Daunting? You were the most humble and kind, efficient instructor we have come across. If only others would learn such teaching and video skills as yours! Thank you.
When you build the pressure tank out of PVC don't just glue it, but be sure to always use primer first. PVC will break apart overtime with out it. There is a chemical reaction that bonds them together for a prominent seal. Without primer the glue will lose its seal in time. I've been a plumber for 48 years and I've seen this happen time after time. I prefer the clear primer myself, it works better than the purple primer even though the clear is not legal to use. The only reason we use purple primer is so the inspector can see that you used the proper primer, no other reason. By doing so it ensures the inspector the piping will not fail. I'll say it again, use the clear primer it really works better and you don't see the purple miss all over the pipe and fittings. The clear is in a yellow can and it's made by Charlotte. Your videos are great on your illustrations of ram pumps, keep putting them out. I've learned some good things from you.
Just had to repair some plumbing I put in 20 years ago. Glue failed and a T came loose. As I was putting it back together 3 more joints, the other sides of the T and a 90, gave up. I'm praying that the joints under the slab don't fail me. I knew less back then. I was young and dumb. I got over being young years before the the dumb wore off, if it has.
A very good professional finish with the right parts! Very good construction that is robust! Thanks a lot, Land to House!! It would have been very nice and more informative if you demonstrated the actual operation after finishing the assembly.
Yes Sis, basic technical education in practical should be implemented in highschool level, keeping in view domestic & farming application needs, then only an idea in every student's mind leads to a big change in their life.
Great very simple demonstration. Pretty straight forward and great tutorials . Now I know how the ram pump is built and the working principles Great tutoring Sir!
If you reverse the orientation of teflon tape, so that the treads are touching the outside of the tape and not the inside, the tape stays tight and you get a better wrap around the threads.
I saw this pump in action, on a History Channel TV show called (Mountain Men). To say that this "technology" is more than a century old reveals the ingenuity of our ancestors. Thank you for sharing this "know how" with us in a very professional way.
What happens if you use a different length on the pressure tank? Such as instead of 17 inches, you use 20, 30, or more; or just shorter to 12 or 15 inches?
I purchased a 3/4 pump from you to use on a new spring that was running about 10 gal a min ( didnt know at the time if it would keep the same volumn), pumping up an elevation of approx 83 ft and a distance of 950 ft 1/2 pex, i was amazed to get approx 240 gallons a day, so i built a 1 1/4 based off this video, and happy to say that with the same elevation and distance the pump is providing approx 800 gal per 24 hrs. Your video's are extremely informative, Thanks for taking time to post all the ram pump videos
@@bushtuckaman I purchase my 3/4 pump from land to house, and followed his recommendation on this project,. I originally used 1 in supply line because I had it on hand, the spring was running 5 gpm, I then converted the supply line to 2 in pvc to use the 1 1/4 pump, spring column was up to 10 gal min at this time.,. I was able to use the 2 in supply line on the 3/4 also as the gpm dropped due to drought conditions. Please watch all the videos provided by land to house, it's very informitive. Thanks
Thank you so much for such a clear explanation. Really enjoyed your video. You are the first person to make me believe I can make a ram pump. Have wanted to for a long time. Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦 New subscriber.
Enjoy your videos. I am a retired teacher, and I have to say you have better subject delivery skills than many teachers I have observed. I am ordering a Ram Pump next week. I have 3 ponds on my cattle farm, two creeks, and the water table is high. It's time to stop hauling water as your friend did. Thanks! Travis
Neat! My dad and I had a job to do once way out in the boon docks on a ram pump system. A guy had a large nice piece of property, almost mountainous with a creek and 2 man made lakes 70 feet above the creek. He said his ram pump needed 10 feet of water head to work. Meaning 10 ft for water to drop down to the pump for it to fill his 2 ponds 70 ft higher in elevation. Our job was to fix the pipe on piers that had been crushed by falling limbs and repair the blown out damn and come up with a way for the inlet pipe not to get stopped up. We brought a backhoe in and rebuilt his blown out dam upstream. We drove a heavy steel plate down, then covered the plate and the pool floor with heavy plastic followed by rip rap ( rock approximately 9 inches in diameter). The original 6inch inlet pipe would get stopped up so we put a 90 degree bend on and turned it down into the dammed up pool. Before that we had to fix some sections of the 6 inch SDR 35 Pipe that was in the air on piers. Several places had been crushed by falling tree limbs. The owner had at least 400 ft of pipe on piers in the air running parallel to the creek and finally turning left 90 degrees back to the creek where he had his ram pump setup. It was much like the old timers used to run paddles at a gristmill. After we got all of the water supply back up and running the owner came out and got the ram pump going. I had never seen anything like it. I believe he said it would pump up to 100 ft higher than the pump long as water coming into the ram was 10 foot higher than the RAM.
