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32 'Wfiat comes from the heart, goes to the heart. - Samud iaywr CoferUfge

Hydraulic ram pump how-to

TaM MaATES FLOYD, VIRGINIA

H ere an aur aff-grid hamestead in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, there

are salar panels an a manual tracker, a ohquse with passive solar designing, and organic gardens, but it's the "chu-chunking" ram pump that supplies oUf water from a spring in a valley which spellbinds visitors-every time. The simple machine rhythmically gushes water. .. then stops ... then gushes ... then staps. It's hypnatic.It's non-electric. And, it's a superb ex-ample af how human technology can wark with n'ature.

The ram pump described here is my own variation of an old VITA (Volunteers In Technical Assistance) design. This model is built from stan-dard PIpe: fittings';' rriuch of th,e building process is screwing it tagether. Tatal cost far the pump, ,even with getting the help of a local machinist for one of the should run

$150. .

,will ram work' f9r ',: you?

Hydraulic ram pumps require a certain geagraphy to. work. You must have a collected water source an your property (like a dammed 'creek ar boxed spring) with at least three ver-tical feet of drop to. a pump site. Also, your water must flow a minimum of three gallans per minute to run this pump.

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To give an example of haw this pump can be configured, let's look at my own installation. Here the spring varies from nothing to 15 gallons a 'minute depending on the time af year. ' The spring coUfctic:m site is 25 vertical feet above the pump, the drive pipe is 125 feet long to the pump, and the delivery line is 400 feet long and rises 90 vertical feet. When there are six gallons of water available at the spring, I get about a gallan and a half a minure up top. That's 2,160 gall<lns every 2'4 haurs. The ram doesn't send tarrents 'of water gushing on demand the way an electric pump does; rather, it oper-ates continually, sending a modest stream.

Generally storage is some type of-cistern up hill with an overflow. Often rams are used 'to. deliver water to. a storage tank well above the , desired ' destination and then the water is piped back down with gravity pressure tak-ing' care af the rest. Here, we store abaut 250 gallons ahd use a small Shur-Flo 12 voldiiaphragm pump to. ' pressurize aur line to the house. When the cistern is full the excess water coming from the ram runs' out the overflow automatically irrigating various raised beds. ,

The beauty of the ram pump, far ' those who have the conditions to run one, is that there are only twa moving parts to. wear out. In this version, one is yaur basic over the counter 2" check valve, and the other is a'small rubber gasket that I like to cut from tpe' sidewall of an old radial tire. There's nothing to i't-no wires, no mators,

no pressure switches. Pumping water is a huge concern for any off-grid

• home, and this ram pump can save you the additional costs of extra pho-tovaltaic panels, pump, wires, etc., which otherwise are necessary with electric pumps.

How does the hydraulic ram pump work?

The hydraulic ram uses the force of water running downhill through a pipe to then pump some of that water up hill to a site higher than the saurce.

Water enfers the system by run-.. ning from same saurce into an intake pipe. The water moves down,hill through the pipe some distance, en-ters the pump, and then exits the pump (and therefore splashes out onto the ground) through , an apen ".waste" valve. This produces a maving col-umn af water inside the drive pipe. ,

, By allowing the column of water ' to. flow dawnhill freely through the , waste valve, the kinetic energy af the moving water is prepared to, warkthe pump.

, The velacity af this water increases toa point it avercomes the ten- , sion of the waste valve spring, and that valve slams closed. By abruptly stopping the flow of the calumn of water, a tremendous pressure is cre-ated. This pressure pushes farward through the 'street bend, "through a one way "check" valve, and into an air campression chamber (the two foot capped pipe).

The water whaoshes past the check valve. (below the air chamber) with all

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Countryside & Small Stock Journal, Vol. 88 No.4, July/August, 2004 33

its fury squishing the air in the com-pression chamber until the kinetic How the ram pump works: energy is converted to, and rests for an instant, as potential energy in the form of compressed air. Next, the com-pressed air pushes the water back out of the chamber with all the energy it has stored. Since the check valve is a one valve, the water being forced . backwards cannot return {rom whence it came; therefore this 'water is through the only place left to .go ... the . exit gate valve . and into . the delivery

. pipe dius traveling up hill as far as the from , the compression

ber will it. Water continues . to . move as the with the waste and check valves opening and closing and eventually reaches its uphill desti-nation.

