[Homestead] Ram pump rules of thumb
SISU!
erthnsky at bellsouth.net
Mon Sep 4 13:15:50 EDT 2006
That sounds good to me, Bill.
We have a dry creek that flows if we get enough rain, usually in winter
only. I have been looking on freecycle for an above ground pool to use
as a artificial pond. I don't have enough head or flow for a ram pump,
so I snagged a submersible pump on sale a few years ago that is capable
of pumping water up out of the creekbed and into such a 'pond'.
Bev
Bill Jones wrote:
> Clansgian at wmconnect.com wrote:
>
>
>> In the mean time, the dry took its toll on the creek. It was still
>> flowing but not enough to operate a RAM pump.
>>
>
> This is another reason to have a holding tank to feed into the
> downpipe of a ram pump, besides excluding sediment and bubbles. You
> can save up a day's water and just pump it once a day to the main
> gravity-feed storage tank. This siphon stage requires a small
> vertical drop of its own, so in extreme cases like ours, where there
> is barely three feet of vertical drop, a very shallow holding tank is
> in order, so as to not take up much of the vertical drop (fortunately
> the problem I mentioned previously about having too slow a trickle
> through the downpipe isn't likely to happen with piping of at least
> 1/2", so nearly always the holding tank can be just inches tall).
>
> We have a plan to siphon water a short distance over to a small
> holding tank, from which the downpipe will angle downhill about 100'
> to the ram pump. It's no longer necessary for us to have a _large_
> holding tank just to run the ram pump, since it's now just a winter
> project, but there are too many obstructions right near the water
> source, and the downpipe should not curve.
>
> For those blessed with hilly terrain, the bottom of a storage tank
> can easily be higher than the destination of the water, in many
> cases, so just siphoning works for me. For those with level ground,
> a small bilge pump from the marine supply will pump even dirty water
> on 12V from a reasonably small solar panel (suitable for immediate,
> two-fisted watering). I'm considering just digging round pits in the
> ground and lining them with ordinary greenhouse plastic film, which I
> find incredibly durable (when holey and scratched, the remains still
> function as shade cloth for plants).
>
> It may be a little difficult to have a below-ground tank feed a ram
> pump, since it's not convenient to tap from the side. But you can
> just siphon (on a hill, which we can assume exists, if you're
> considering a ram) to a tiny intermediate tank close by, and let the
> downpipe take off from there. (Actually, the more little holding
> tanks there are between the source and the ram, the less sediment
> will enter it.)
>
> I've decided on a 32' x 16' x 4' pond in the low spot where nettle
> now grows. I don't think I'll let the geese in, though, if it's
> supposed to water the garden, but keep it covered. They appreciate
> even a small pond, and I can still siphon their waste water to real
> water-lovers downhill from there, like peaches, or use the bilge pump
> to move the water uphill. It's the same amount of water either way,
> so why not arrange things so that the largest pond stays clean? I've
> worked out the details, and our pond should provide enough water to
> cover 1500 sq. ft. of beds for the summer.
>
> Bill S. Oregon coast
>
>
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--
Bevanron of EarthNSky Farm GO NAVY!
Proud SUBMARINE Parents of a USS Key West Sailor
Sleep well tonight for somewhere in the ocean's depths,
MY son is protecting YOUR freedom.
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