In regards to the pressure tank... why are you using a 4" end cap? Wouldn't a 4" clean out be better so you can easier replace the bicycle inner tube in the future? I'm very new to these, perhaps I am missing something?
I checked & the clean out cap is only rated 5 psi. You can unscrew the bottom of the pressure tank at the pipe nipple if you need to replace the inner tube.
I would think if you were to use a clean out cap for this it would leak pressure and not be very efficient. And that's if it was to hold any pressure at all.
excellent video .. not too fast just right presentation speed . the inner tube BLADDER addition is similar to my borehole reservoir . 76 years young and learning something new every day.
Hi Seth! Im wondering that instead of building a 1" & 1/4" if I want to build a 1" & 1/2", can I just increase the size of all of the components by 1/4" and that would be it? The same for 1" & 3/4" instead of 1" & 1/2" and so on... Thank you very much!
I would suggest using the purple primer, applying the cement to bot pipe and fitting, then twisting / rotating the pipe as you insert it. (as opposed to simply pushing it straight into the fitting.
Yeah, you are correct. The primer reacts with the pvc and creates a chemical reaction before the application of the glue also twisting the pipe as you insert it cause the glue to spread evenly around the pipe
Also holding pressure on the cap for a few seconds helps. The parts will often slide apart a little bit until the glue sets a little, only takes about 5-10 seconds. Since this isn't under a lot of pressure, you don't have to use the primer/cleaner first but it never hurts to be extra cautious. He makes these to sell so evidently his way works for him.
Seth, I have watched most all your videos on ram pumps and also some of your other videos. I like your personality and editing skills which make your videos easy to watch. I was re-watching this "how to" video on making a ram pump and was in the process of writing down the materials when I realized you sell these on your website . What better way to say "thank you " for your hard work posting up these fun diy videos, than by purchasing one at your site ? Well that's exactly what I did ten minutes ago. I ordered the 1-1/4" size pump . Looking forward to installing it as soon as spring arrives.
Thank you so much for supporting the channel! Both in views and buying a pump. If you have issues with the install please feel free to ask me questions.
Old timers would use something like this in house plumbing to prevent the "knock" you would get from water hammer. However, code no longer allows that because sometimes with the water hammer it could slowly force the air out of the chamber. The bike tire is probably to ensure a certain amount of air is always in the chamber to give that cushion effect. Or it could be so he can say his is different than others on the market.
Thanks a lot. Considering the fact you sell these, it’s generous of you to make the video. Also, I watch a lot of instruction videos to build things. You should give a class on how to make this type of video. Clear instructions and no BS. One question. Is their a mechanical reason for the unions or just to take apart later? I would like to skip these to save some money as they are expensive. Thanks again
Nice little design. But since you're using an inner tube to maintain air pressure and preventing the pressure tank from getting water logged (via the air dissolving into the water over time), it seems to be that instead of having the waste valve and the air tank both pointing in the same direction, it would be better to have them at 90 degrees to each other (air tank on side, waste valve pointing up). This would make the pump more stable when installed so you won't have to work as hard to keep the pump upright when in use.
@@jojovideo2 Same as you normally would. Connect the pump. Manually press the waste valve open to allow water to flow and eventually cause the waste valve to snap closed, causing a pressure spike to pressurize the tank. Repeat if waste valve doesn't open on its own. Keep doing this until the waste valve cycles normally.
Excellent presentation. Clear, concise, and no performing to the camera. You've also answered a question, of a simple solution to a diaphragm, which is pretty well fool proof. (The best tool to cut PVC pipe is a wood handsaw.) [Your link to Amazon; Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.] .
I don't need to comment on what better ways it can be done instead I would like to comment on what a great job you are doing in teaching people a cheaper easier way and I also wanted to ask you if you have used your pump for creating electricity yet or a water gardens for fish if so I'm sure me as well as of alot of others would like to see your next videos on that keep up the good work
Hi my friend thank you very much of your very informative videos i learn a lot of this things. By the way I'm a Filipino from camotes island Cebu i hope we can apply this knowledgeble work. Keep it up God bless and to all, your family
Ok know I get the answer to why you put the inner tube inside. It acts as a expansion tank like on a deep well pump. Which is in fact a vacuum breaker. By creating a greater negative pressure inside of the 4" pipe than what the atmosphere pressure is on the outside. Cool !
I have found that, when wrapping teflon tape onto a fitting, it is easier to get a good 'grip' by wrapping against the direction the tape is coming off its reel. It allows one to pull the tape tighter onto the fitting (stretching the tape). Not sure if I 'splained it right but if you flipped the red reel (2:58) the tape would tension up as you pulled it 'round the fitting.
