Dear Sir

Please mail me the scanned copies of this pump and pls give me some info about from where can we purchase it.

Regards,

Gopal Negi
0091 8988103180
(India)


On Sunday, November 21, 1999 1:30:00 PM UTC+5:30, Peter Wibberley wrote:
I found the article on this pump for anyone interested.

Grass Roots (Australian self sufficiency mag) Number 95 feb/Mar 1993
ISSN 0310-2890. page 59.

The article is written by Iain Mathewson of Mackay Qld.

At the risk of being prosecuted for copyright infringement I reproduce the
article here.

"I have spent much time over the past seven years developing this pump which
should prove useful in Third World countries as well as in the higher
rainfall areas of Australia, It has two main advantages over the
conventional hydraulic ram : it is much more efficient and it is much
cheaper. In fact it can be assembled in eight hours by anyone with an
electric drill, a hacksaw and a rasp. Unfortunately I don't have the time to
produce these pumps in any quantity but if there is sufficient demand I
would produce a kit of parts for the purpose.

The Platypus pump is a novel form of the 200 year old hydraulic ram gravity
pump. The hydraulic ram is a unique but little known machine for raising
water without external power source; water is made to do the work on itself
under the influence of gravity. The only requirement is a permanently
flowing stream.
The conventional ram requires a supply head or fall of at least two metres
(6.5 ft) but owing to it's greatly improved efficiency the platypus pump
will operate on falls of 0.5 to 1 metre (1.5 - 3 ft).It will raise water to
160 times the supply head.
The conventional ram will raise water to between 10 and 40 times the supply
head. A low concrete dam will create the required fall and the drive pipe is
cemented into the dam - this is the only anchorage required (see fig 1)" ##


"The drive pipe is a six metre (20 ft) length galvanised steel or pvc
pressure pipe of diameter 80 mm (3 in).
Four sources of inefficiency have been identified in the conventional ram
and rectified in the platypus pump. The result is that a scaled down
platypus pump designed to connect to a 50 mm (2 in) drive pipe delivered
nearly five times more water than a new conventional ram using the same
drive pipe and the same fall. The platypus pump can be assembled in a
weekend by modifying readily available parts intended for other purposes.
The total cost is considerably less than that of a conventional 80 mm (3 in)
ram.

Water flows down the pipe and escapes through the exhaust valve of the pump
(see fig 2) ## The speed of flow down the drive pipe increases until it is
sufficient to slam shut the exhaust valve. This creates a water hammer
pressure wave which forces a jet of water through the nonreturn valve and up
the delivery pipe. The exhaust valve then falls open again and the cycle is
repeated. The force of the water hammer is cushioned by a volume of captive
air separated from the water by a rubber diaphragm. The air space is packed
with sorbo-rubber which further increases the efficiency.
The platypus pump is designed to operate under water, hence it's name. It
will however operate on dry land at the stream side, or floating (with a pvc
drive pipe). Submerging the pump allows maximisation of a low supply head,
muffles the sound and keeps the pump out of harms way in times of flood. The
conventional ram cannot oprate under water and is too heavy to float."

"Anyone interested in knowing more about the platypus pump can contact Iain
Mathewson, 23 Wellington Street, Mackay 4740" Queensland, Australia.

## (I'll need to scan the drawings if anyone is interested. Pete.)

HTH
see ya
Pete