"Plan B" For Your Well - Hand Pumps

[@debracaller4020]

Timely topic for me ,just went 2 days with no electricity. Was draining my hot water tank for water

[@whatablissfullife]

I literally been asking around about this

[@nkotyrlo]

Is there a way to get water out if your well happens to be more than 300 ft?

[@TheReadyLife]

First thing, I want to make sure you realize we're talking static water level, not depth of well. If you missed that part, I describe it on the video. Depth of well doesn't affect a hand pump, only the water level. If you're static water level is deeper than 325', a hand pump isn't going to be a good option. So you'd probably want to put in a very reliable solar system with battery backup that is capable of powering an efficient water pump. We have some episodes on that as well here. The other option, if you have a well that has no pump at all in it, is a well bucket (could be made out of PVC pipe with a flap valve in the bottom). With that, you can go as deep as you want, as long as the valve doesn't leak.

[@ArlenFletcher]

Got a quote from Simplepump, and asked them how much water per stroke of the pump. Answer: a little over 1/2 cup. So, getting a gallon of water is going to take awhile at that rate. Is this a pretty typical flow rate for a hand pump?

[@TheReadyLife]

That would be the 100L cylinder which is the smallest one (in terms of ounces per stroke). That cylinder is what is used for the deepest water levels, so my guess is that your water level is fairly deep. If that's the case, it may be your only option. But just remember that because you aren't pump much per stroke, that makes the effort per stroke less, which means you may be able to pump faster and without tiring as much. If you were pumping at a rate of one stroke every 2 seconds (which is feasible if the amount of effort is low), that would work out to roughly 1 gallon per minute. Not awesome, but far better than the alternative (no water)! If your static water level isn't super deep and you are willing to put out more effort per stroke in exchange for more water per stroke, you may be able to step up to the 125L cylinder with 8.5 ounces per stroke. But you'd want to look at their stroke effort chart and chat with them about it first to make sure it isn't going to be too difficult to pump.