Outstanding Seth, love your enthusiasm and passion for what you do. Thanks for sharing this information, will come in handy as I prepare for a passive watering system on my property. Wishing you the best of luck going forward with your many projects!!
I thought you'd like to know your video lives on 2 years later. Very good instructions, they need you at the junior college in the trade divisions. Or something close to that LOL
There are calculations that have been made to determine the correct pressure tank size. I like that size because it is plenty large enough to hold pressure when opening the delivery valve and it also ships well.
What a great job you did in explaining in detail how to build this. I am new to the 'ram pump' idea and am still learning about it. That being said, I do have one question. What's the purpose of the inner tube? I have watched several how to vids on building a ram pump, but this is the first and only time I have seen or heard even a mention of an inner tube. So, now I'm back to wandering in the desert alone. In other words, I lost again....
@@jayrex0093 pressure tanks work because there is a pocket of air that rests on the top that puts pressure on the water. Imagine at the pool when you try and hold a air filled ball underwater, water/air don't wanna occupy the same space. Standard pressure/expansion tanks have a "bladder" inside them that separates the water from the air pocket. His pump would work but eventually the natural air pocket in that pipe would deminish so to prevent that he used an air filled bike tube that cannot go away unless the tube itself failed. Just a smart way of keeping air inside the pressure tank.
This diy style ram pump will typically get a 1:7 ratio head pressure to lift. So if you have say 5 feet of head pressure you can expect to have a max lift of 35 feet. This style will max out at around 180 feet of lift.
I've seen several designs both with and without the inner tube. Can you explain the benefit of having the inner tuber vs. not having it?? Great Video by the way.
Thank you! Sure thing. So old school pumps had a valve called a snifter valve that would gulp air and spit water at each cycle of the pump. This replenishes air in the tank. The new style that I make sites not have this valve so a bike tube is installed to keep air in the tank. As the pump works over time the tank would fill with water and loss potential. That is what happens with pumps without a bladder.
It is true that over the course of a year or two the inner tube will have a lot of use. I've had bad experience with threaded caps for the pressure tank. Because pressures can reach close to 120 PSI in some cases those clean out caps have a tendency to leak.
The concept of the tube is just like the bladder in a pressure tank for well systems. They fail over time as well from contact with water and constant expanding and contracting. That is the nature of rubber. I was wondering how quickly the tank becomes water logged.
Nice work. I'm thinking if you added a male adapter to the end of the pressure chamber, and changed the pipe cap to threaded you could easily replace/re-pressure the bike tube as it leaks over time.
Hello. A tip, turn the tap over the other way. You can pull it tighter. And it will work better and easier. Nice video thank you. What is the secret with the number 17 inches for the pressure tank? can it be longer or shorter? Could you make it longer and use a car tire? Can venting the tube to the out side and adjusting the air pressure have a effect on the water pump?
Hey Seth. Bless your heart for sharing this information. I hav3 a question. With the “waist” valve, can I screw a pvc pipe onto to it ? (After the cycle starts) Objective is to not waist the water but perhaps recirculate it.
Outstanding video thanks please make more videos thanks, I live in Puerto Rico island's on a hill. I'm harvesting rain water and I need to pump the water up hill to a tank 400 gl.
This is the only video of yours that I have watched, but my questions are: 1. Why 17" for the pressure tank? and 2. Why put a bike tube in? Most of the pumps I've viewed have no tubes or diaphragms in them.
My grandfather told me about these ram pumps when I was young when he was a boy in the monastash canyon his dad had one and he had a little man that worked off the valve every time it went up and down the little man's arms would wave off the ram pump and he said some people would almost wreck their car looking at it my grandfather passed away but his name was Roy R. Shuey
Great job! What determines the size of the pump to use? Also, I'm not really clear on the purpose of the inner tube. Is not air over water enough to pump the water out? Could a smaller tube be used such as from a dolly wheel or wheel barrow, etc.?
The air chamber isn’t strictly necessary. It is a cushion to reduce the shock from the water ran on the pump. The tube keeps the air chamber from filling with water as quickly.
Is it better if we replace the Spring Check Valve with another Swing Valve? because swing valve has better flow? or, may you pls explain why you prefer to use Spring Valve?
I prefer the Spring valve because it is half the price of a swing valve. Also it can be a pain to get the second swing valve in the upright direction between the two "'T"'s. Using the spring valve eliminates this issue. Really it does not matter as long as the first valve hangs open by gravity.
I would drill a hole in the cap and nut or gorilla glue the tire valve, depending on if it has metal threads, to the cap. No rubber bladder holds air forever. If it did, we wouldn't need tire pumps more than once per set. If the valve were outside, you could easily pump it back up without disassembly.
great video. If you are using a bigger sized hose, 1 inch versus a 1/2 does it matter with water flow? more water flow the bigger the pipe you should use?
