MOTHER'S HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP

(Page 3 of 3)

May/June 1979
 
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THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

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When you stop to think about it, it's a wonder that the hydraulic ram isn't used nearly everywhere ... even where inexpensive electric power is available. After all, the design is virtually maintenance-free, creates no waste or pollution, and cobs next to nothing to build and install. Furthermore, by using larger or smaller plumbing components, a trompe can be scaled up or down to suit your individual needs.

So—whether you want to supply a farm pond with fresh water, fill a storage tank, deliver drinking water, or feed an irrigation system-the simple water ram can do the job ... and without the outside power requirements and maintenance headaches that are unavoidable when using conventional pumps.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information on the hydraulic ram principle (including a formula for determining how much water you can expect your pump to deliver and tips on setting it up), see " The Hydraulic Ram Pump: Perpetual Motion for the Homestead", MOTHER NO. 22, pages 40-43.

HOW THE HYDRAULIC RAM WORKS

Water from the feed pool or reservoir rushes down the drive pipe-flowing past the waste valve and out the waste pipe-until enough pressure builds up to force the bathtub stopper against its seat. (Naturally, this pressure increases as the fall from the source becomes greater.)

When the waste valve shuts, it drives water through the check valve and into an air chamber ... where the fluid compresses the air and forces it to kick back, like a piston. This action, in turn, closes the check valve and pumps water out the delivery pipe and-eventually-into a pond, tank, or irrigation system.

As the check valve closes, the water in the drive pipe rebounds temporarily ... creating a partial vacuum that allows the waste valve to drop open again. The excess liquid (which was not driven into the delivery pipe) then flows out the waste opening and can be returned to the water source or used to fill another pond.

The entire cycle is repeated some 40 or more times per minute. (The rate can be increased by tightening the inner adjusting nuts, while a growler How of water will be achived by loosening the adjusters.) Of course, you'll have to "fine tune" your trompe to suit your particular needs.

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Comments

  • Charles 9/22/2009 3:53:54 PM

    Reading articles from time to time about the ram pump and actually getting a working plan is something else. Is there a actual step by step plan in english showing how to build one ?

  • Jeff 8/5/2009 2:29:46 PM

    Would it be possible to use a ram pump in conjunction with a gravity water system to power a hydro electric system? In other words. If you set up a gravity water system with a ram pump to continually return the water back to the top, could you insert a hydro electric system and use it to create electricity?

  • zcat 8/5/2008 7:35:20 PM

    I wouldn't think that a PVC rampump is going to last as long as a well engineered commercial pump, since the pump is constantly exposed to water and gets hammered non-stop it's entire life. Good commercial pumps (eg http://williamsonrampump.co.nz here in the Waikato) are built out of stainless steel with high-impact polymer valves and can run for years at a time without needing repairs.

  • C 3/4/2007 4:46:25 PM

    I appreciate and enjoy these articles very much. However.... A very
    important image is missing from this article. I have the original
    print article, which includes a view of the assembly in exploded
    assy format. This is probably the most important part of the
    article. What's more disappointing is that the exploded assy view
    is also missing from the archive CD I received as a gift. RIP OFF!

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