anyone got experience installing a well hand pump

[merlinfire]

I have set myself a beginning-of-October deadline for some critical preps - no I have no secret knowledge about SHTF, just some hunches and a desire to be more prepared - and one of those things is securing the water side of things. Didn't want to do the dip-a-bucket method, preferred the hand pump. Anyone have any experience installing them or know how to set them up? I found some sources for the pumps themselves, I assume you just have to buy an appropriately sized piece of pipe to screw in it, and make some sort of frame to hold the pump itself in place? ideas?

[S.....P......]

Like any other well. If your soil is right you can sink your pipe with a sand point and be done. I would put in a casing then your pump but that's just how I would do it.

[merlinfire]

Like any other well. If your soil is right you can sink your pipe with a sand point and be done. I would put in a casing then your pump but that's just how I would do it.

sorry, I guess I should have explained better, I got ahead of myself. I already have a dug well. Is it possible or practical to install a hand pump for a pre-existing dug well

[S.....P......]

Is this an open well for lowering in a bucket? If so I have never tried that.

[Jerry D Young]

When you say dug well do you mean an open hole in the ground, with rock or brick around the top and a hoist for the water bucket like in an old western?

Or is it a drilled well with steel or plastic pipe sticking up out of the ground?

Also need the distance down to the water at rest, and the distance to the water when the existing pump is running (assuming there is one) to determine if you need a shallow well hand pump or a deep well hand pump. The actual depth of the well does not determine the deep or shallow. It is the depth of the water that is important.

Also, what type of hand pump are you contemplating? One with a handle to lift up and push down, one with a crank, one that you lift and lower the actual pump/pipe?

I have worked with many types of pumps and wells, just need a few details.

Just my opinion.

[Deebo]

following closely

[BucketBack]

following closely

Ya That

I put a well in for my 10th BDay. I got strong quick with that one.

Heck just drop the pipe in and pump the handle.......with a screen or whatever they call the point anymore

[Dwight55]

OK, . . . dug wells are open wells, . . . sometimes cased, . . . sometimes just stones laid up in a circular pattern to keep the soil from caving into the hole.

All you need is a platform, . . . board, . . . plank, . . . to bolt the hand pump to it, . . . and enough pipe to reach the water.

NOW, . . . if your water is farther down that 27 feet, . . . the hand pump will not work. It's a simple physics law about vacuum, air pressure, etc, . . . just understand that it will NOT work below 27 feet, . . . and anything over about 20 is tough pumping usually.

You should be done about 45 minutes after you start if you have the stuff there.

May God bless,
Dwight

[BucketBack]

We pumped at 32' with a standard red well pump on 1 3/4 pipe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BEzhzpUYno

[hawgrider]

Lots of deep well hand pumps available. Some will hand pump 200ft or more.

[merlinfire]

When you say dug well do you mean an open hole in the ground, with rock or brick around the top and a hoist for the water bucket like in an old western?

Or is it a drilled well with steel or plastic pipe sticking up out of the ground?

Also need the distance down to the water at rest, and the distance to the water when the existing pump is running (assuming there is one) to determine if you need a shallow well hand pump or a deep well hand pump. The actual depth of the well does not determine the deep or shallow. It is the depth of the water that is important.

Also, what type of hand pump are you contemplating? One with a handle to lift up and push down, one with a crank, one that you lift and lower the actual pump/pipe?

I have worked with many types of pumps and wells, just need a few details.

Just my opinion.

so when I moved into this house I discovered that it had a dug well *inside the basement*, and I was told by the previous owners that it was used as a well in years past, before municipal water was run to the house. it is not a sump pit - a sump pit exists on the other side of the basement, it is a dug well. it appears to be about 3 foot wide inside diameter. its depth is unknown to me, though i suspect it is relatively shallow. I will get some string and sink it down to determine exact depth. i am guessing less than 30ft. i wasn't aware there were so many options of hand pumps. but i'm going with something relatively inexpensive, less than $100 ideally. another reason i'm hoping it is not terribly deep. but when i take the cover off I can see the water surface, can't be more than 10 feet down. i will need to shock and pump it out to determine what a normal fill would look like however

[merlinfire]

OK, . . . dug wells are open wells, . . . sometimes cased, . . . sometimes just stones laid up in a circular pattern to keep the soil from caving into the hole.

All you need is a platform, . . . board, . . . plank, . . . to bolt the hand pump to it, . . . and enough pipe to reach the water.

NOW, . . . if your water is farther down that 27 feet, . . . the hand pump will not work. It's a simple physics law about vacuum, air pressure, etc, . . . just understand that it will NOT work below 27 feet, . . . and anything over about 20 is tough pumping usually.

You should be done about 45 minutes after you start if you have the stuff there.

May God bless,
Dwight

that's somewhat like I had in mind. some sort of platform to bolt the pump to. i don't want to put any pressure on the lip around the well in case some of it might cave in. i will measure the depth tonight to know for sure before I buy a pump.