Nicely done video, Seth! Where was UA-cam in the 70's when I built my first ram pump from Mother Earth News instructions using all metal parts? That led me on a several year adventure of ram pump use. It may be time to build one again for this property. Cheers!
Hey Seth. I'm enjoying your ram pump videos very much. Thanks for putting these on line. I was looking at the hardware available at my local store and wondered if there would be any benefit to having a 4" delivery pipe feeding a 1" pump? Or would this cause to big a loss in delivery momentum? Rgds Stu
Glad to see it's possible to build one of these with relatively cheap PVC instead of all metal. Just one question: What is the purpose of the big fat unions between fittings? Ease of disassembly?
+camoronL yes it is nice to make these out of PVC. Much easier to work with. The unions are not necessary for operation but it makes things much much easier to work with when debris enters the pump or stops up the drive pipe.
Thank you for watching! There are a few reasons. Pvc is cheaper, lighter, and when tightening the pvc does not have a direction. The brass has to have the swing pin upright.
@@LandtoHouse Thanks so much for the reply. My only concern was will the inline valve have the durability of a brass check valve? If I understand what you're saying (and I probably don't - :^} ) there would have to be a few more components to get a second brass check valve in the proper orientation - or - is it the orientation of the threads that's the problem? Thanks again! Awesome video and product. I have you bookmarked and in my wish list on Amazon.
Does the output have to be running constantly? What happens if an output valve is normally closed and opened periodically, e.g., a garden irrigation system?
I have closed the delivery valve for several hours and it will still work after that. There are a few things to consider. If you do not have enough back pressure and then reopen the delivery valve the water might rush out and stop the pump because the pressure tank loses the pressure. Also if you close the delivery at the top it can build a good bit of pressure and make the valve hard to reopen.
sorry to keep bugging you but what do you think about running a pliable material into your pressure tank making your pressure tank much larger and using the ram pump to compress air you could then use the compressed air on a Venturi pump to drop potable water out of a well just a thought I am far from a genius LOL if you couldn't tell from the other comment but I do have a habit of thinking outside of the box
I have wondered how one might use the ram pump to pressurize air. So far I have not seen a design that worked. If you can make it happen you will be on to something!
That's clever, when you actually are using the pump to move water up hill the pressure in the tank should increase. If you have another valve attached to the Air tank portion (at the top so it fills with air) you could open it the pressurized air could be moved to a different container. I think you would need the snifter valve or some other way of adding ambient air back into the air tank when you remove it.
Excellent video dude! 👍 However, it is unclear to me how pressure is coupled from the inner tube to the valve system. How does air pass in and out of the tube? Does it? Or does it simply use the tiny air gaps between the tube as the chamber with the inner tube simply being an inner wall of the chamber? Please clarify for the non mechanical engineering layman. Thanks again. I'm getting one of these for sure! 😁 Seems pretty solid. I love how your brain works. Rock solid quality. It will last many years...
+saeed1642 thank you. As long as you have the waste valve and drive pipe the same size the other components can be altered. Increasing the size of the delivery pipe does not affect the output of the pump.
Daunting? You were the most humble and kind, efficient instructor we have come across. If only others would learn such teaching and video skills as yours! Thank you.
Thank you for the compliment. The ram pump is an amazing tool. There are now over 60 videos on the channel dedicated to the ram pump.
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When you build the pressure tank out of PVC don't just glue it, but be sure to always use primer first. PVC will break apart overtime with out it. There is a chemical reaction that bonds them together for a prominent seal. Without primer the glue will lose its seal in time. I've been a plumber for 48 years and I've seen this happen time after time. I prefer the clear primer myself, it works better than the purple primer even though the clear is not legal to use. The only reason we use purple primer is so the inspector can see that you used the proper primer, no other reason. By doing so it ensures the inspector the piping will not fail. I'll say it again, use the clear primer it really works better and you don't see the purple miss all over the pipe and fittings. The clear is in a yellow can and it's made by Charlotte. Your videos are great on your illustrations of ram pumps, keep putting them out. I've learned some good things from you.
Why is it illegal?
@@drasticmeasures7479 I think is because the solvents used...
@@drasticmeasures7479or because its not purple for the inspectors🤪
Just had to repair some plumbing I put in 20 years ago. Glue failed and a T came loose. As I was putting it back together 3 more joints, the other sides of the T and a 90, gave up. I'm praying that the joints under the slab don't fail me. I knew less back then. I was young and dumb. I got over being young years before the the dumb wore off, if it has.
@@acarpentersson8271 29 yrs!
Plumbers tip use 7 turns of teflon tape and hold the reel with the tail laying flat on the thread. makes it easy to remember which way to wind
The detail and presentation is by far the best i have found on the subject matter. Thanks so much. I will now build my own.
