.

[@tofuguru941]

I concur. It's almost like a heart beat. I had to pause this video because random epiphanies were flooding my mind with how the world works. And even the human body. Definitely something I could meditate listening too!

[@asbjo]

@@tofuguru941 Ahh yeah. Those epiphany moments are amazing. I guess you are like me, always thinking about how stuff works. Even benign things like leaves on trees moving in the wind, makes me wonder what exact fluid dynamics are happening to make the leaves move as they do.

[@michaelbuckers]

It's a poor man's version of hydro plant that only produces energy in the form of a bit of water moving uphill.

[@dolebiscuit]

@@michaelbuckers It's a free man's way to have the amenities of running water in a home without paying a utility company for the service. This is about moving water to where you want it, not generating electricity. You could generate electricity with this, but you'd generate more by just placing a water driven turbine in the same location the source water comes from, and running wire from it to the home. It's about freedom and independence. Not efficiency.

[@michaelbuckers]

@@dolebiscuit Do you know what's the reason humans went from cave dwelling to space faring? Sharing work instead of doing everything independently.

[@Sharpman34]

Just watched the trompe video, also an awesome use of the physics around us. I knew about water hammer, I do construction and known to be careful turning on valves or faucets in either old houses or a system that hasn't been used in awhile. But I didn't know how this worked, had just heard the name before. Very neat, and a highly useful concept/system. I love these videos so much, the knowledge gained is not only entertaining and fascinating, but useful and practical.

[@oceancon]

It is ingenious and has found good use for upstream eel passage at hydro projects in the northeast. Since many eel passes are located at sections of the dam where it would be difficult to power conventionally, the use of a ram pump has alleviated that situation and allowed operation of the eel passage with little oversight.

[@charleslloydjones3070]

We had one of these on a farm with no power, but we needed water. Lucky us, we had a spring on the farm with lots of fall so easy. The cattle always had water, so did we, the creek still had flow so no issue down stream. Great to understand how it worked! Many thanks

[@antonis476]

the idea behind this pump also applies to dc to dc boost converters. There you have a transistor and a diode working as the valves and an inductor ,that wants to continue current flow, as the inertia of water

[@Derpster2493]

"We live at the bottom of an ocean of air." Think of that the next time you're thinking you don't have what it takes to be a sailor. You're a natural.

[@lucasriley874]

We're at the 'bottom' of an ocean of air... if we're sailors that means we sank so maybe not a great analogy to use.

[@Derpster2493]

I just realized that regarding to our oxygen consumption needs, most people are bottom feeders since most people live near the coastline.

[@dansmith2863]

So we are submarines, no they can float, maybe we are crabs.

[@daviddroescher]

@@dansmith2863 so to find a date, is to catch crabs.

[@viverepericoloso7627]

Don't you realise that we're at Bikini bottom...

[@NickAskew]

Thanks for this video. Back in the UK where I grew up, our farm was fed water from a spring. During our time, water was pumped with an electric pump to header tanks in the house and watering troughs for animals around the farm but I always remembered that on a lower part of the farm, near a stream formed by the water flowing from the spring, there was a small concrete platform with a mechanical device and two tall circular tanks (roughly 2m tall and 90cm wide). None of this was in use but my dad told me it was an old sort of pump. He called it a "hydram" and Googling that term brings up images of something that looks kind of familiar, particularly the big bulb on top which I guess was an air chamber to reduce the hammering in the delivery pipe. I have no idea where on the farm the was being delivered to but I'd guess that like the modern system, it would have at least fed water to the house. But what I am curious to know is what those two large tanks were for. What I can say is that they were really robust. My parents moved to the farm in the early 1970s and those tanks and the pump were already long since not in use. At some point the pump was removed (my guess is that my father wanted to try and get it working again but found it was too corroded and sold it for scrap) but the two tanks are there to this day and there is no evidence that they have corroded through.

[@alfredcaruana1706]

Thanks, much appreciated for helping the many people in need and who lack the knowledge transfer much needed water.

