Hand pumps for allotment

[Tim Watts]

Hi,

Anyone got any recommendations for hand water pumps and pick up filters?

We've got some new allotments round the back of a meadow. unfortunately there's no water, but there is a stream with permission by the EA for abstraction.

The stream water is nominally clear and flowing and about 3-4m from the edge of the allotments.

However, the pump would have to lift the water about 2m up over a flood control berm. Obviously the pickup is going to need some sort of filter to prevent crud getting in.

Naturally as there's no mains water, there's also no electricity. Ideally some sort of rotary hand cranked pump or lever pump that could be fixed to a wooden post. It's only for filling cans and buckets - though conceivably someone could plug a hose in and fill a butt.

I've come across stuff like this:

something like that be upto the job? Is there something better suited (like a modern hand well pump)? And where would one get suitable pickup "boxes" (don't know the name for these) from?

I don't really know where to start looking - any pointers would be really handy.

Ta

Tim

[Andy Dingley]

Find the relevant Intermediate Technology handbook, a couple of old car tyres (biggest softest sidewalls you can find) and make the "rocking tyre bellows" pump. Looks like shit, not much delivery head, no suction lift to speak of, but if you want to pump a large volume of water manually, against a modest delivery through a decent diameter of hose, then there's nothing to beat it.

[Adam Aglionby]

Hydraulic ram, constantly flowing water

more affordable

[Tim Watts]

Interesting.

But seriously... (and there's not fall to speak of here so a RAM wouldn't work AFAICS).

I think the folks are happy DIY the installation, but they didn't have DIYing the pump in mind! ;->>>

[Thomas Prufer]

That rotary pump, if it's anything like the diesel pump I used, it will have a miserable miserly flow for watering an allotment.

Either go for a cheap two-stroke pump and fill up a butt or three in one go while the infernal thing is running. Or use what google tells me may be called a "pitcher pump" -- seems I've seen them in cast iron, from China, for not-too-much.

Thomas Prufer

[JimK]

Ebay may be your friend:-

[Andrew Mawson]

filters?

unfortunately

suitable

My approach would be a Honda engined pump filling a tank and distributing by gravity from there. The pump would only need to run occassionally if you put a big enough tank in.

[Tim Watts]

Yes, I did that. Unfortunately most of the stuff looks fairly non applicable for the job. And I still don't know what the pickup thingies are called?...

I'm thinking "marine" - I'll have a rummage in some of those online sites. I think we're one step up from a bilge pump though.

There must be something that say a farmer might use for filling a water trough out in the fields, but I suppose they are just as likely to use a portable petrol pump caried round on the tractor or buggy.

The guys here aren't after ornate well pumps, just something reasonably inexpensive (

[Tim Watts]

> AWEM

That's a lateral thought. I'll put it to them. It would need an enclosure (pikey factor) and a storage tank, or a few butts coupled but that sort of money isn't insane (though it might be more than they have in the kitty right now!).

Cheers

Tim

[JimK]

You've seen the fully working one for =A337 delivered then? ;>)

From those on ebay, it seems a working well pump (however ornate) would fit the bill nicely - shouldn't mind a bit of crap, no power required, cheap, simple to fix, should pull 2m head (I expect a well would be at least 2m - to need a pump)....

Cheers

JimK

[JimK]

oops forgot-

"suction filter"? what's in the stream/likely to need filtering?

Cheers JimK

[Dave Liquorice]

It'll be hard work lifting the water over the berm with a manual pump. I'd read the small print very carefully on the cast iron well pumps. They might just be decorative or not have decent valves/seals.

Mr Dingley's rocking tyre bellows sounds interesting but google only appears to return his post... Think I'd be tempted to look at what the third world do and copy that. So maybe an archimedes screw or water wheel but they are normally powered by livestock. A counter balanced arm with bucket on a rope might be a goer or just a made path to a made place with water flowing through to keep it clear into which people can dunk their buckets.

With 2m head to play with how about a row of butts (1m high) and an area to collect rain water into those butts, this could also be used to dump water onto from the counter balanced arm and thus into the butts.

[Tim Lamb]

Battery and 12V pump?

Cars and allotments go together in my experience:-)

regards

>

[Tim Watts]

Hi Jim,

I hadn't thought of that - worth looking at possibly.

Cheers

Tim

[JimK]

If I'm imagining right... once the pipework was full of water surely there'll be a helpful siphon effect over the "hump"/berm?

Cheers JimK

[Tim Watts]

Bit of sediment, light sand probably. It runs mostly clear on a good day but the bottom is just clay and when it rains, it goes completely muddy. I don't think a lot of what's in suspension is likely to be an issue, other than settling in any low bits of pipe, and it's possibly to avoid that.

But there's bound to be heavier particulates, especially as the water is only about 6-10" deep - so dropping a pipe on the bottom is likely to suck up all the crap. I'm thinking cyliner, industrial bean can sized, made of very fine mesh. The flowing water should be able to wash the outside surface and anything that gets past a metal mesh is unlikely to affect a pump designed for well use.

[Tim Watts]

A beam isn't a silly idea! Problem is at the moment is all sorts of elderly folk are trying to scramble down the berm to drop a bucket on a rope into the water.

A 2 degree simple beam made of scrap iron pipe or timber could work.

Attach bucket, swing beam through 90 degrees, drop beam, and bucket into the water, lift and swing back.

[JimK]

yeah - I'm initially imagining a dip pipe mounted centrally on/in an Earlex combi vac wet and dry filter :>)....maybe wrapped with fine (stainless?) mesh instead of the pleated filter.....tho maybe worth experimenting as is? tho don't know how they'd cope with continuous immersion.....

UV proof plastic container/tub with snap-on lid could be better for longer term (to mount the filter screen)? Cut sections of sidewalls out and replace with filter screen, keep lid and use to mount dip pipe?? Ramblin now ;>)

Cheers JimK

[Tim Watts]

Not this one sadly - can't get a car anywhere near it (parking is 400 yards away). However, you have sparked an idea. One of these things solar might be good for.

12V leisure lead-acid battery, panel+charger, decent pump. Caravan pump would be a bit slow, but could be paralleled. Have to make sure it's a self priming one. Normally those only lift a metre but I'm sure they could manage more.

I'll go and spec what sort of panel might charge a battery in a reasonable time. The good thing is when it's sunny is when you need more water so it could work quite well. Fence post in ground, panel on top (like those parking meters have), pipe, outlet and switch bolted to the side and battery + pump(s) in a box on the ground.

It could work!

[JimK]

could be one helluva queue on a sunday morning ...;>))

JimK