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I would look into a pedal-powered pump or generator to run a pump. Legs are much stronger than arms.
Windmills are another age-old solution for pumping water. Ask the Dutch.
Good ideas . We used a bucket when i was a kid , but well was only 125 ft. . I learned very fast not to play with the draw bar, it can spin hard and fast . I think the pedal power would have been nice to have .
We also used an outhouse and every now and then poured lime into the hole but keep it downhill and far from well . We had electricity but when the storms cut the power we went back to basics or if the well pump froze up or points stuck . We also had lots of spring water and a 10 acre lake filled by spring water .
Driller is right, the only real thing that matters is the static water level.
For instance my well is 290 feet deep but the water level is only 17 feet down as measured from the ground level (typically it levels off at the ledge rock). So in reality, a hand pump hooked to my well casing would only need to be the shallow well type (say 25 feet)to get water to the surface.
Now that is only 8 feet of water to work with, but at 1.5 gallons per linear foot of well, that is 12 gallons of water you could pump out. Now that is not much, but keep in mind the recovery rate! My well gets a meager 2 gallons a minute of water, so I would have to hand pump 2 gallons of water every minute just to keep the well at that 17 foot level.To exceed the capacity of my 25 foot shallow well hand pump, I would have to hand pump 14 gallons in one minute...that is not very likely, either by human stamina, or by the volume capacities of the hand pump. And even then, at 2 gallons a minute recovery, a 7 minute wait would bring you back to the static water level of 17 feet. By the time you lug (2) 5 gallon pails of water into the house, or to the cows, etc...the water level would most likely be back to 17 feet.
Now this would not work for modern living where we take showers and whatnot using large volumes of water in short periods of time, but in an emergency situation where we wanted aquifer water (versus that of surface water), it would be just fine. The key word there is EMERGENCY water.
Incidentally to check the static water level, take off the cover off your well (an adjustable wrench may be needed to turn the three bolts), then use a string tied to a small block of wood small enough to fit inside the well casing. Lower the block of wood into the casing and when the string goes slack, the wood is floating on the water. Mark the string with a marker or piece of flagging tape, and withdraw the block of wood. Then measure the distance between the block of wood and the mark on the string...subtract the height of the casing that comes out of the ground, and you have your static water level measurement...from ground level to water level that is.
For modern living, they figure a family of 4 uses 150 gallons of water per day. Though my well is quite deep at 290 feet deep, at 1.5 gallons per foot, and having a static water level of 17 feet deep, (273 feet of water), I have 410 gallons of water to draw from as a reserve...plenty of water! In fact my family of 3 could go 3-1/2 days just on that reserve alone...that is without recovery of 2 gallons a minute factored in.
But of course if I had a well of only 50 feet deep, and only got 2 gallons a minute, then that would not be enough capacity to sustain a modern home. So the way it is figured, you have to balance the depth of the well and the recovery rate to get the right ratio of water. And another thing, if I had a dairy farm or lots of beef cows, my well would never work by itself. Thankfully I have sheep that require very little fresh water so I am okay, and I have several wells that I can water my sheep from.
For a shallow well hand pump, I would look at Bison Pumps, made right in good old Maine, USA they are top notch and not that expensive. If you factor in the value of water in an emergency situation, they are really cheap. They have a shallow well pump and a deeper unit...
I am not sure what you mean by what size well? You mean the dimensions of the pipe going down? I think it is 8", but I am not sure.
We have a small family and our needs are relatively modest. Tthis water would be used for drinking, cooking and washing dishes only. We do have a wet weather creek on the property which we could dam up to use for gardening (although, it would still be quite a haul), and we could also catch rainwater for bathing and gardening as well.
I am primarily worried about potable water which would be very difficult to obtain.
We are thinking of getting a well "bucket" from Lehmans but I am wondering about the realistic ability to haul water up 325 on a daily basis.
Driller is right, the only real thing that matters is the static water level.
For instance my well is 290 feet deep but the water level is only 17 feet down as measured from the ground level (typically it levels off at the ledge rock). So in reality, a hand pump hooked to my well casing would only need to be the shallow well type (say 25 feet)to get water to the surface.