[@burtmcgurt3584]

Best explanation of a ram pump I've seen. Good job!

[@petercarioscia9189]

Welp, this helps me solve the problem of water in the event of the apocalypse at least. I have a water source 50m lower than my shelter, but haven't been able to provide enough power to comfortably power a pump for to move it. I haven't done enough research, obviously. Thanks for this.

[@MrRolnicek]

@Nicola Sabbadini It should be. I've never seen this type of pump being simply placed in a river, you would need start stacking rocks to constrict and accelerate the flow. But him saying "water source" makes me think it's not a river so he might need to get clever. Where there is a will, there is a way.

[@Victor-kf8cq]

Nicola Sabbadini please rewatch the video. Btw the sqrt of 1000 is definitely not 10.

[@fisheye42]

I think it should work. I visited a cabin that was 30 M up from a small creek. The ram pump only needed about 1/2 M of head, and 25 M of inlet pipe length (pretty flat). The inlet pipe only needed 3” of stream depth (to keep the 2” inlet pipe submerged). The inlet only needs slow volume, NOT fast pressure. It’s not a turbine. A few carefully placed rocks made a still inlet pool; that was all it needed. It’s the inlet pipe’s water’s MASS, starting and stopping, that does the work. The pipe going up the hill was about 3/4” PVC, and delivered a slow-but-steady trickle (maybe 1 liter per hour?), into a 55-gallon “reservoir” tank at the cabin. It tricked in through the top. The reservoir tank was not pressurized.

[@NorthParrot]

Great video, one aspect of the ram pump I would have liked to see would be where are it’s limitations like based off the incoming velocity how much can the fluid be elevated, one other thing is what is the percentage of wasted fluid

[@BblazeFilms]

For a pump that I constructed and tested about 70 to 90 percent of the water that enters the pump is expelled from the waste valve. I would guess that these values would change based on the pump size. As stated above though typically these pumps operate in a stream or river. The pump I tested was pvc with a 1.5 inch inlet and 0.5 inch outlet tested with a input head raging from 10 to 30 feet.

[@pranabgill1310]

KZbin has been recommending this video for last 1 year.Seems like Ram pumps have or are going to have some significance in life

[@georgewhitehouse8630]

I have been entertained in,for decades and I am a novice but I have been able to use your knowledge and videos that have helped me explain

[@chadwickwhall]

Witchcraft!!! As a physics/math teacher, I love knowing we would be wizards in bygone eras.

[@Jason608]

Depending on when and where in history you practiced your physics/math witchcraft, you could either be renowned like Archimedes or burned for heresy like Giordano Bruno.

[@douglasharley2440]

@@Jason608 yeah, it wasn't so great for archimedes either actually, and in the end he was killed by a stupid soldier.

[@AttilaAsztalos]

...and would get promptly noticed and "invited" by the nearest warlord to demonstrate our skill by creating better weapons for him ...uh, sorry, "to enjoy his enlightened patronage".

[@DarkDrai]

I like to think about what dark age peasants would think about a dubstep rave. I mean, they'd probably kill me on the spot, but it'd be fun for a minute or two.

[@ParadoxISPower]

Rofl no more like scribes.

[@maxhaibara8828]

"Hydraulic Ram has the same meaning with Water Sheep" - Tom Scott

[@shotgun3628]

*man behind camera laughs* Tom: "spot the engineer"

[@revimfadli4666]

So that's why they work like Wøtr Shjeep black magic. Got it

[@FlameDarkfire]

“Beep beep I’m a sheep” -Tomska

[@aplimsollpunk2738]

A fellow red t-shirt fanatic! Always nice to come across one of our own.

[@skullandcrossbones65]

G'day Do you know where steel wool comes from? A hydraulic ram.

[@thatengineeringchannel4611]

This is a boost converter but for water. The hose that goes from the water source to the pump forms the "inductor" but the fact that this oscillates on it's own is mindblowing!

[@The1stImmortal]

As an Aussie, I see all that freely escaping water and have a moment of horror! I get it though, it's a clever system.