Very good. Thank you. The ram pump is a great tool for moving water.
A very good professional finish with the right parts! Very good construction that is robust!
Thanks a lot, Land to House!!
It would have been very nice and more informative if you demonstrated the actual operation after finishing the assembly.
Yes Sis, basic technical education in practical should be implemented in highschool level, keeping in view domestic & farming application needs, then only an idea in every student's mind leads to a big change in their life.
Great very simple demonstration.
Pretty straight forward and great tutorials .
Now I know how the ram pump is built and the working principles
Great tutoring Sir!
If you reverse the orientation of teflon tape, so that the treads are touching the outside of the tape and not the inside, the tape stays tight and you get a better wrap around the threads.
I saw this pump in action, on a History Channel TV show called (Mountain Men).
To say that this "technology" is more than a century old reveals the ingenuity of our ancestors.
Thank you for sharing this "know how" with us in a very professional way.
That show is fun. I got to be on location for that show filming 2 different days.
What happens if you use a different length on the pressure tank? Such as instead of 17 inches, you use 20, 30, or more; or just shorter to 12 or 15 inches?
I purchased a 3/4 pump from you to use on a new spring that was running about 10 gal a min ( didnt know at the time if it would keep the same volumn), pumping up an elevation of approx 83 ft and a distance of 950 ft 1/2 pex, i was amazed to get approx 240 gallons a day, so i built a 1 1/4 based off this video, and happy to say that with the same elevation and distance the pump is providing approx 800 gal per 24 hrs. Your video's are extremely informative, Thanks for taking time to post all the ram pump videos
Nice results! Thank you for sharing. Its nice to know you have also given the 1.25" a try. Big difference in the two pumps output.
Interesting. Could I ask what size pipes were used or are best to use on these 2 different size pumps?
@@bushtuckaman I purchase my 3/4 pump from land to house, and followed his recommendation on this project,. I originally used 1 in supply line because I had it on hand, the spring was running 5 gpm, I then converted the supply line to 2 in pvc to use the 1 1/4 pump, spring column was up to 10 gal min at this time.,. I was able to use the 2 in supply line on the 3/4 also as the gpm dropped due to drought conditions. Please watch all the videos provided by land to house, it's very informitive. Thanks
Man you explained so clearly and easiest way. Want to thank you. May you have success, and may God be with you
Happy to help! Thank you for watching. .
Thank you so much for such a clear explanation. Really enjoyed your video. You are the first person to make me believe I can make a ram pump. Have wanted to for a long time. Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦 New subscriber.
Enjoy your videos. I am a retired teacher, and I have to say you have better subject delivery skills than many teachers I have observed. I am ordering a Ram Pump next week. I have 3 ponds on my cattle farm, two creeks, and the water table is high. It's time to stop hauling water as your friend did. Thanks! Travis
Neat! My dad and I had a job to do once way out in the boon docks on a ram pump system.
A guy had a large nice piece of property, almost mountainous with a creek and 2 man made lakes 70 feet above the creek. He said his ram pump needed 10 feet of water head to work. Meaning 10 ft for water to drop down to the pump for it to fill his 2 ponds 70 ft higher in elevation.
Our job was to fix the pipe on piers that had been crushed by falling limbs and repair the blown out damn and come up with a way for the inlet pipe not to get stopped up.
We brought a backhoe in and rebuilt his blown out dam upstream. We drove a heavy steel plate down, then covered the plate and the pool floor with heavy plastic followed by rip rap ( rock approximately 9 inches in diameter). The original 6inch inlet pipe would get stopped up so we put a 90 degree bend on and turned it down into the dammed up pool.
Before that we had to fix some sections of the 6 inch SDR 35 Pipe that was in the air on piers. Several places had been crushed by falling tree limbs.
The owner had at least 400 ft of pipe on piers in the air running parallel to the creek and finally turning left 90 degrees back to the creek where he had his ram pump setup. It was much like the old timers used to run paddles at a gristmill.
After we got all of the water supply back up and running the owner came out and got the ram pump going. I had never seen anything like it.
I believe he said it would pump up to 100 ft higher than the pump long as water coming into the ram was 10 foot higher than the RAM.
In regards to the pressure tank... why are you using a 4" end cap? Wouldn't a 4" clean out be better so you can easier replace the bicycle inner tube in the future? I'm very new to these, perhaps I am missing something?
Also new to these and I was thinking the same thing.
I checked & the clean out cap is only rated 5 psi. You can unscrew the bottom of the pressure tank at the pipe nipple if you need to replace the inner tube.
I would think if you were to use a clean out cap for this it would leak pressure and not be very efficient. And that's if it was to hold any pressure at all.