5:1 Ratio There is an optimum configura- ,

tion for the hydraulic ram's set up. It is a 5 to 1 ratio, where the drive pipe length is five times longer than the vertical fall from the water source to the ram pump. Our installation is an example of this optimum situation: the drive pipe is 125 feet long and falls 25 vertical feet from the spring to the ram. Similarly, a 50 foot drive pipe dropping 10 vertical feet from source to ram would meet the 5: 1 ratio . .

A ram will run on either side of. this ratio, but its efficiency suffers increasingly as you get away from it. So, try to create your overall system to accommodate this drive pipe scenario as best you can.

Building the ram To build this average sized ram

you will need: .

Part Quantity I" gate valve (optional) ........... 1 I" nipple (only wlgate valve) .... 1 2" x I" bushing .... : .................. 2 2" tee ................... : ............. : ..... 1 2" street bend .......................... 1 2" check valve ......................... 1 2" nipple ................................. 2 2" x 2" X 1/2" T ...... ............... 1 2" threaded pipe 2' long .......... 1 2" cap ...................................... 1

" i.' •.

Diagram 'courtesy of: The Complete HydrduliifRam Manual.

1/2" nipple ..................... ......... 1 112" gate valve (optional) ........ 1 40" of 1-112" x strap ...... 1 3/8" x 4-112" bolt w/nut ... ...... 1 114" x 3" bolt wl2 nuts ........... 1 3/8" x 3" bolt w/2 nuts ........... 1 112" copper pipe 3-3/4" long.: .. l 112" x I" bolt wl1 nut ......... ; ... 2 112" lock washer. .................. : .2 3/8" flat washer. ...................... 2 112" flat washer. ... ................... 1 2" small gauge copper or brass

wire .................................... 1 roll Teflon tape ........................ 1

These materials should be avail-

able at any well stocked plumbing supply, hardware store, or farm sup-pi y: A void buying a check valve which is on brass. Water from a spring, creek, or river carries fine grit which chips 'away at the soft brass and will wear the check valve. it is better (and cheaper for that matter) to use a check valve which has a rubber or neoprene

. type diaphragm inside. . It's really nice to have access to a

heavy bench, vise, and several differ-ent sized pipe wrenches when assem-bling this pump-it will make the process a joy rather than an awkward, difficult battle.

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34 Witfi fiim for a sire aruf fier for a aam. / 'Wfiat wou£ti I 6e 6ut just wfiat I am? - 'Edna St. 'IIincent 9vfi1£ay

Waste Valve tens out after the half circle bend to The waste valve is the only diffi- allow for the 3/8" x 3" bolt to pass

cult aspect to building this pump. Joe through both holes. Add two nuts, Huffman, at Huffman Tool Company one to adjust the tension of the spring here locally, has worked with IlJ.e to and the other to act as a lock nut to provide completed waste valve assem- keep the adjustment from moving blies made from stainless steel, which during operation. screw right into place for folks who'd Two more holes must be drilled rather skip this part, which requires a and then the hard part is over. Boit the bit of welding and machining (see spring in place to the bushing with the resources info at end of artich!)l', two 112" bolts finger tight, centered in

The first step to making the the elongated adjustment bolt holes. is to take one of the 2" xl" bushings Make a mark in the center of the strap and machine the inside surface where exactly where it passes over the center the rubber washer/seal on the plunger of the '1" in the bushing. Make an-will bear against it when in the closed other mark beyond the first towards position. This process can be done in the end of the spring directly over the one of two ways. The best is to chuck far edge of the bushing. Now unbolt the bushing ,into a metal lathe and the spring from the bushing and drill then have a sharp bit, which is held by a 114" hole at the mark towards the another arm of the lathe, enter into end of the spring and a 3/8" hole at the the bushing where the uneven cast mark made directly over the bushing'S surface is machined away to a nice, opening. '1

. perfectly surface. The other To complete the waste valve, cut a method is to use a flat grinding stone piece of rubber large enough to sand-bit chucked in a drill press. Clamp the wich between the waste valve spring bushing upside down on the press and the stud it bolts to on the bushing. table and then lower the spinning stone Used tractor tire tube works well for into the bushing and grind the rough this. Cut holes for the two 112" bolts cast surface until smooth. to pass through and then bolt the

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Next"cut4" off the 40" piece of 1- spring tightly in place using a 112" x 114" strap and braze or weld it lockwasher under each nut. in place on the top of the bushing close Take the 3/8" bolt and place on it to, but not covering, the 1" threaded a 3/8" fla twasher, then the 112" hole. The galvanizing needs to be flatwasher, then apiece of rubber cut ground off the bushing to allow the into a 1-3/8" outer diameter circle, brazing or welding to hoM properly. 'and finally the length of copper pipe.

