If the pump is rated to suction up that high, it will work. Most of the suction pumps sold these days will NOT lift to the theoretical limit; they will tell you how much lift they are rated for. Pitcher pumps are normally used for cisterns where the lift is a few feet. The old hand pumps normally used in wells here in the MidWest use an operating rod down the well casing to cycle a piston pump that is submersed in the water inside the well. There is a practical limit due to weight and flex of the operating rod, but in theory one could pump from the core of the earth that way. It's moot, as you would not easily be able to drop that sort of pump down without extracting your existing cable, pump, and pipe first. <br><br>Part of the answer to your question depends on flow rate - why is your well so deep if the resting water height is only 8 feet down? Perhaps because it has a relatively low flow rate, although there could be other reasons. <br><br>Most of the shallow water tables in the MidWest are highly contaminated with ag chemicals and coliform bacteria (presumably from livestock). If your well was placed 145 feet down to get into a deeper aquifer but now has the resting water column at 8 feet... there are at least two explanations for that: 1) The deeper aquifer is confined by a caprock layer and is under enough head to force its way up your casing that far 2) your well casing is leaking and you are seeing shallow water in your well casing.<br><br>If it is reason 2... besides risking your own water, you risk contaminating the deep aquifer - when your electric pump cycles on, it will tend to draw the slug of surface water down the well casing. If you don't know why you have a 145' deep well with the resting water height at 8', please get it checked out!<br><br>As for your hand pump - guarding your well/the aquifer against water contamination should be paramount. If you put it in, I'd go with the indoor (basement) option you mentioned, provided the hydraulics work out OK.. To my way of thinking, a few 55 gallon plastic drums in the basement, filled with well water in advance and treated (bleach is OK if your well water is otherwise fit to drink) is a lot less trouble and safer for you and your neighbors who are tapped into the same aquifer. <br><br>Another way to handle it is to purchase a generator that has the voltage (probably 240v) and ampacity to operate your existing electric pump. Wire up a proper disconnect/transfer switch and put your pump on the generator circuit - it does not need to sit there in standby all the time; you can use it for other tasks unless you need it for water.<br><br>In my travels I have seen deliberately contaminated wells - a curse that keeps on giving; the aquifers were irreversibly contaminated. Chemically shocking the wells made no enduring improvement. I don't think there is a high risk of that by putting a pitcher pump in your basement (unless you have a sewage backflow), but I'd still ask why the 145' vs 8' water levels Just my two cents worth...<br><br>Hope this helps answer your questions.<br><br>Tom