# Quick and Simple Well Water



## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

I'm about ready to go with a way to get some Fresh Water out of my Well in case of a long Power Outage, other than using a Generator. 

My Well is 165 Ft Deep and I believe I get Water at 140. 

I checked on some Handpumps a while back, but found them to be a little too expensive, especially the ones that work alongside an existing pump.

It seems like a good choice and a simple way would be with a Water Boy Well Bucket. 

Just looking for some last minute opinions and also checking to see if there is anything new out there since my last research. 

Thanks

Bill


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## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

Been looking into the same thing but have not come up with anything yet. We do have water that comes out right at the back of the house but wanted something for the well that is at the front of the house.


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

Well, it's been 16 days and 126 views and other than Freyadog who is looking for the same info, no replies. 

Maybe I should revise my question to "what are you all doing or have plans on doing for Water back-up"? 

I still like the idea of Water Boy Well Buckets as a simple alternative and any comments on them would be appreciated. 

Thanks

Bill


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

To use that well bucket doesn't your pump have to be removed? If so then hardly "quick and simple".
Have you looked at solar pumps?


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## 8thDayStranger (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm no well expert but I'm guessing the old fashioned bucket and rope is going to be the answer if the hand pump doesn't work out.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

BillT, all of our wells are under 100ft, so I am not in the same situation. 
However I can tell you what we have, (we have a farm and different properties (and livestock) so our situation is complicated.

In one well we have a 110V pump, this can be run with a 1500W generator or larger, it can also be run with a 1500W inverter or larger. The inverter can be run from a vehicle but only intermittently due to the size of the draw, however for every one minute of runtime we get at least a pail of water. We can also run it off of batteries charged by solar or wind.

On another well we have an old fashioned pumpjack, this can be run with a 12V motor, 110V motor, or a gas/diesel/propane small engine. It can also be turned by hand, though this is not that efficient. The pumpjack is what we used to water hundreds of cattle before electricity.

Another one is 12/24v DC submersible diaprahm pump, (shruflo 9300 but there are others), these pumps take an amazingly small amount of power and we are planning to use them more in the future. Retrofitting them to existing wells costs a few bucks and takes time so we haven't gotten to it. A nice thing about these is that batteries are not needed, though often they are used.

We also have a shallow well that can be pumped by hand, this is kinda last resort for us but it works.


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

hiwall said:


> To use that well bucket doesn't your pump have to be removed? If so then hardly "quick and simple".
> Have you looked at solar pumps?


Appreciate the reply.

True, I would have to remove my pump first, but what other system would not have to be removed first without having a very expensive system?

It's been months back since I have researched it, but the only good system I could find out there, that I could use alongside my present system, was going to cost a minimum of $2000 and that would be with me doing a good part of the work.

Solar sounds good, but wouldn't that be an instead of? rather than a back-up? Also I haven't checked into pricing, but Solar sounds expensive.

I'm pretty happy with my present electrical pump, but need something for a back-up, other than a generator, if we lose our power for days at a time, if not longer.

Bill


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

8thDayStranger said:


> I'm no well expert but I'm guessing the old fashioned bucket and rope is going to be the answer if the hand pump doesn't work out.


If I had an old type 3 or 4 Ft Wide Well, that might not be a bad idea, but I have a standard 6 or 8 Inch Well Pipe. A Water Boy Well Bucket would actually work wonders in comparison.

Bill


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

cowboyhermit, 

Appreciate the reply. 

I'll have to check into some of those suggestions. Some of them may help, but what I am really looking for is something pretty much all mechanical. I'm trying to find a way without having to rely on any type of electric, battery, or fuel other than possibly Solar. 

I'm too deep for an old type Hand Pump. I have looked into Foot Valve Pumps, but they are not really a temporary thing. 

Other than any other new mechanical type suggestions, wondering if anyone out there has used the Water Boy Well Buckets and how do you like them?

Bill


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

I may also reconsider a Flojac. Although it would be somewhat of an inconvenient temporary as they require you to glue the pipes together after determining your water depth. My other problem is my system is in a Pump House. It is about a 6 X 8 Ft Building with about a 7 Ft Ceiling. According to the video though, it looks like the pipe would be flexible enough to clear my tight clearances.

Bill


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

A small check valve with a light spring threaded to the end of some stiff plastic pipe, flexable enough to make the bend required to fit into your well house and small enough to fit along side your existing well pipe, insert into the well to about 5 feet past water depth, raise it 3 feet, lower it again repeat until water comes out the top. the pipe has to be small enough so that the water column does not get too heavy to lift. You can also get 
http://www.niemiwellpumps.com/THE-PUMPS/Hand-Pump.html 
these are fairly small and designed to fit beside the existing well pipe
this link is from my local dealer, you can probably find a dealer near you.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

BillT said:


> My other problem is my system is in a Pump House. It is about a 6 X 8 Ft Building with about a 7 Ft Ceiling.


