# Pumping a windmill pump assembly by hand,



## Waterboy

Earlier this year, I set a goal to come up with a manually operated pump that could reach beyond the 300-foot threshold, beyond the point where common hand pumps can operate. I also wanted a pump that could deliver a lot more water than a common hand pump. My wife and I were reminded of this during the drought, because we had to use a hand pump to simply get water from the pond for the trees and garden. We wore ourselves out applying a lot of effort and time for such little water (about a cup per stroke) from a hand pump. 

Windmills can pump well beyond the 300-foot threshold because of the power of the wind. After doing some research, I decided to start with the same type of reciprocating pump cylinder that a 12-foot (wheel diameter) windmill uses, which is a 4-inch pump assembly. I bought a 4-inch two-leather plunger/piston (made by Midwest Manufacturing) and made an extra-long 4-inch inside diameter brass cylinder. I installed the pump assembly in my well along with a 2-inch drop pipe and 3/8-inch pipe for the sucker rod. 

The pump was installed 40 feet below the 80-foot static water level. An old windmill professional told me that at that static water level depth and with that large of a pump assembly, I would not be able to pull up the rod. I continued with my goal anyway. 

After seeing how much mechanical advantage I needed, I definitely understood why he said that. It took the mechanical advantage of a 6-to-1 block and sheave along with my 3-to-1 pedal-powered PTO to pull the rod up. I could not even budge the rod by hanging on the pull line and I weigh 150 pounds. 

I was able to pump water in that method, but it was not very practical for everyday use, although it would be usable during emergency situations. So, I went back to the drawing board and have finally developed a simple hand-operated water pumping machine that makes common hand pumps seem like toys. 

The first prototype had a 42-inch handle and delivered a little over 3 gallons per minute. I mentioned this to another hand pump professional and he said I must be using a 12-foot arm. I said no, just 42 inches and my mechanical advantage formula. However, that was not enough water at that depth for me, although it was a great achievement at that depth for such a large pump assembly and drop pipe. 

After I made more adjustments, lengthened the handle and tested it again, I pumped 6 gallons a minute and my wife pumped over 4 gallons a minute. We were not trying to pump as fast as we could, yet we were amazed how much water we got, considering the depth and size of the cylinder and drop pipe. This was a breeze compared to a common hand pump. One popular hand pump brand states that it takes a 200-pound man six-foot tall stroking 60 times a minute to pump the maximum water quantity.

This type of hand pump head and same size cylinder and drop pipe can deliver a lot more water at shallower depths, which means water for the family and farm with a lot less time and effort spent – maybe 15 to 20 gallons a minute.

A common hand pump can’t pump water beyond 300 feet, although a windmill can with a smaller pump assembly and drop pipe. My hand-operated pump machine can operate a large windmill pump assembly, so I am confident that this same hand pump machine can easily surpass the 300-foot threshold.

Based on what I have already done with this 4-inch windmill pump assembly, 3/8-inch sucker rod and 2-inch drop pipe and 6-gallon delivery, what is the maximum depth I could go using the same machine with a smaller cylinder and drop pipe and wooden sucker rod? 

Anyone know the math? 

Stay tuned. We will be adding a video next week showing the hand-pump machine delivering 6 gallons in a minute.


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## Well_Driller

I have heard of windmill assemblies pumping from as deep as 500ft, though I have not seen it. Most farms that used them stored the water in an elevated tank and allowed the windmill to keep it full. BTW, I can pump 5 gallon per minute from my hand pump.


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## Waterboy

Well_Driller said:


> I have heard of windmill assemblies pumping from as deep as 500ft, though I have not seen it. Most farms that used them stored the water in an elevated tank and allowed the windmill to keep it full.


Thanks for the reply,

Not sure if you are talking about pumping the assemblies by hand. Are you?

Because of this hand pump machine, I now plan on setting up a small water storage tower and do a gravity feed to the house. I will just fill it for the needs of the day.



Well_Driller said:


> BTW, I can pump 5 gallon per minute from my hand pump.


Wow, that pretty good!! Can you post a video of that? I can't seem to find a video of someone delivering the max gpm from a hand pump. You would think the companies that make the hand pumps would show that also, or you might know of such a video??