[@Damonnanashi]

To be fair, in the examples he showed, the waste valve dumps back into the source.

[@otm646]

Life on Arrakis is tough.

[@polishedpebble4111]

@@Damonnanashi It doesn't. The source has to be higher than the pump. The pump then pumps the water higher than the pump, and higher than the source. The waste water can't make it back to the source because it's the lowest part in this design. Source 1ft up, pump ground level, pump destination 10ft up. That water that spills out can't get back to the source. Ram pumps waste 90% of the water.

[@josugambee3701]

@@polishedpebble4111 He means back into the river where the majority is going downstream anyways, but your point is still valid.

[@drmodestoesq]

You're assuming it can only run on fresh water. You could use this system to turn wave energy off of Australia's coast provide high pressure water for reverse osmosis desalination cells.

[@segom0]

Hands down the best video i have seen on ram pump explanation. thanks for the great video.

[@ElectroFuzz33]

I'm an EE and this looks exactly like a DC-DC switching power converter. Converting High Current - Low Voltage input into a Low Current - High Voltage output. Very Nice Video, I really enjoyed it

[@kensmith5694]

Yes, you are not the only one who saw the parallel to a boost converter.

[@najrenchelf2751]

We live at the bottom of an ocean of air - probably the most poetic thing I‘ve heard all year! Edit: 3:24, before anyone asks.

[@wtfvids3472]

*most masonic.

[@iraydiaz5888]

Love the series, physics was always my favorite subject in school and this takes me back.

[@HassanAli-yw4kf]

In electrical engineering, we call this a boost converter.

[@jpl8900]

My god I just found you ! I just subscribed . I sent you to about 165 of my regular customers, I wish I could of had you for a school teacher trust me I would have a different career because of you ! Thank you I’ll be busy watching all of your videos to catch up with all of your excellent work man thanks again …

[@marktree5846]

A wonderful explanation. What a genius creation!

[@745morning]

Hydraulic Ram ❌ Water Sheep ✅

[@kennarajora6532]

- Tom Scott 2020

[@jamil2607]

What about to measure the performance of this device? Like how much water is delivered versus total amount of water (delivered + wasted).

[@Belioyt]

Those are the wrong metrics for performance of the ram pump. The ram pump converts the kinetic energy of water flowing down hill to potential energy that moves the water up a column.

[@peterolsen9131]

basically 10:1 is the rough figure, 10 wasted to 1 pumped very high up without power other than the drop to the pump, have a look at a few vids on third world countries using this tech to supply water to villages. when i was a kid , the town of blackbutt QLD AUSTRALIA derived all its water from a local creek this way , circa 1978

[@jamil2607]

@@Belioyt There is no "wrong" in it. I'm concerned about the mass balance of the system, not the energy balance.

[@jamil2607]

@@peterolsen9131 I understand that it's going to vary according to the gain of height we apply. Maybe it can gives us another video showing some correlation... For example: 1m gain, 5m gain, 10m gain and so on.

[@amirdahan5660]

Oh so if i use this i can pump more ram into my pc ? I need this Chrome uses soo much of my ram and i dont know how to fix Please help

[@woo9914]

@oH well,lord! I've had worse ram usage with firefox than chrome. Ever since that update where it was fast across all tabs like chrome is a few years back it uses a ton of ram. But it doesnt like to release it like chrome does. I have a ram cache, some virtual machines, gaming and a browser open on my pc at any one time. It ends up using most of my ram, if I use chrome itll stop using so much ram at a moments notice, firefox not so much. I ended up swapping back to chrome due to that.

[@pancakeking78]

Download some more ram

[@vgamesx1]

Well the first thing to do is grab an extension to suspend idle tabs such as The Great Suspender, it'll clear up a quite a bit of ram from the tabs you aren't using. If that isn't enough, you can sometimes get used sticks for half the price of a new set, I got a few 8GB sticks for about $20 back when the prices were still up at $50 or more for a new stick, you however do have to wait and be patient to get good deals though.