Now that is only 8 feet of water to work with, but at 1.5 gallons per linear foot of well, that is 12 gallons of water you could pump out. Now that is not much, but keep in mind the recovery rate! My well gets a meager 2 gallons a minute of water, so I would have to hand pump 2 gallons of water every minute just to keep the well at that 17 foot level.To exceed the capacity of my 25 foot shallow well hand pump, I would have to hand pump 14 gallons in one minute...that is not very likely, either by human stamina, or by the volume capacities of the hand pump. And even then, at 2 gallons a minute recovery, a 7 minute wait would bring you back to the static water level of 17 feet. By the time you lug (2) 5 gallon pails of water into the house, or to the cows, etc...the water level would most likely be back to 17 feet.
Now this would not work for modern living where we take showers and whatnot using large volumes of water in short periods of time, but in an emergency situation where we wanted aquifer water (versus that of surface water), it would be just fine. The key word there is EMERGENCY water.
Incidentally to check the static water level, take off the cover off your well (an adjustable wrench may be needed to turn the three bolts), then use a string tied to a small block of wood small enough to fit inside the well casing. Lower the block of wood into the casing and when the string goes slack, the wood is floating on the water. Mark the string with a marker or piece of flagging tape, and withdraw the block of wood. Then measure the distance between the block of wood and the mark on the string...subtract the height of the casing that comes out of the ground, and you have your static water level measurement...from ground level to water level that is.
For modern living, they figure a family of 4 uses 150 gallons of water per day. Though my well is quite deep at 290 feet deep, at 1.5 gallons per foot, and having a static water level of 17 feet deep, (273 feet of water), I have 410 gallons of water to draw from as a reserve...plenty of water! In fact my family of 3 could go 3-1/2 days just on that reserve alone...that is without recovery of 2 gallons a minute factored in.
But of course if I had a well of only 50 feet deep, and only got 2 gallons a minute, then that would not be enough capacity to sustain a modern home. So the way it is figured, you have to balance the depth of the well and the recovery rate to get the right ratio of water. And another thing, if I had a dairy farm or lots of beef cows, my well would never work by itself. Thankfully I have sheep that require very little fresh water so I am okay, and I have several wells that I can water my sheep from.
For a shallow well hand pump, I would look at Bison Pumps, made right in good old Maine, USA they are top notch and not that expensive. If you factor in the value of water in an emergency situation, they are really cheap. They have a shallow well pump and a deeper unit...
Good info ,thanks . I think they are talking about putting meters on wells too . I know they tried it a few years ago and the people protested . Thanks for site too .
After all the expence of a well that would be a shame.
150 gallons a day!! Oy Vey!! Unless we factor in livestock and irrigation, our family of two humans and two furry children probably couldn't use that much in a month! We haul in about 50 gallons from the public well every couple of weeks. You just have to learn to bathe quickly and reuse greywater as much as possible (start cleanest, end dirtiest, don't use toxic chemicals so you can water the garden last).
If I were in your well situation, I would definitely invest in a large storage tank and make it a daily habit of pumping (either electric or manual) in a bit from your well everyday. You have better access to your water for large drains (like showers and laundry) from a tank than from a straight well & pump... and if you're using an electric pump, just having it run until the tank is topped off again saves you A LOT of power/fuel, solar or wind with a 12v could probably handle that load easily if you didn't want to go manual.
150 gallons a day!! Oy Vey!! Unless we factor in livestock and irrigation, our family of two humans and two furry children probably couldn't use that much in a month! We haul in about 50 gallons from the public well every couple of weeks. You just have to learn to bathe quickly and reuse greywater as much as possible (start cleanest, end dirtiest, don't use toxic chemicals so you can water the garden last).
If I were in your well situation, I would definitely invest in a large storage tank and make it a daily habit of pumping (either electric or manual) in a bit from your well everyday. You have better access to your water for large drains (like showers and laundry) from a tank than from a straight well & pump... and if you're using an electric pump, just having it run until the tank is topped off again saves you A LOT of power/fuel, solar or wind with a 12v could probably handle that load easily if you didn't want to go manual.