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## Tribal Warlord Thug

would be really interested in the hand pump when ya git 'er figured out waterboy.....our well is around 290 feet so any way to hand pump it without spendin' a fortune sounds great to us.......ya'll knowz how cheap us hillbillies in the Ozarks iz........lmao


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## Well_Driller

Waterboy, as far as I know those windmills pumping from that depth were never pumped by hand, of course with enough leverage it can be done, but you can't pump near the volume of water that the windmill can. My hand pump is pictured at the left as my avatar, I can pump 5GPM from it. The cylinder for my pump is 2" and placed at a depth of 60ft, the well has a static water level of 30ft. I use 3/8" pump rods which are lighter than the 7/16" rods. No reason to use anything bigger than necessary as it only adds more weight you have to work against. My thoughts are you may be trying to reinvent the wheel, I would have thought in 150 years of building hand pumps and windmills the best possible combinations would have already been thought of, but I certainly appreciate the fact that you're looking to improve on this. Who knows, you may just come up with something, or you will come to the same conclusions that the rest of the industry has in 150 years of building them. Either way, you'll learn something from it, and maybe we will too.


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## Well_Driller

I also forgot to mention, when you start getting really deep with pump cylinders, the friction of leather cups becomes more of a problem, especially with large diameter cylinders. This is because of the way they are made. It is cupped which means the more weight there is in water, including pressure the more it forces that cup out against the wall of the cylinder. It will get to a point where it just won't move anymore because the friction hold is too great. It's one reason they use more than one cup on deep well cylinders because it helps divide that up between more than one cup. Coming up with an effective and reliable seal for the plunger assembly that doesn't use a cup would make a world of difference for very deep static water levels.


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## Waterboy

Just a quick update:

I just counted the hand strokes needed to deliver 6 gallons of water and it was only 18 strokes. And I can still improve on that!


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## Waterboy

rabidcoyote666 said:


> would be really interested in the hand pump when ya git 'er figured out waterboy.....our well is around 290 feet so any way to hand pump it without spendin' a fortune sounds great to us.......ya'll knowz how cheap us hillbillies in the Ozarks iz........lmao


Thanks, and I hope we can make them affordable for those who need an alternative to the common hand pump. It will be a low cost alternative to a windmill.


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## Waterboy

Well driller,

Thank you for the information and taking the time to reply. It is good to converse with someone who has the experience and knowledge you do.

A wheel is a wheel, but can be improved upon. A hand pump can also be improved and it has been through the years. If it had not been for the invention of the electric motor, someone would have already come up with a better way to produce more water by hand from shallower wells, and deeper wells. It just takes more mechanical advantage and needs to be built stronger than the common hand pump.

Would you think that a hand pump that delivers 5 gallons of water in 14 strokes of the handle is an improvement?


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## Waterboy

Here is the video I promised of the pump machine.


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## Szumi

Have you considered counter weighting the rod mass?


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## Waterboy

Please note that this is a prototype. Now that I have overcome a 1100 pound force, I now can improve on what I have accomplished. I can reduce the amount of travel on the handle, produce more water and even make it easier to use. So stay tuned for the next video!


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## Waterboy

Szumi said:


> Have you considered counter weighting the rod mass?


Yes, I have, but also have to consider the extra weight, because the rod has to fall back under its own weight for the next cycle.

Thanks,


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## Waterboy

I have been doing some mechanical advantage tests and hope to be able to produce more water from the machine. I hope to also post that video later this week.


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## Well_Driller

Waterboy said:


> Yes, I have, but also have to consider the extra weight, because the rod has to fall back under its own weight for the next cycle.
> 
> Thanks,


Counter weights are a good idea, all you have to do is balance it out. That's what they do on the oil wells in my area. Those pump rods will still fall back under their own weight. With the right balance it takes less work to do the pumping. There was a company developing hand crank pumps for state parks etc. that used a counterweight to make it easier to pump. They were built to be more user friendly for the handicapped. I have seen pictures of them, but have not seen them around here. Still have the old fountain pumps like the one I have pictured.