[@woo9914]

@@vgamesx1 that's not really the point. Anyway I have no more ram slots, it would cost hundreds of dollars to upgrade my ram further. When the solution is just use chrome. Anyway, chrome does this natively and really only does it when I'm pushing my ram usage to the limit, which means my performance when swapping tabs is typically great, but if I need the ram for something else its usable.

[@nathacle]

Everyone ITT and @@woo9914 Have you tried Opera GX? You can finetune how much RAM/CPU usage is dedicated towards operating the browser when you want. It's a bit gamer-y oriented but you can turn off those features if you want and it's got lots of great ones also, like a built-in VPN/adblock and it also supports all Chrome extensions. I really enjoy using it.

[@ExcaliburDawn]

These excellent little devices were used all over Great Britain in the 19th Century when creating water gardens with high squirting fountains,they're perfect for the job.

[@SGtidbits]

"We live at the bottom of an ocean of air" - Love it!

[@syber-space]

While I like the updated language of the ad, I am still cautious of them after not keeping customers in the loop... I'm glad they are allowing custom language though.

[@ghostlyninja125]

how does this scale? is there a point where the device is too big or too small?

[@rickcoona]

i have seen some fairly large Ram pumps at least 1 meter across so i don't think scale is the issue if you have the water flow the formula holds

[@ghostlyninja125]

@@rickcoona theres probably a point where it becomes impractical though, like, the pump could exert more pressure than what any material could handle, though such a system would probably need to be colossal.

[@Mandatoryuser]

@@BYENZER I think wranglerstar made a pretty sizable one.

[@radekt.7843]

Hey.. how much water I need to waste to get 1 liter up 1 meter? Is there some equation? Edit: Thanks for useful reply

[@JPRTonundFilmstudio]

that would interest me as well. There might be two formulas. One relying on a frictionless theoretical value, another one for practical appliances...?

[@zuthalsoraniz6764]

For an ideal pump (water arrives at the top with zero remaining velocity, no friction losses, etc) the ratio of the flow into the pump to the delivery flow should be the inverse of the ratio of the heads. I.e. if you have 1 m of head upstream of the pump, and want to pump the water at the delivery end up 10 m, and have 10 l/min flowing into the pump, you should get 1 l/min arriving at the delivery end, and 9 l/min going out the waste valve. Real ones apparently can usually get an efficiency of about 60% (though that can be both higher or lower, depending on how well it is constructed, how high the head ratio is and so on), so in my example, you'd with that head ratio only have 0.6 l/min at the delivery end, and 9.4 l/min at the waste end.

[@theodiscusgaming3909]

Assuming no energy is wasted, sum of the three heads before the pump = sum of the three heads after the pump.

[@radekt.7843]

@@zuthalsoraniz6764 thanks

[@oudotcom]

Really well explained it all. Thanks a lot. 👍🏻❤️❤️❤️😀

[@plaetzchen86]

One think worth adding is the dual-circuit ram pump. Essentially using the gravitational energy of one fluid (water) to pump another fluid. So you can use your backyard stream to pump potable water up a hill without the two waters mixing.

[@aidenp265]

Where can you get those blue check valves, (I can’t find them at the hardware store.)

[@mrxmry3264]

why do they have to be blue?

[@mr.hollywood835]

Tomorrow I'll have my final in Fluid Dynamics and Thermokinetics and here I am...

[@theyoungpatriot6395]

How’d it go?

[@mr.hollywood835]

@@theyoungpatriot6395 Just finished. I'll let you know as soon as I get the mark.

[@Mantis_Toboggan_TrashMan]

When I think of piping liquids, I think of Factorio.

[@Plumsytheghillieone]

Ah, I see you are a man (or woman) of culture as well ^^

[@Mantis_Toboggan_TrashMan]

@@Plumsytheghillieone Factorio is one of the greatest games, I've ever played. You should try Mindustry. It's Factorio if, Factorio was a tower defense game.

[@midship_nc]

Space engineers is a cool game too. I love factorio though, so many hours in my original factory.

[@RobertMoser]

@@Mantis_Toboggan_TrashMan That sounds amazing. I better not check it out until after this semester is over.