Our well shed was about that same size, but offset to the side a bit. A removable panel in the steel roof easily allowed the pump and pipe to be pulled without damaging anything.



BillT said:


> Maybe I should revise my question to "what are you all doing or have plans on doing for Water back-up"?


1. Rainwater
2. Beautiful, clear clean lake just a couple miles away. Run water through BioSand filter and add a couple drops of bleach. I have a trailer that can haul 800 gallons at a time (6400 lbs).
3. Figure out some way to make a friend's well work ASHTF. Hopefully wouldn't be too hard.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Yup, as to the ceiling/roof, every one of our pumpshacks now has a hatch in the roof. One was lovingly constructed with a claw hammer in -40, good times

Where we have submersible pumps they use a flexible poly hose so we can pull the well in about 15 minutes. Realistically if we are being careful and/or I am by myself it takes about an hour.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

Windmills are low tech. Still lots of 'em 'round here filling stock tanks.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

cowboyhermit said:


> every one of our pump shacks now has a hatch in the roof. One was lovingly constructed with a claw hammer in -40.


Geez, that SUCKS. 
Even worse is handling all that wet, sticky rusty pipe when it's uber cold out. I do NOT miss those memories. The well never stops working on a lovely spring day.


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## BlackDogWV (Jun 3, 2013)

I don't have a plan for my well yet but look forward to reading some of the ideas here.
My current water plan is 3-pronged.

First, bottled water (both 5 gallon and individual serving size) for early on or a short term situation. Bottles would be saved for later use.

Second, I'm working on a rain barrel system (3 - 50gal barrels) that will be fed from my 24'x24' garage roof. This water will be filtered with ceramic/activated charcoal filter for drinking water. I can also purify further with calcium hypochlorite solution if necessary.

Third, I'm putting my existing but long out of service (since the mid-70's) cistern tank back into service. I've calculated it at about 1600 gallons. I have a new pitcher pump and am refurbishing the old one for back up. It's fed by the majority of the house roof. The tank is full of water that has seeped in over the years. It's very clear with a small amount of algae growth. Once I get the pump/pipe set back up and downspouts ready to divert, I'm going to shock the heck out of it with CH, let it rest, test it and then see how it goes. I don't plan to filter the cistern water with the ceramic/charcoal filters but rather will treat it as I go with CH. This water will be used for flushing toilets, washing clothes, bathing, etc. 

Once all this is ready to rock I may look into doing something with the well.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

BlackDogWV said:


> Second, I'm working on a rain barrel system (3 - 50gal barrels) that will be fed from my 24'x24' garage roof. This water will be filtered with ceramic/activated charcoal filter for drinking water. I can also purify further with calcium hypochlorite solution if necessary.


Is the garage roof asphalt shingles or tin?
If you can find a 275 gallon IBC tote that was used for food products, snag it! A 24x24 roof will fill it quickly when it rains.

Myself and many others here have drank straight, untreated rainwater many times in our lives with no ill effects. If the water looks clean, run it through a Brita pitcher and drink it  If there is ANY algae present whatsoever, run it through some denim pants legs (or a "slow sand filter") for filtration before it goes through any other filters. Algae "slime" will plug any filter quickly.



BlackDogWV said:


> Once I get the pump/pipe set back up and downspouts ready to divert, I'm going to shock the heck out of it with CH, let it rest, test it and then see how it goes.


Get a pool pump "vacuum cleaner" and suck all the sediment off the bottom first. If you have a pool filter also, you can run the water right back into the cistern, wasting none of it. When our cistern got low after a dry spell, we filled it with lake water and plain Chlorox bleach (1 gallon per 1000 gallons).


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

Tirediron said:


> A small check valve with a light spring threaded to the end of some stiff plastic pipe, flexable enough to make the bend required to fit into your well house and small enough to fit along side your existing well pipe, insert into the well to about 5 feet past water depth, raise it 3 feet, lower it again repeat until water comes out the top. the pipe has to be small enough so that the water column does not get too heavy to lift. You can also get
> http://www.niemiwellpumps.com/THE-PUMPS/Hand-Pump.html
> these are fairly small and designed to fit beside the existing well pipe
> this link is from my local dealer, you can probably find a dealer near you.


The Check Valve and Pipe idea sounds pretty good, but would it be a pipe inside of a pipe? or just a single pipe by itself? As I would need to make sure that it wouldn't rub on any part of my existing pump system.

The Niemi Well Pumps looks good. I am going to check into that one.