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## Waterboy

I have been doing some improvements and testing with the prototype to see about its maximum output and to make it easier on the operator. Overcoming such of an extreme load and to pump more water per stroke, a long handle is necessary, but the benefits are more water with a lot less time spent pumping.

At this time, if I need 5 gallons of water, I just stroke the handle 10 times and it only takes 30 seconds of my time. I am in my 50s and weigh about 145 pounds. I pumped a little more than 8 gallons in 1 minute and it was a bit tough for me. I am sure that after I get used to the pump, I could do 10 gallons a minute. Could you imagine how much a 6-foot young man weighing around 200 pounds could pump from this machine?

Now from this point, my next goal is to make this hand pump machine easier to operate for continuous use, because we want to get off the grid. Continuous use meaning spending a few minutes a day pumping a daily water supply into an overhead tank for the home.

I should have a video of both demonstrations in a few days.


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## cowboyhermit

As a temporary fix on an old pumpjack (uses the same rod type pump) I added some spring tension on the upstroke, worked fine.

We don't have to worry about water being so hard to get to but I think it would be easy to compensate for the weight of the rod with spring tension. Garage door springs come to mind. Counterweights are great as well if you can rig it, and possibly less prone to breaking.


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## Waterboy

Here is the demo of five gallons in 30 seconds, with only 10 strokes of the handle. It is AMAZING!! With this type of hand pump machine at 40 feet, I could get 2 gallons of water per stroke of the handle, and 20 to 30 gallons a minute depending on the pump cylinder and drop pipe.


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## Waterboy

Forgot to mention.

After making the machine stronger, I can change one thing on it and, then, two strong men could pump 20+ gallons per minute. That's over the capacity (per minute) and power of a 12-foot diameter windmill pumping from 80 feet. The maximum depth of a 12-foot windmill with a 4-inch cylinder is 86 feet.


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## Waterboy

To understand why I built such a extreme hand pump machine, see this. http://wellwaterboy.com/id88.html


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## Waterboy

Well_Driller said:


> Waterboy, .... but you can't pump near the volume of water that the windmill can.........My thoughts are you may be trying to reinvent the wheel, I would have thought in 150 years of building hand pumps and windmills the best possible combinations would have already been thought of, but I certainly appreciate the fact that you're looking to improve on this. Who knows, you may just come up with something, or you will come to the same conclusions that the rest of the industry has in 150 years of building them. Either way, you'll learn something from it, and maybe we will too.


Well Driller,

After almost a year of working on this project, better combinations have now been achieved with the WaterBuck Pump. The best possible combinations are yet to come.

Traditional hand pumps cannot compare to the WaterBuck Pump. However, under human power the WaterBuck's output in gallons per minute operating a 4" pump cylinder *exceeds the performance charts of 8' to 16' diameter windmills operating the same size pump cylinder*. The maximum gpm of 8' to 16' windmills with wind speeds of 15-20 miles an hour is 13.8 with a 4" cylinder.

The maximum depth of a 12' diameter windmill operating a 4" pump cylinder is 86'. With our hand pump operating a 4" pump cylinder at 80', a man in his 50s weighing only 150 pounds surpassed 13.8 gpm. With our hand pump, a stronger man can easily surpass the 50s man by 3-5 gpm.

Our hand pump machine is also within the performance range of 3/4 horsepower submersible electric well pumps, possibly more with further testing. With further field testing, we anticipate depths of 500+ feet can be achieved and 40+ gallons per minute depending on static water level and size of cylinder.

With our pump any one person cannot pump the volume of water a windmill can for more than two to three minutes at a time. However, if you have a community that needs a lot of water, they can with the WaterBuck Pump.

I learned a lot.


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## cowboyhermit

I am glad you have had success with your design, I know if I were relying on a deep well I would be looking for options.
However I don't really see the point in comparing a hand pump to a windmill or submersible in terms of gpm. I work with a lot of wells and in not one of them is the gpm output of the pump an issue, in almost all applications the pumps output is reduced in some way or sitting idle many hours of the day.
With a hand pump the amount a person can pump and the time it takes is indeed significant but with windmills or other pumps that is not often the case.


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## Waterboy

Cowboyhermit,

The reason why I compare my hand pump to windmills and electric pumps in gpm is just to illustrate it's power, mechanical advantage and performance under human power. 

