Reading the thread on storing water for weather related problems brought me back to a question I once had about getting water from a well with the power out.<br><br>Does anyone know if it's possible to connect a hand pump (pitcher style) into a wells plumbing and pull water up through the subm. pump? Will the pump let water be pulled through it?<br>My well is 145 ft deep and the head water is only 12 to 18 feet from the top of the well head. I also have a check valve in the well line to keep water from running back to the well. If I connect the pump up in my basement (with valves to isolate it from the pressure side) I'm another 8 ft closer to the water level so the pump shouldn't need to provide much lift. <br><br>Anyone else ever try this? <br>My main problem in the Midwest is no advanced notice of the power going out... ice storms, tornados, etc.<br><br>I have used the water heater trick before... pretty nasty water comes out at first... rust, yuck. Works fine to flush toilets though.

Oh boy, Im supposed to remember this kind of thing from when I served my apprenticeship. I believe, that you are limited to 32 feet with a a pump that relies on atmospheric pressure to do the lifting. It takes 1/2 lb of pressure to lift water one foot so 14.7 psi X 2 = 29.4 feet. Thats pretty close. There may be some effects of the pump creating a partial vacuum that I dont remember to make up the extra 2 or so feet. <br> If you only have to pump a maximum of 20 feet, I see no problem.

Ahh...Im stupid! Now I remember. It doesnt take a full 1/2 psi to lift water one foot. The fractional difference makes up the two feet.

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

I don't know how to do that, but it sounds like a good idea. <br>I have heard of using an electrical generator to provide back-up power to the pump. You might want to compare that option before sinking money into the manual pump idea. The generator would prove useful in other ways, too.

So the water can be pulled through the pump without damaging anything?

That's 8 ft from basement level and 16 ft from normal ground level... this changes throughout the year with water table changes... at times it's down below 20ft.<br> I was told the well was drilled deep because the area has layers of peat at the 45 to 60 foot level, there is water there but pretty brown and nasty tasting... so they went deeper. The well casing keeps the two water systems from mixing to much. If the well was unlined (hand dug?) this might be a problem.<br>My main question is the pump... can pull water through it without any damage? <br>I could always mount a hand pump on top of the well head but this makes it tough in the winter.

" 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>I have to say that I agree with this line of thinking.<br><br>As far as hurting the pump. I have yet to see a pump that could be hurt by such low flow rates. That is assuming that the pump will allow water to be siphoned through it. A vane type pump will not allow water to be siphoned through. I imagine that a submerged pump would be the vane type. Possibly a roots type pump with two gears. (which wouldnt allow it either.)<br><br>To be honest, two lengths of pipe run parallel to the original in the casing would be quite cheap and easy. That would take you down 40 feet. It would eliminate the complexity. <br><br>If you have a six inch casing, as my well does, there is plenty of room for more than one line.

Your submersible pump SHOULD be a centrifugal pump, that means you can pull water through it without damaging it. Water will simply flow through the impeller. If it is a vane pump, water may not easily flow though the pump but i don't think it would damage it. The problem with suction pumps the amount of lift is limited. If your water table is high enough you should be fine.<br><br>Personally i have a hand pump for my thirty foot deep shallow well, i live in Florida, high water table. And a generator for the deep well.