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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> how much does a well pump cost?

In the case you are talking about an electric deep well pump, they are much 
cheaper and much better then they used to be.  The capacitive start is in the 
pump itself, that is, they no longer require the capacitive start box 
external 
to the pump as they  used to.  When they did you had to have three live wires 
and a ground.  Now it's two and a ground and that makes things much cheaper.  
 
We have a deep well pump in the cistern.  The last one I bought was about 
$225.   Most now are under $300.

A manual pump for a well is a different matter.  The nostalgic pitcher pumps 
are between $40 - $100.  I bought one at the farm supply three years ago to 
pump water up to the garden and paid about $28 for it.  Here is the thing to 
keep in mind:  they work by sucking the water up the pipe like a soda straw.  
The 
maximum possible lift is 32 feet at which point the water cold vaporizes and 
cannot lift (as water) an higher.  Deep well manual pumps have the pump 
mechanism below the water level and it is operated by a rod from the pump 
handle and 
extending down to the pump itself.  You can lift water 500 feet or more if 
you are strong enough, but you need 500 feet of rod to link up the above 
ground 
handle and the pump in the well.

Those pumps cost between $350 and $800 but would last for generations (so 
long as you hoisted up the pump and replaced the valve every twenty years or 
so).

James   </HTML>