Home Made Hydraulic Ram Pump

Lately in Prepper Chat, the discussion of a "grid down" scenario has popped up. One of the items we discussed was the ability to pump water without electricity.

Here is a link to Clemson University which has an exhaustive page on constructing a home made Hydraulic Ram Pump. This page has tables to enable you to calculate the size of the pump you will need to construct for your application as well as lists of materials.

The pump uses a portion of the volume of incoming water to drive the remaining volume up a pipe. The supply side has to be a constant source such as a spring or a portion of a creek or river that has been diverted. It uses the power of a large volume of water falling a small height to drive a small volume of water to greater heights. One could fill a tank installed upon a hillside from a source below. The tank on the hillside would be able to supply a home and farm with good water pressure.

Another type of pump that may be used if you have a good sized waterway nearby is a sling pump. A sling pump uses the current of the water to run the pump and deliver the water.