I also made the point that my comparison of GPM was in relation to the normal operating speed of a windmill at 15-20 miles an hour. 

I don't understand your point about "I work with a lot of wells and in not one of them is the gpm output of the pump and issue" 

When sizing a water well pump for a specific application, either it is by wind or electric power, GPM is an issue depending on gallons needed from the water well. Also, HP rating and diameter of windmill have an important role in GPM delivered. Please explain.



Thank you for your comments,


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## Tirediron

I think maybe you guys have missed a little piece of the physics pie on the counter weight problem. on the up stroke the pump handle lifts the weight of the sucker rod, the water column and the pump friction. on the down stroke the weight of every thing is the same except for the amount of water the pump cylinder actually moves and the force required to refill the pump cylinder through the check valves less the friction of the pump pressure stroke. so with the correct counter weight system the limiting factor should be pump capacity and strength combined with friction loss. 
When you get this perfected you will knock the hand pump world on it's ear:beercheer:


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## cowboyhermit

Oil well pumpjacks have always used counterweights as far as I know, the motor is pretty much just lifting the oil and of course friction. But our well pumpjacks were never set up for it, I guess it wasn't much of a limiting factor but all of the wells we used them on were under 100ft.


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## Waterboy

Tirediron said:


> I think maybe you guys have missed a little piece of the physics pie on the counter weight problem. on the up stroke the pump handle lifts the weight of the sucker rod, the water column and the pump friction. on the down stroke the weight of every thing is the same except for the amount of water the pump cylinder actually moves and the force required to refill the pump cylinder through the check valves less the friction of the pump pressure stroke. so with the correct counter weight system the limiting factor should be pump capacity and strength combined with friction loss.
> When you get this perfected you will knock the hand pump world on it's ear:beercheer:


Hey Tirediron,

Thank you for your comments and advice.

I have looked into using counterweights and other advancements and attachments such as small solar power pump jacks. However, a simple and easy improvement that yields 90% more water at any depth is by the water being discharged by raising and lowering the pump lever. That means a maximum of 27 GPMs from two men my age, weight, and fitness at the pump's current settings. Shallower depths can yield as much as 70 GPM with two strong operators.

Our newer design is for large communities. We will have information about this pump soon.

Thanks again!


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## Tirediron

cowboyhermit said:


> Oil well pumpjacks have always used counterweights as far as I know, the motor is pretty much just lifting the oil and of course friction. But our well pumpjacks were never set up for it, I guess it wasn't much of a limiting factor but all of the wells we used them on were under 100ft.


Yeah, with the old 1 cylinder oil pumpjack motors , you could always tell if the motor maintainance guy was a tinkerer, buy the lack of load change in the exhaust note .


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## Waterboy

Tirediron said:


> I think maybe you guys have missed a little piece of the physics pie on the counter weight problem. on the up stroke the pump handle lifts the weight of the sucker rod, the water column and the pump friction. on the down stroke the weight of every thing is the same except for the amount of water the pump cylinder actually moves and the force required to refill the pump cylinder through the check valves less the friction of the pump pressure stroke. so with the correct counter weight system the limiting factor should be pump capacity and strength combined with friction loss.
> When you get this perfected you will knock the hand pump world on it's ear:beercheer:


Hey Tirediron,

I made another improvement with the pump - a counterweight system. It made it easier to pump. Two young woman pumping together filled a 55 gallon barrel drum in record time. With this counterweight system we can get much deeper. I have not yet tested the maximum capacity by one strong fit man, but hope to soon.

What do you think?


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## Tirediron

That is impressive, almost 10 gallons a minute I hope you are able to patent this device, because all we have heard up to now is that high flow deep well hand pumping is not feasible artydance:


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## Waterboy

Tirediron said:


> That is impressive, almost 10 gallons a minute I hope you are able to patent this device, because all we have heard up to now is that high flow deep well hand pumping is not feasible artydance:


Tirediron,

The patent process has begun. I can't wait to try it at 30 feet and 500. It is just a matter of time.

If I had a 8" casing I would put in a 6" inch cylinder and see how many gpm I could get. But hopefully soon, I can test it on a well around here.