Finally. Easy step by step breakdown! Thank you kind sir. Now I can build my own on my land. Appreciated. 👌🙏🙏
excellent video .. not too fast just right presentation speed . the inner tube BLADDER addition is similar to my borehole reservoir . 76 years young and learning something new every day.
Hi Seth! Im wondering that instead of building a 1" & 1/4" if I want to build a 1" & 1/2", can I just increase the size of all of the components by 1/4" and that would be it? The same for 1" & 3/4" instead of 1" & 1/2" and so on... Thank you very much!
I must say I am impressed with yr build. I have a spring lower than my cabin .This will work great Thank You
I would suggest using the purple primer, applying the cement to bot pipe and fitting, then twisting / rotating the pipe as you insert it. (as opposed to simply pushing it straight into the fitting.
I would use primer but use clear it will look better
Yeah, you are correct. The primer reacts with the pvc and creates a chemical reaction before the application of the glue also twisting the pipe as you insert it cause the glue to spread evenly around the pipe
Also holding pressure on the cap for a few seconds helps. The parts will often slide apart a little bit until the glue sets a little, only takes about 5-10 seconds. Since this isn't under a lot of pressure, you don't have to use the primer/cleaner first but it never hurts to be extra cautious. He makes these to sell so evidently his way works for him.
@@arkansasmountainman you are incorrect. The primer is always needed if you want the seal to last.
Seth, I have watched most all your videos on ram pumps and also some of your other videos. I like your personality and editing skills which make your videos easy to watch. I was re-watching this "how to" video on making a ram pump and was in the process of writing down the materials when I realized you sell these on your website . What better way to say "thank you " for your hard work posting up these fun diy videos, than by purchasing one at your site ? Well that's exactly what I did ten minutes ago. I ordered the 1-1/4" size pump . Looking forward to installing it as soon as spring arrives.
Thank you so much for supporting the channel! Both in views and buying a pump. If you have issues with the install please feel free to ask me questions.
I cannot wait to build this! I have a pond on my land in the mountains of West Virginia and this should be perfect for getting water to my gardens!
FYI I use a pressure relief/safety valve with spring removed on the waste valve to get maximum discharge psi. By adding weights on the valve stem.
Thanks for the instructions! You are awesome! Do you have a video on to how to build your water wheel pump? Thanks again for the info! Bless you man.
The water wheel pump and river pump are still works in progress.... like 6 years in progress haha.
Man.youre the most perfect and clear narration of explaination.very specific..simple but understandable..additional to my knowledge.
Thank you. There are now over 100 ram pump videos on the channel.
Very good video! Just wondering what the purpose of the bicycle tire tube is?
Old timers would use something like this in house plumbing to prevent the "knock" you would get from water hammer. However, code no longer allows that because sometimes with the water hammer it could slowly force the air out of the chamber. The bike tire is probably to ensure a certain amount of air is always in the chamber to give that cushion effect.
Or it could be so he can say his is different than others on the market.
@@johnm.4141 thank you for explaining
Thanks a lot. Considering the fact you sell these, it’s generous of you to make the video. Also, I watch a lot of instruction videos to build things. You should give a class on how to make this type of video. Clear instructions and no BS. One question. Is their a mechanical reason for the unions or just to take apart later? I would like to skip these to save some money as they are expensive. Thanks again
Nice little design.
But since you're using an inner tube to maintain air pressure and preventing the pressure tank from getting water logged (via the air dissolving into the water over time), it seems to be that instead of having the waste valve and the air tank both pointing in the same direction, it would be better to have them at 90 degrees to each other (air tank on side, waste valve pointing up). This would make the pump more stable when installed so you won't have to work as hard to keep the pump upright when in use.
It seems that there are some steps missing. How do u connect it and get it started. Thanks
@@jojovideo2 Same as you normally would. Connect the pump. Manually press the waste valve open to allow water to flow and eventually cause the waste valve to snap closed, causing a pressure spike to pressurize the tank. Repeat if waste valve doesn't open on its own. Keep doing this until the waste valve cycles normally.
Excellent presentation.
Clear, concise, and no performing to the camera.
You've also answered a question, of a simple solution to a diaphragm, which is pretty well fool proof.
(The best tool to cut PVC pipe is a wood handsaw.)
[Your link to Amazon;
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.]
.
I just finished mine & can’t wait to try it out! Ty so much for this!!!
Just finished mine also. I made a 3/4" pump, and am pumping water a half KM up to my cabin.
So Nicky did your pump work?
You're a great teacher bro respect your teaching qualities
I don't need to comment on what better ways it can be done instead I would like to comment on what a great job you are doing in teaching people a cheaper easier way and I also wanted to ask you if you have used your pump for creating electricity yet or a water gardens for fish if so I'm sure me as well as of alot of others would like to see your next videos on that keep up the good work
I have a video on my channel where I nozzle down the ram pump and make 4v unloaded. Not much of a test but technically I did make power.
