THE HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP: PERPETUAL MOTION FOR THE HOMESTEAD

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D = [(S X F)/L] X 2/3

where,

D is the amount of water delivered in gallons per minute (gpm). S is the amount of water supplied to the machine in gallons per minute. Fit the fall or vertical distance in height between the supply of water and the ram. L is the lift or vertical distance the water is lifted from the pump to the storage tank. The fraction of 2/3 represents the efficiency of the
ram. Older models had efficiencies of about 40%.

The minimum fall from which a ram will operate is 18 inches, and that's the vertical distance I had to work with. I measured the supply flow at 10 gallons per minute by catching the water in a pail and timing how long the container took to fill. The lift I used was 10 feet. Thus the amount of water I should have expected to be delivered was:

D = [(10 gpm X 1-1/2 feet)/10 feet] X 2/3 = 1 gpm

I actually measured about nine-tenths of a gallon per minute.

It sounds inefficient to use 10 gallons of water to pump one gallon, but remember that the ram works constantly (unlike a windmill) ... so that one gpm adds up to 1,440 gallons per day. Besides, the nine gallons which go out the waste valve aren't really wasted since they can be returned to the stream or used for any convenient purpose.

Note that you can't pump the water to an indefinite height since pipe friction slows the flow down. This effect is reduced by using a sufficiently large water line and by keeping co nnections and bends to a minimum. It is much better to shape a long piece of pipe into a gradual curve than to use sections of tubing connected at a sharp angle. Garden hose is out of the question because all the kinks would produce too much friction.

SOURCES FOR THE HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP

According to Don Marier (Alternative Sources of Energy*, No. 1, July 1971), the only American commercial source for the ram pump is:

Rife Hydraulic Engine Manufacturing Co.

(800) 743-3726
www.riferam.com

When the Heberts were planning their installation, they corresponded both with that firm and with a Japanese supplier:

Ce Co Co Chuo Boeki Goshi Kaisha
P.O. Box 8
lbaraki City
Osaka, Japan

Each company was most cordial, informative and helpful, Bill Hebert says, and his order finally went to Rife for the following reasons: [1] The pump was slightly cheaper (the New Jersey outfit offers models from $180); [2] shipping costs from New Jersey to Ohio were considerably less than from Japan; [3] instruction and installation manuals were in clearer English; and [4] the replacement parts which may be needed ten years from now might be easier to obtain domestically.

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