[@trinidaddave4691]

Thanks for the video. I have had a ram pump installed at my house for over 20 years. It works great with very little maintenance. I need a minimum of 3 gal/ minute flowing into my drive pipe. On low flow situations I ha a 1400 gallon tank on the bank up stream of my pump. I can usually fill it over night and pump about 1/2 the tank up the hill.

[@Menown7]

OMG THIS WAS JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! I cant find any low flow pumps with high head Hight! this is my solution! THANK YOU FOR EDUCATING ME!!!

[@johnrmoore3078]

You didn't explain that FIRST you must have a head of water higher than the outlet of the waist valve, and the higher that head of water, the more or higher the pump will pump the water. Without that head of water, there will be no water flow.

[@direwolf6234]

yes and no mention of the ratio of water pumped to water wasted....

[@ev6558]

@@direwolf6234 These are mainly meant for very small-scale use when one has access to a river or another source of water which is functionally inexhaustable. But no, it is not very efficient in that regard.

[@TheChristmasNinja12]

I'm a mechanical engineer and this still feels like you're exploiting a game bug.

[@timh.6872]

Look up Hilsch votex tubes. They're even worse: pressure differential into temperature differential with no moving parts.

[@AndrewJJ-0114]

The names of the valves seemed weird to me -- it feels like the "delivery" valve should be the one which delivers the water to the greater height (which is usually the one you want)

[@Electroblud]

That's exactly what it does. The waste valve wastes water up through a short tube where said valve sits. The delivery valve sits in a section of horizontal pipe that then curves up to wherever you need your water delivered.

[@AndrewJJ-0114]

@@Electroblud Ok thanks, I guess I misunderstood when I watched :D

[@lavishlavon]

dang bro, good thinking..like, you were so right that apparently someone actually had to have gone back in time [right after reading your inspiring comment, im assuming], like way back when check valves were 1st invented (circa like 300 bc i think?..was right after direct deposit got invented I do know that..goodbye to long teller-lines). So ya' know im sure it probably went a little something like -arrive in 300 bc, find this check valve dude, manipulate him into being your friend, convince him to bring you back home to meet his mother, take her out for nice sea food dinner then never call her again, realize that was a waste of time..then resort to 'hacking into the mainframe', realize that too was also a waste -not to mention impossible, murder the valve guy out of sheer frustration, seduce the poor man's still grieving wife the next night, completely reverse engineer said valve because you forgot to obtain the secret blueprints from the dude before capping his ass, submit official patent application but w/ the 'correct' designations in-mind this time, fight a near year-long battle w/ patent office over countless patent app rejections due to tedious clerical errors & political bias, eventually get the eff outta dodge before the time machine is discovered by some disgruntled penniless old man w/ a cane named 'Biff' like in BTTF Part II, & uhh, then just hope like hell the patent sticks & boom here we are... (oh, btw yeah..guess they somehow figured out that whole time travel conundrum, who'da thot huh?)

[@RyRy2057]

@@lavishlavon lmao you good fam

[@emfournet]

Your high refresh rate on the little arrow at @4:00 makes me happy

[@rolfnilsson1888]

Lovely to see. Always wondered how they worked. My father installed one in a small creek in the jungles of Malaysia to feed our new home with water. That was 1964. Worked for years.

[@Gruntled2001]

0:59 I still don't understand English very good, why you guys say "moron that later"?

[@mitchellbest9809]

more on that later, it means the topic will be mentioned later in the video. Hope this helps :)

[@Timsturbs]

найс джоук 👌

[@Gruntled2001]

@@mitchellbest9809 Gratitude to you all for helpful answer!

[@amisk8er308]

Love the videos! I'm especially interested in your thoughts on the Great Pyramid at Giza being used as a power source with this ram pump technology/mechanics. Can you do a video on that!? Some guys who've explored this are John Cadman and Christopher Dunn. I think it's intriguing to look at the pyramid this way and to imagine the potential applications for the transfer of that energy.

[@andresvelazquez5922]

It's ok guys. I've seen Dr Stone enough times to know where this is going.