Drill two 1/2" holes through the Pass the fully loaded bolt through the small strap on the bushing that corn!- machined and tlu;ough spond to two of the same size' a't one ' ' the 3/8" hole in the spring. On the top end of the 36'" of strap still rerhaining, side of the, sprmg add a lockwasher so the two' may be boltec;l together" 'and a nut and tighten snugly the whole with a piece Qf rubber between thein. works. ', • \ -

It is imperative that this valve open and close in perfect alignment so that the rubber washer closes completely on the machined surface inside the bushing and that it not bump or rub the side of the bushing in any way as it opens and closes. Slightly bending the spring or bolt arid/or adjusting the tw() pieces of spring at the elongated 112" bolt holes workS to tweak out a valve not perfectly aligned.

Finally add the 1/4" bolt through the final hole left in the spring to make the opening depth of the waste valve adjustable. Be sure to place a nut on the bolt before sticking it 'through the hole, and then one after so , that the carriage bolt may be adjusted up or down and then tightened in place.

The waste valve is now complete ,and needs only to be screwed into the system at a later point.

Snifter hole ' When water and air are com-

pressed together some of the air mixes with the water, and, because of this, in the ram pump bits of air leave the air chamber with each stroke. A small "snifter hole" is added below the air chamber to reintroduce gulps of air to the system constantly, thereby avoid-ing water-logging which will stop the ram.

To make the snifter, bore a 1116" hole through the center bf the 2" nipple that will go below the check valve. Once drilled,take some brass or' copper wire, be!ld aright angle into ' one end, place it through the

and then ' bend ' another right angle, into the other end. Voila, it's pretty simple. ' :" ' " ",,' The machinist does this drilling for I've experimented with dif-

me; and' I have him ' elongate both ferent types o'f rubber for the' waste holes half an inch long ways in , the valve arid the best for this abusive spot Putting it all together small, welded piece of strap, which is soft radial tire sidewalL It can be cut The fest of the construction is very allows for a idjustment when with a sharp knife 'or leather simple. Follow rhe diagram and screw centeringtheplungerpartofthewaste Orient the soft outer side upwards so each fitting into its proper 'place. ,Be valve. ,that' it presses against the machined sure to wrap all male , threads with

Next, 'make a mark on the 36" edge inside the bushing making the three wraps of plumber'S Teflon tape. strap, 16" from the end with the two , waste valve seal. This makes a When wrapping, make a point to go in '1/2" holes and bend the strap around ' great seal and has nylon cord woven a clockwise direction if you're looking a 1-1/2" pipecent'ering the mark in into it f()r durability. If your waste at the, of the pipe being taped so

' the bend to make the waste valve valve is properly aligned during op- that the Teflon won't unravel when Drill two 3/8" holes corre- eration so that it doesn't rub on the you begin to screw it into its female

sponding to one another top and bot- side of the bushing, this rubber clack partner. , tom of the spring right where it flat- should last for several years. Also, all joints should be screwed

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Countryside &. Small Stock Journal, Vol. 88 No.4, July/August, 2004 35 together tightly, but not tremendously

Snug them up well, but keep in mind a pipe wrench large ,enough to grip 2 "fittings gives you more lever-age than you need for tightening. Be extra careful when wrapping and tight-ening the cap at the top of the air compression chamber. This fitting can ,. be screwed on extra tight; it is con-taining air rather than water and a leak will he difficult to detect. .

A couple tips for screwin.g in the waste valve assembly-make sure you screw it in place before putting the street bend into that tee so that the long spring can turn fullrevolUtlons: Also, do notusethe waste'valve spring as a lever: for tightening 'the' waste valve into place. It is 'not a wrench and using it as one will bend the spring assembly and screw up all the delicate tweaking you've done to get the plunger centered in the bushing and the rubber clack closing perfectly. Use a pipe wrench and get a good, safe bite on the bushing to lever the waste valve around into a snug position on the tee.

