# Something to consider when looking for a quality hand pump



## Waterboy (Sep 20, 2011)

There are many different types of hand water pumps on the market to choose from. Some can be used with existing electric well pumps if the cylinders are small enough (yielding less water) to fit in the casing with the existing pump. The majority of these pumps are installed for an emergency backup and are not practical for a long term emergency. Some can also pressurize the tank for indoor plumbing; but, it takes a lot of time and effort to pressurize an empty 40-gallon tank to 50 psi with such a small cylinder.

Take all the claims of capacity, gallons per minute, and ease of operation of manual well pumps with a grain of salt - unless they have an actual demonstration of a deep well application stating the static water level, size of cylinder, length of stroke, age and fitness of operator. You can do the math from there.


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## Waterboy (Sep 20, 2011)

When considering a sucker rod hand pump for long-term and heavy use, use metal rigid pipe, not PVC, for the drop pipe. PVC is too lightweight for a sucker rod pump system. When pumping the handle, the cylinder will lift first before the piston begins to move up within the cylinder, causing the drop pipe to compress between the cylinder and wellhead. This causes the PVC pipe to flex and spiral up within the well casing creating friction between the sucker rod and the inside walls of the drop pipe which reduces the efficiency of the stroke. Eventually, a coupling in the middle of the drop pipe string will break. Metal rigid pipe is much heavier and stronger, maintaining a straighter line between the wellhead and cylinder. Rigid pipe is more expensive, but consider the value of fresh water.

Water will be more valuable than oil. http://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Why-Water-Will-Soon-Become-More-Valuable-Than-Oil.html


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