I'd be tempted to fill the chamber with racquet balls, or some similar sealed rubber ball. Great video! Instructions sound easy to follow.
I have heard of people doing that. I just question how much those would flex with the pressure wave.
Can you recommend a good swing check valve I’ve used one from Lowe’s and need to replace constantly also do the plastic check valves work?
thank you, my friend, for a clear cut instruction. I will try to build one at home.
Great! Happy to help. Thank you for watching.
Hi my friend thank you very much of your very informative videos i learn a lot of this things. By the way I'm a Filipino from camotes island Cebu i hope we can apply this knowledgeble work. Keep it up God bless and to all, your family
I have watched a lot of videos about ram pumps but yours RULE!
Thank you. That means a lot. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the ram pump over the years.
Ok know I get the answer to why you put the inner tube inside. It acts as a expansion tank like on a deep well pump. Which is in fact a vacuum breaker. By creating a greater negative pressure inside of the 4" pipe than what the atmosphere pressure is on the outside. Cool !
I actually learn how to build this ram pum. Seems like I'm in a class. Great job.
Thank you. Happy that it helped!
I didn't realize the parts of this pump were so basic. You did a great job of explaining the assembly process.
Thank you. They are rather simple. I figured it was time to show an updated simple video.
+Land to House I wish I would have seen this before I bought the parts like the 'old build' . . . . it still worked...thank you ~
+David Cooper Yes that old build works just fine. I do like the new one a lot better though.
I have found that, when wrapping teflon tape onto a fitting, it is easier to get a good 'grip' by wrapping against the direction the tape is coming off its reel. It allows one to pull the tape tighter onto the fitting (stretching the tape). Not sure if I 'splained it right but if you flipped the red reel (2:58) the tape would tension up as you pulled it 'round the fitting.
Yes that is true. When I build a pump I normally get all the pipe nipples taped and then put them all together at the same time.
Hey thanks for the lesson! Just noticed your shirt...Looks like we’re neighbors. I’ll be heading down to summit for these parts soon.
Excellent presentation, clear and straightforward, thank you.
Outstanding Seth, love your enthusiasm and passion for what you do. Thanks for sharing this information, will come in handy as I prepare for a passive watering system on my property. Wishing you the best of luck going forward with your many projects!!
Thank you for the kind words! The ram pump is amazing for passive watering as long as you have a creek with nice flow rate and head pressure.
I thought you'd like to know your video lives on 2 years later. Very good instructions, they need you at the junior college in the trade divisions. Or something close to that LOL
Thanks! For sure. This one has really been evergreen content.
Why 17"? can you provide a good background why? I appreciate your indulgence, thanks...
There are calculations that have been made to determine the correct pressure tank size. I like that size because it is plenty large enough to hold pressure when opening the delivery valve and it also ships well.
Land to House in
Best "Ram Pump" video out there for beginners,,..Thanks Buddy..!!
Thank you for watching. I think I have somewhere around 50 or 60 ramp up videos total.
What a great job you did in explaining in detail how to build this. I am new to the 'ram pump' idea and am still learning about it. That being said, I do have one question. What's the purpose of the inner tube? I have watched several how to vids on building a ram pump, but this is the first and only time I have seen or heard even a mention of an inner tube. So, now I'm back to wandering in the desert alone. In other words, I lost again....
I also would like to know why the tube is placed in there?
@@jayrex0093 pressure tanks work because there is a pocket of air that rests on the top that puts pressure on the water. Imagine at the pool when you try and hold a air filled ball underwater, water/air don't wanna occupy the same space. Standard pressure/expansion tanks have a "bladder" inside them that separates the water from the air pocket. His pump would work but eventually the natural air pocket in that pipe would deminish so to prevent that he used an air filled bike tube that cannot go away unless the tube itself failed. Just a smart way of keeping air inside the pressure tank.
@@latestplague3762 Aha! Got it now. Your explanation fills in the dots perfectly.
Very clear step by step demonstration, thanks a lot...
Happy to help.
Very well explained in an easy to understand manner
Thank you. I figured it was time to do an updated series
what kind of lift do you get with this ram pump? thanks for your well explained video kudos
This diy style ram pump will typically get a 1:7 ratio head pressure to lift. So if you have say 5 feet of head pressure you can expect to have a max lift of 35 feet. This style will max out at around 180 feet of lift.
I've seen several designs both with and without the inner tube. Can you explain the benefit of having the inner tuber vs. not having it?? Great Video by the way.
Thank you! Sure thing. So old school pumps had a valve called a snifter valve that would gulp air and spit water at each cycle of the pump. This replenishes air in the tank. The new style that I make sites not have this valve so a bike tube is installed to keep air in the tank. As the pump works over time the tank would fill with water and loss potential. That is what happens with pumps without a bladder.