Installation ',' When installing this pump there

are only a few' concerns to keep in mind. Drive this pump with art inch drivepipe from start to finish. Rams should not be fed with drive pipes which throttle down (diminish in size). It's important to have the intaktt screened off to keep animals and other stuff out of the drivepipe, and I like to add a 90 degree elbow at the inlet turned upwards to help keep sand out. Keep the drivepipe as straight as possible, especially the ' last third be-fore the pump. The air chamber should remain perpendicular to the ground. The waste valve needs to be belo.w the check valve (a situation that is nearly impossible to goof up with this de-sign). Finally, nothing should come into contact with the waste valve

should be suspended in free air, not touching the wall of a pump house for instance.

The flow from this pump is such that a 3/8 inch line could carry it. I use 112 inch black pipe because it's more readily available, super cheap, and has more strength when handling than 3/8's.

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This 2" pump is heavy enough for water, so you may need tinkering time its size that it won't jump around, but to get air worked out of the drive pipe. it is still essential to anchor it in some 8. Slowly tighten the waste valve fashion to avoid the pump falling over spring until the ram seems to operate or moving for whatever teason. Here smoothly; note that as the water gets on the homestead; I fastened the ram pumped upwards in the delivery pipe to a heavy oak (which lays flat , the pressure changes on the pump and on die. groJ¥.ld) large co'ndtiit ' it will change speed and overall opera-straps and tap'con'screws. A friend up ' tion l.inti! the water is being delivered the road built a ram on this model and 'all the way to the end site at which used a metal fence post driven into the , time pump rhythm should become ground at the back edge of the pump constant. and then used muffler clamps to fas- 9. Higher destinatio'ns require ten the air chamber to the post. It more pressure on the pump, so if, it works extremely This pump also runs ' well but only delivers part way, can be anchored to a concrete slab If increase waste valve , you .provide anchor bolts' in propdr . 'If your source depletes and air is positions when poured. In some ' in- sucked into the drive pipe, the 'pump stances keeping the pump portable will stop running; adjust to a lighter may be helpful; irrigating different spring tension and/or employ the car-areas of a farm at different times of the riage bolt stop by lowering it so it hits year, for example. the top of the waste valve , bushing

Getting it running tuned up'

Many times when a ram is con-nected for the first time it will begin to run on its own. They seem to love to run. Bl;lt, here's the whole rundown in order: '

t. Install drive pipe with gate valve at pump end, close so water isn't running.

2. Connect completed ram to end of drive pipe.

3. Connect delivery line valve and delivery line which should be run to water destination and left unat-tached at that end so flow may be viewed once pump is running; deliv-ery gate valve should be open.

4. Hold up on waste valve spring so it remains closed" and open drive pip", gate valve completely. . "

5. Water the pump, flow through and up the delivery line to die height of the source, and a small spray should come from the 'snifter hole.

6. With the waste valve tension bolt completely loose and the carriage bolt stop completely up out of the way, let go of the waste valve spring which may'or may not open all, its' own.

7. For proper operation, the drive pipe will need to be completely full of

preventing the waste valve from open-ing to its full capacity. Note: Very tiny adjustments can make huge differ-ences in pump function, so make very light tweaks. Once running, the pump should cycle somewhere around 70 strokes per minute, but that's not the complete gospel. You'll get a feel for what your installation requires as you become familiar with it.

Resources Huffman TQol Company, Joe

Huffman, 540-745-3359, huff tool @aol.com.

Volu;'teers I n Technical Assistance (VITA), Suite 71 0,1600 Wilson Blvd., J,.rlington, VA 22209, 703-276-1800, vita@vita.org.

Headquarters and Western Ser-vice Center, Shur(lo Pump Manufac-turing Co. Inc., 12650 Westminster

Santa Ana, CA 92706-2100; M:£in line: 714-554-7709; Toll free: 800-854-3218. '1<'-

Eastern Di'str:ibutio'; and Service Center, Sh'ur(lo-E;ast, 52748 Park Six Court, Elkhart,(iN46514-5427; Main line: 219-262-0478; Toll free: 800-762-8094. .."

For more on Tom's ram pumps, check out The Complete Hydraulic Ram Manual, illustrated by Chris Legg. $14.95 + $2.50 p&h to: Countryside Book Store, W11564 Hwy. 64, Withee, 'WI 54498; 800-551-5691.