Thanks again!


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## Coastal

Very cool! 

I would have had the girls fill a 5 gallon bucket....it would be a lot more impressive to watch if it just blasted a bucket full in a few seconds. The 55g drum is awesome...but as the viewer it drags on. 

Keep at it!


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## Tribal Warlord Thug

Waterboy said:


> Tirediron,
> 
> The patent process has begun. I can't wait to try it at 30 feet and 500. It is just a matter of time.
> 
> If I had a 8" casing I would put in a 6" inch cylinder and see how many gpm I could get. But hopefully soon, I can test it on a well around here.
> 
> Thanks again!


hell waterboy.......i'll volunteer our well fer some testin'....our's is almost 300 feet deep...........give me a holler'............:beercheer:


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## Waterboy

Coastal said:


> Very cool!
> 
> I would have had the girls fill a 5 gallon bucket....it would be a lot more impressive to watch if it just blasted a bucket full in a few seconds. The 55g drum is awesome...but as the viewer it drags on.
> 
> Keep at it!


Thanks Coastal,

I understand about it drags on. However, many pump mfg claim what their pump will do in maximum capacity, but they don't have any videos to prove it. They just show you a few pumps of they handle. We like to show what all it can do. Stay tuned, hopefully for a 20 gpm video without an electric submersible.


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## Waterboy

Tribal Warlord Thug said:


> hell waterboy.......i'll volunteer our well fer some testin'....our's is almost 300 feet deep...........give me a holler'............:beercheer:


Hey Warlord,

You never know if we could work something out. How close are you?


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## Waterboy

I have kept what is under the hood of the pump long enough. The secret is out.

http://waterbuckpump.com/2013/08/06/the-mechanics-exposed/


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## Waterboy

When I first began this project, I asked windmill professionals what was the resistant load on a 4" cylinder with a 2" drop pipe and with static water level of 80'. They didnt know, other than I would not be able to pull the rod up with what I am trying to do.

We could not find a hanging scale large enough to determine the load on a 4" pump cylinder. So we decided to use the old-fashioned method, a 6-to-1 block and tackle and a set of weights. Our test shows the WaterBuck Pump without the use of the counterweight system is easily lifting 840 pounds when set on the long stroke. These results are based on cylinder leathers that have been broken in. New leathers will have more resistance.

We have a video of the load test 




When grandma pumped 7 gpm, she lifted the load 19 times, and of course the load would have been greater in operation. That's pretty good for grandma!


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## Waterboy

Well_Driller said:


> Waterboy, as far as I know those windmills pumping from that depth were never pumped by hand, of course with enough leverage it can be done, but you can't pump near the volume of water that the windmill can.


Hey Well Driller,

At one time, I would have agreed that no one could pump near the volume of water a windmill can. However, after learning about the torque created through the mechanics of my manual pump jack, I would now have to disagree to a certain point.

With my manual pump jack an average man can exceed the volume of water a windmill can produce in one minute with a 4" cylinder with 80' of head. 25% more! Two fit operators can match the volume of water a wind mill can pump over several minutes.

Yesterday I pumped 17.5 gallons during a sixty second sprint. I pumped 3.5 gallons more than what a 12' mill can at peak performance. Speaking of endurance - I filled a 55 gallon drum in under 7 minutes. We had a couple young men fill the barrel in under 4 minutes. So, if you have the available man power and the right pump jack you can pump a greater volume of water than a windmill can to a certain point. Also considering that windmills do not pump at peak performance every day nor all day.

Here is a video of the 17.5 gallon demonstration.


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## Tirediron

And you don't have a great big tower advertising. "water and supplies here"


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## LincTex

Waterboy said:


> I have kept what is under the hood of the pump long enough. The secret is out.
> 
> http://waterbuckpump.com/2013/08/06/the-mechanics-exposed/


Shucks, I never got to see it!


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## Waterboy

The capacity of our pump keeps getting better. At the current application, it is 22 gallons in one minute with just 25 strokes. I would have never thought that a hand water pump under operation of one man can produce 60% more water in one minute than a 12' windmill. But, it's true.

We have a video here http://waterbuckpump.com/2014/07/21/hand-water-pump-record/


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