It's the manual stuff I am worried about. I am thinking long term "no electricity" scenario and probably no solar or windmill availability.
I am wondering how long water would "last" in a large storage tank (i.e. drinkable water). It seems like for long term storage some kind of treatment would be necessary to keep mold, algae and bacteria growth down. Would that be necessary?
What size motor is on the pump in your well? For $140 you can get a 230v 60hz 2500 watt (continuous) inverter. 2500 watts is over 3 HP, but it couldn't start a motor that big. For 700 bucks you can get one that runs 10000 watts continuous, 20000 watt surge. That should handle any pump you have. Get a couple of deep cycle batteries and a solar panel or two and you should be able to pump a few gallons a day. Even at 325 feet. Maybe not as simple as a hand pump, but it's pretty convenient to be able to use the setup you already have.
Why not ask the Amish how they do it?
( there are Amish in Missouri )
They have big families and livestock and get by w/o electricity.
Oh yes, there are lots here. They use windmills. But, I think they are situated where the water table is much lower (the Seymour area). Blasted Ozarks are the problem. Even though we are a mile from the lake and James River, most of that mile is DOWN HILL. LOL
I have considered a wind mill, but the arms would have to be 15 feet long, and it would cost a fortune. Besides, in a worst case scenario, replacement parts might not be available. That is the draw-back with solar and using a generator also, it might work find FOR A WHILE, but I am thinking long, long term.
Water that isn't exposed to sunlight doesn't grow algae very fast, so it should last in a buried or enclosed storage tank fairly well. You may have to let the tank run dry/drain it every now and then, get inside and clean it out, but that's not too difficult if it's designed well.
If you're concerned, you can treat it with a small amount of bleach (which you might not have access to long long long term either). The only other option would be getting a bubbler/circulator which just runs into power and maintenance issues again. But as long as you filter/treat/boil your potable water, stored water in a tank or cistern would be plenty clean enough for other household use, livestock and irrigation. For the most part, humans can eventually tolerate water that isn't perfectly crystal clean... the adaptability of our immune system is a marvelous thing. People out in the bush drink creek water, rain water and snow melt that is just teeming with stuff that will supposedly make them sick; but since they are used to it, it doesn't affect them at all.
If you're concerned about long long long term, I gotta tell ya: everything breaks eventually, even manual stuff. Ropes wear out, cranks and gears grind down, buckets rot or rust, seals and gaskets degrade. Long long long term, you should know how and be able to maintain whatever system you choose, to include being able to manufacture your own spare parts for them. I'd be more worried about whether I had the skills and tools to maintain whatever system I chose, than worried about getting a system that will never break.
Solar panels really never die as long as you don't physically break them, they just get a little inefficient, and those electric pump motors are pretty durable if you take care of the bearings and coils... I find them easier to maintain and less prone to problems than combustion engines. A mechanical windmill, opposed to a electrical generating windmill, are fairly simple to maintain with a little DIY skill... after all, they've been in use way longer than we've had fancy modern technologies! Power generating windmills are a little more troublesome since you have the generator to deal with, but they're really not that complicated. Everything else in a well pump system, be it electrical or manual, is pretty much the same -- cranks, gears, linkage/cable/rope, buckets/cups, and seals/gaskets -- just depends on how fancy (i.e. effecient) the pump is. Rope and bucket with a hand crank and axle is less complicated, but also less efficient so it takes more wear for the same result... your more efficient solar/wind powered electrical/mechanical pump system may actually work longer and require less maintenance due to less wear.
If you're running most of your electric motor stuff DC, then you don't even need an inverter (or batteries if you want to trust the weather for direct power), but DC gauge cable is fatter and more expensive than the thinner AC wire (notice the difference "cable" vs. "wire"). Depending on the generator configuration, you may also need a voltage regulator so you don't fry anything or the voltage is jumped up enough to run the motor, and they're the weakest link IMO (but not that weak).
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