[@benniedonald]

As a carpenter I have used a homemade water level. I was amazed by it the first time. Very informative and well done. I would probably put the waste valve over a catch tank.

[@siriusczech]

You usually cannot do that, the waste valve is on a similar level to to stream you take water from. So you can have a pond or a mill under it, but probably not a usable catch tank. Where you HAVE catch tank is in the place the water is pushed over the roof. There you would have some good old australian-looking water tower and that one would provide you with pressure for the whole system.

[@TwisterKidMedia]

Just finished my penultimate semester for my masters in hydrogeology and environmental science. Just had a groundwater dynamics class and we talked about pretty much everything applicable in this video.

[@vloogle4924]

I would call this a "water ratchet". To me, that name better explains its operation.

[@trgtdron]

I used to run water line in subdivisions, we put in the 8" mains and then the laterals to the meter boxes. I would tap off up to 18" mains on the main feeder to supply the subdivision and talk about a bitch, I worked in the Roswell Ga area for years and those people inspected EVERYTHING. I never failed an inspection even with one inspector that would tape measure every bloody meter box to the inch and my corner kickers better be right. Nice guy but retired FBI dude so he was anal about it. The only real danger we had was doing blow offs before pressure testing and all corners and ties had to be left uncovered during the pressure testing so inspectors could check the corner kickers and ties. One day some of my guys had brought some gear from the shop and in it was a bloody 6" butterfly valve and they hung on our farthest fire hydrant for the blow off to get the air out of the system for the pressure test. I hadn't looked at the valve and one of my new guys got sent to close the valve off. I didn't know who was sent I had a large crew and half were Latino so I would give instructions to my main lead and let him translate instructions on down. So when I figured we had blown off enough (6 hour blow that day) I called for a shut off. Well the new guy slapping a 6" butterfly closed on a 8" pipe was an experience I hope never to see again, 6 blocks of 8" main came out of the ground ripping all our work to pieces all the way back to the 12" where I was standing. It was exiting watching that line coming out of the ground toward me I can assure you. Several hundred thousand dollars gone in couple seconds it happened that fast. I buried that valve UNDER the relayed pipe. Was almost as exciting as the day I took out a 8" gas main thanks to miss marking by the company that did the marking. Same subdivision on Johnson's Ferry in Roswell, another story another time lol.

[@JordanDayBiblicalGreek]

trgtdron Hello my friend, Plumber from Marietta, GA. I liked your underground utility story. Are you retired?

[@scottsammons7747]

I have explained to employers that the value of my experience is proportional to the cost of mistakes to previous employers. Often while explaining why we should keep a younger worker who has made a costly error. The random new hire will be lacking the value of the experience that the guy they want to fire just gained. "We have just invested in a more valuable and more experienced hand", I would tell them. Sometimes they will listen, sometimes they keep teaching new guys the same lessons.

[@Malusdarkblades11]

the only thing i thoud was: damn thats smart

[@CraigC55]

I'm here after Dr. Tom Cowan's explanation of the Heart not as a pump, but rather what sounded to me as a ram pump! I suggest to check his work out!

[@DerMarkus1982]

"We live at the bottom of an ocean of air, ..." I totally agree with that statement, although I find it a bit strange to put it that way! 😂 I absolutely love your content, Grady; I've also seen you on some episodes of Lateral with Tom Scott. Also great content! 😀

[@AntonioNoack]

7:52 that's so amazingly ironic lol

[@johndaily7286]

I'd like to permanently define "free energy" as any form of energy accumulated or generated without having to pay the "grid" controllers. Owning a property with tons of trees for fuel could be taken as free energy with this better definition.

[@wheaties2912]

Creates a lot of head... Teehee

[@romeotalang5236]

A VERY GOOD presentation. Very professional. EXCELLENT job.

[@keithmartisius781]

Grady this is brilliant. I’m going to build one of these to keep my horse paddock dry. Thanks for the demo.

[@louf7178]

It can't just be standing water; it must be flowing (significantly).