[BucketBack]

so when I moved into this house I discovered that it had a dug well *inside the basement*, and I was told by the previous owners that it was used as a well in years past, before municipal water was run to the house. it is not a sump pit - a sump pit exists on the other side of the basement, it is a dug well. it appears to be about 3 foot wide inside diameter. its depth is unknown to me, though i suspect it is relatively shallow. I will get some string and sink it down to determine exact depth. i am guessing less than 30ft. i wasn't aware there were so many options of hand pumps. but i'm going with something relatively inexpensive, less than $100 ideally. another reason i'm hoping it is not terribly deep. but when i take the cover off I can see the water surface, can't be more than 10 feet down. i will need to shock and pump it out to determine what a normal fill would look like however
I'd use a fishing pole with a crawler and sinker

[juskom95]

Was this the one you needed to 'shock'?

[merlinfire]

Was this the one you needed to 'shock'?

yeah. i figured that was standard procedure for bringing any old well back into service. what i'm not sure about is whether I should shock it and use an electric pump to do the pumping until the water is conditioned or whatever, then install the hand pump. hand pumping a few hundred gallons of water sounds like zero fun

[juskom95]

yeah. i figured that was standard procedure for bringing any old well back into service. what i'm not sure about is whether I should shock it and use an electric pump to do the pumping until the water is conditioned or whatever, then install the hand pump. hand pumping a few hundred gallons of water sounds like zero fun

My parents' house has something similar, he found an old well, but in his case the piping is still there (routed into the house).

He was going to just go down to Harbor Freight, buy a cheap electric pump and pull up some water to get it tested. There is a chance the water table is/could contaminated. It would never for "Drinking Use" (Because the city/county/state would tax him for it) but for "Garden Use" only.

[merlinfire]

My parents' house has something similar, he found an old well, but in his case the piping is still there (routed into the house).

He was going to just go down to Harbor Freight, buy a cheap electric pump and pull up some water to get it tested. There is a chance the water table is/could contaminated. It would never for "Drinking Use" (Because the city/county/state would tax him for it) but for "Garden Use" only.

i definitely plan on getting it tested. though even if for "garden use only" it would be a tremendous help in such a dire situation. but I'm in a rural area that has never had any industry, some farms nearby but hopefully fertilizer runoff wouldn't be too much of an issue. have to see. if it turns out that the water is not safe to drink, even when run through a monolithic filter, then that is really going to affect my water plans.

[juskom95]

i definitely plan on getting it tested. though even if for "garden use only" it would be a tremendous help in such a dire situation. but I'm in a rural area that has never had any industry, some farms nearby but hopefully fertilizer runoff wouldn't be too much of an issue. have to see. if it turns out that the water is not safe to drink, even when run through a monolithic filter, then that is really going to affect my water plans.
If it is "Non-Potable" there are other uses for it, which could greatly conserve your water usage. Showers, clothing, gardening, general washing etc. If all you are using your alternate water sources for is drinking/cooking, it would/could reduce your Potable usage.

[Dwight55]

The odds are though, . . . since it is in the basement, . . . that puts it 8 feet under ground anyway, . . . plus another 10 feet if I read your post right, . . .

I would not worry too much about it, . . . ag runoff either.

This one should work for you, . . . it's what I had in mind in my first post: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FUNCTIONAL-Hand-Water-Well-Pump-Pitcher-Cast-Iron-Press-Suction-Outdoor-Yard-NEW-/401032528546?hash=item5d5f66c2a2:g:kegAAOSw7aBVFIh P

I grew up drinking water from a well in the backyard, . . . water was about 8 feet down, . . . my aunt's was no more than 10, . . . all 8 of us kids survived, . . . showers, baths, drinking, canning, . . . even squirt gun fights.

Think about a Berkey filtration system, . . . if you have any problems, . . . I'm told that they are THE best, . . . and I use one here at my place more than anything else just to get rid of the floride and chlorine.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Jerry D Young]

I have set myself a beginning-of-October deadline for some critical preps - no I have no secret knowledge about SHTF, just some hunches and a desire to be more prepared - and one of those things is securing the water side of things. Didn't want to do the dip-a-bucket method, preferred the hand pump. Anyone have any experience installing them or know how to set them up? I found some sources for the pumps themselves, I assume you just have to buy an appropriately sized piece of pipe to screw in it, and make some sort of frame to hold the pump itself in place? ideas?

After seeing the description, yes, getting a pitcher pump with a length of pipe and a simple screen on the bottom will work to get water out of the well. Other types of pumps, including pressure hand pumps can pump it out of the well and up a few feet to a second story to fill a tank for gravity flow.

Just my opinion.

[merlinfire]

all good info. thanks.

@Dwight55 you seem to have experience with this. the pipe itself, is PVC fine or do I need something else? Is the pump threaded, and I need to get a threaded end for the pipe? or is it just inserted and clamped somehow? also Jerry D Young mentioned a screen on the bottom, that sounds like a good idea, what's the best way to attach that you think?

[merlinfire]

took a closer look with a good flashlight and here's what I saw. well is probably about 3.5-4ft across, round, with brick walls. total depth, at least that I could see bricks, was somewhere around 15-20 feet. there was water about 6 foot down from the well top. keep in mind this is in my basement, so that would be about 10 feet down from "ground level". water looks just a bit cloudy. i assume that shocking and pumping should clear that up. if my math is right that's somewhere in the vicinity of 120ft3, so what, about 900 gallons of water? need to figure out how much shock i need for that. and its gonna take a while to pump that out......geez