Thanks

Bill


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

Appreciate the other replies as well. I'm going to study on what would be the best for our needs. 

Bill


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## Well_Driller (Jun 3, 2012)

Anyone that is considering a hand pump is going to find that cheap & quality don't go together. I run into this all the time. I refuse to install cheap pumps because it is nothing but trouble for me, and ends up with an unhappy customer. Every once in a while we do install them but most change there mind when they see the price tag, though some do relize the importance of having water. I have had people that will drop $2000+ into their electric pump system, and want the best out there and think nothing of it, but then want a cheap hand pump. I don't understand. Bottom line is, if you want a good deep well pump, it's going to cost some $$. How much money did you put into your electric pump system? The well?


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Well_Driller said:


> Anyone that is considering a hand pump is going to find that cheap & quality don't go together. I run into this all the time. I refuse to install cheap pumps because it is nothing but trouble for me, and ends up with an unhappy customer. Every once in a while we do install them but most change there mind when they see the price tag, though some do relize the importance of having water. I have had people that will drop $2000+ into their electric pump system, and want the best out there and think nothing of it, but then want a cheap hand pump. I don't understand. Bottom line is, if you want a good deep well pump, it's going to cost some $$. How much money did you put into your electric pump system? The well?


O.K. with that in mind, what brands and price range do you recommend? I can't afford Trump's best but a good quality one. My well is only about 100 foot.


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## BlackDogWV (Jun 3, 2013)

LincTex said:


> Is the garage roof asphalt shingles or tin?
> If you can find a 275 gallon IBC tote that was used for food products, snag it! A 24x24 roof will fill it quickly when it rains.
> 
> Myself and many others here have drank straight, untreated rainwater many times in our lives with no ill effects. If the water looks clean, run it through a Brita pitcher and drink it  If there is ANY algae present whatsoever, run it through some denim pants legs (or a "slow sand filter") for filtration before it goes through any other filters. Algae "slime" will plug any filter quickly.
> ...


Actually, I did just check into some IBC totes that are locally available. A business acquaintance has some available for a pretty good price. Now I've changed my plan to having two of those stacked. One concern I had was that they are translucent and will let in algae-promoting sunlight. Some youtube research led me to the idea of wrapping them in heavy duty black poly rather than trying to paint them. I'll let you know how I progress. I'm going to be meeting with the fellow this week.


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## Well_Driller (Jun 3, 2012)

helicopter5472 said:


> O.K. with that in mind, what brands and price range do you recommend? I can't afford Trump's best but a good quality one. My well is only about 100 foot.


We normally install the Baker-Monitor line of hand pumps, expensive I know, but they are heavy pumps, and still made in the US. They are the same units that most state parks use for that reason. They will withstand a lot of use and abuse. I installed the fountain pump on my well which costs a little more than the standard units, but even I, at my cost had a little over $1600 in the pump cylinder and rods. If we drill a new well, we install those pumps at no labor costs. We use brass cylinders, and 20' stainless steel pumps rods and 20' sections of threaded schdle 80 PVC pipe. As an alternative the Bison pump seems ok, have installed one that gets used quite a bit and they seem to like it. The only complaint about it was the handle wasn't balanced that well. We lengthened the handle with solid stainless round bar to help with that. The cylinder is down 60ft in the well. With the Baker pump you have that heavy cast iron handle that helps counter balance the pump rods, and it has an adjustable stroke that helps to balance it out also. I personally think it was the right thing for me, I use mine almost daily, wanted something to withstand the wear and tear. I guess what you need to decide when it comes down to it, how much is your water worth to you? Here's another thought, around here nearly all the traditional style hand pumps you see are non-operational for decoration. So, no one pays any attention to them, a working hand pump here is essentially hidden in plain sight...


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

Well I contacted Niemi Well Pumps people, heard back as they requested more info, then nothing. I'll have to contact them again.

Well Driller, I would be interested in learning more about the Baker-Monitor pump. Would you have a link for them?

Bill


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Try this...............................
http://www.bakerwatersystems.com/products/water-well-accessories/hand_pumps/hand_pumps


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## BillT (Oct 31, 2011)

hiwall said:


> Try this...............................
> http://www.bakerwatersystems.com/products/water-well-accessories/hand_pumps/hand_pumps


Thanks for the link.

Bill


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

BillT said:


> Well I contacted Niemi Well Pumps people, heard back as they requested more info, then nothing. I'll have to contact them again.
> 
> Well Driller, I would be interested in learning more about the Baker-Monitor pump. Would you have a link for them?
> 
> Bill


here is a direct link to the simple pump, Niemi is a dealer in Alberta, He probably forwarded your contact info to a dealer in your area, Kevin is very good at getting back to customers


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