Our company has sold hand pumps to mountain cabin owners and the
Forest Service for camp grounds, for over 34 years. Since the concern for the Y2K problem,
we have heard from many people and the following information will answer many questions.
Most people want to know if they can install the hand pump
system in the well, along with their electric submersible pump. If the well has at least
6" ID casing, you can put the submersible pump underneath the cylinder and use the
common discharge pipe coming out of the cylinder. The water will discharge through the
hand pump spout. We do not know of a commercially made product that allows hand pumps to
be used with underground discharge pitless adapters. If the customer wants to continue
using their submersible pump, and discharge through the pitless adapter, we recommend
buying and storing the hand pump system until it is needed. Two people could set a hand
pump system, up to 200' into the well, in a day.
A hand pump system consists of the hand pump, pump flange, pipe, rod, and
cylinder.
Many people are familiar with a type of hand pump known as a cistern pump.
They are about 12" high and are used for pumping out of a cistern. Cistern pumps were
found on grandma's kitchen counter. They are designed to pump from about 15' down from the
surface. They are usually used over a water storage cistern, and we believe they are to
small for use in a well.
Hand pumps are about 36" to 48" tall, and most of us have used one
in a camp ground or on the farm, and they can be used to pump from as far down as 300'.
Remember that even if your cylinder is set deeper than 300', the static level where the
water rises to naturally in the well, is where you will pump from. Monitor Baker has 2
major hand pump styles. The 11HD pumps water to the surface and discharges through an open
spout, the 12HD has a bibb spout that allows you to discharge through the spout, or close
the bibb spout and redirect the water from a fitting on the back of the hand pump to a
cistern near by. Remember that human power does the pumping, so any redirection of the
water increases the effort needed, so keep the distance you pump over to a reasonable
amount.
Hand pump flanges allow quick connection of your hand pump to the casing in
your well. Flanges are available for 6-5/8" OD, 5-9/16" OD, and 4-1/2" OD
steel casing. They provide a seal between the hand pump and the casing, as well as
providing for connecting your hand pump securely to the well casing. We do not believe PVC
casing is strong enough to support the weight and stress of a hand pump. If you have small
enough PVC casing, you may be able to install a 6" steel surface casing over the PVC,
and down about 5' into the ground, leaving about a foot above the surface of the ground.
This casing should be cemented into the ground to keep it secure. If you can not put a
steel casing into the surface, you can also pour a cement pad to secure the hand pump to.
After pouring the cement pad, you will have to cut the PVC down to the pad level, and use
a gasketing material between the hand pump and the cement pad.
The actual pumping unit is a cylinder which is down in the well below the
static water level. We usually recommend a 2" all brass cylinder for most wells. Each
stroke will deliver about a quart of water to the surface. When setting the plunger
stroke: go clear to the bottom and then pull up about 2" for clearance so you do not
hit the bottom check in the cylinder. You may want to keep 2 extra cylinder leathers on
hand for future use. If you have 2" casing in the well, we have a 1-11/16"
cylinder that will fit inside, however it reduces the amount of water from each stroke
considerably.
The 2" cylinder is designed for 7/16" galvanized steel rod, which
comes in 21' lengths, and is threaded on each end, with a coupling furnished per length.
You will need 1 additional rod coupling for connecting up inside the hand pump at the well
surface. Galvanized steel pipe in 1-1/4" size is available in 21' lengths, which
match your rod lengths. It is threaded, and comes with a coupling. We recommend using a 5'
length of pipe and rod at the top where you connect to the hand pump. It will make
assembly and disassembly much easier. You may also want a hand operated pipe threader and
rod threader to adjust pipe and rod lengths. These should be available from your local
hardware store.
We offer a traditional ranch style pipe holder and pipe dog, which help hold
the pipe at the well top, and to lift out of or lower into the well. These work best on
galvanized pipe.
You can use a hand pump by itself, or you can connect it to a pump jack or windmill to
power the hand pump. Pump jacks can be powered with electric motors, gasoline engines, or
solar power. We offer an A374-1/2 connector unit that allows you to change from connection
to the windmill to operating the hand pump manually.
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