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Old 17-10-2003, 07:42 PM
Dwight Sipler
 
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Default Woohoo! Storm! No water!

Frank Logullo wrote:

...Isabel gave me 3 days without electricity and no water since I have a well...




A medium generator will run a well pump. However there may be cheaper
alternatives, depending on your well.

Many modern wells have water within 10-20 feet of the surface. Even if
you have to drill down 200' or more, that's to get a good flow rate, not
to hit water. If the water is that close to the surface, it can be
pulled up by a hand pump.

I bought a hand pump last year at my local Ace hardware store. They
called it a pitcher pump, but it's basically a piston in a cylinder,
operated by a hand lever. A couple of flap valves allow it to pull water
up and pump it out. The flap valves leak, so it needs to be primed after
10-15 minutes of inactivity (this allows it to be located outdoors -- it
drains so it won't freeze). This could be mitigated by placing a good
ball valve in the suction line.

Obviously, if your well doesn't fit the above profile, this is not the
way to go, but if it does, my total cost was about $60 including
plumbing fittings.

This system gets you water in buckets, not a pressurized water system
like you're used to, but at least it's water.

It doesn not solve your electricity problem.