+Land to House whats your thoughts on plastic bottles inside the cylinder?
+David Cooper I have not thought of that. Seems like it would not give. But worth a try.
It is true that over the course of a year or two the inner tube will have a lot of use. I've had bad experience with threaded caps for the pressure tank. Because pressures can reach close to 120 PSI in some cases those clean out caps have a tendency to leak.
The concept of the tube is just like the bladder in a pressure tank for well systems. They fail over time as well from contact with water and constant expanding and contracting. That is the nature of rubber.
I was wondering how quickly the tank becomes water logged.
Dear Sir. thanks a lot for a clear instruction. I will try to build one at home. your are relay very good teacher.
Nice work. I'm thinking if you added a male adapter to the end of the pressure chamber, and changed the pipe cap to threaded you could easily replace/re-pressure the bike tube as it leaks over time.
This will be perfect for my garden, by the creek.
Veruly clear step by step video. Thank you and God Bless
Thanks for your clear explanation but I want to know the use of the pressurised tank on the ram pump
thanks great demo in all these videos you are the first one with a step by step
Thank you for watching. I have several ram pump videos. If you have any build or install questions just let me know.
Nice tutorial:
The Ram Pump has been around for 100 years, once primed it'll go for weeks.
Hello. A tip, turn the tap over the other way. You can pull it tighter. And it will work better and easier. Nice video thank you. What is the secret with the number 17 inches for the pressure tank? can it be longer or shorter? Could you make it longer and use a car tire? Can venting the tube to the out side and adjusting the air pressure have a effect on the water pump?
What is the purpose of the bike tube ?
Sorry my ignorance. Great video by the way.👍
Good video, well thought out, concise. The other build video I looked, the guy was 6 ish minutes in and had not touched a pipe yet.
Hey Seth. Bless your heart for sharing this information. I hav3 a question. With the “waist” valve, can I screw a pvc pipe onto to it ? (After the cycle starts) Objective is to not waist the water but perhaps recirculate it.
Hi thanks for the video. I have one question, is the bicycle inner tube really necessary for the pump to function?
Outstanding video thanks please make more videos thanks, I live in Puerto Rico island's on a hill.
I'm harvesting rain water and I need to pump the water up hill to a tank 400 gl.
This is the only video of yours that I have watched, but my questions are: 1. Why 17" for the pressure tank? and 2. Why put a bike tube in? Most of the pumps I've viewed have no tubes or diaphragms in them.
Very good the way you explain it thank you very much God bless
thanks for sharing your knowleage on how to make a ram pump, stay safe
Great instructional video!! You just gave me another project to do
Would there be any added benefits to exposing the tube valve out the top of the 4" cap? For pressure changes
Out of all the assembly, that's the physics aspect I am not quite understanding.
Seth, what is the purpose of the inner tube in the upright chamber? Thanks for you video
Do you really need the unions? Really great job😊
My grandfather told me about these ram pumps when I was young when he was a boy in the monastash canyon his dad had one and he had a little man that worked off the valve every time it went up and down the little man's arms would wave off the ram pump and he said some people would almost wreck their car looking at it my grandfather passed away but his name was Roy R. Shuey
If you dont mind me asking, what is the purpose of the bike inner tube?
Watching here in hongkong from pio duran albay Philippines ❤💖💕
Thanks, great presentation of its methodology. Very informative. Good Job
Great job! What determines the size of the pump to use? Also, I'm not really clear on the purpose of the inner tube. Is not air over water enough to pump the water out? Could a smaller tube be used such as from a dolly wheel or wheel barrow, etc.?
The air chamber isn’t strictly necessary. It is a cushion to reduce the shock from the water ran on the pump. The tube keeps the air chamber from filling with water as quickly.
The bike tube prevents the chamber from displacing all its air over time and "wetting out".
Don't mean to budge but if you turn your Teflon around you won't have that slack in the tape. Just a tip
Yes very true. This was a simple mistake in the video. :)
Thank you! Wranglerstar does the same, it kills me to see them fighting it.
Haha this is an older video. I have learned my lesson.
Is it better if we replace the Spring Check Valve with another Swing Valve?
because swing valve has better flow?
or, may you pls explain why you prefer to use Spring Valve?
I prefer the Spring valve because it is half the price of a swing valve. Also it can be a pain to get the second swing valve in the upright direction between the two "'T"'s. Using the spring valve eliminates this issue. Really it does not matter as long as the first valve hangs open by gravity.
I would drill a hole in the cap and nut or gorilla glue the tire valve, depending on if it has metal threads, to the cap. No rubber bladder holds air forever. If it did, we wouldn't need tire pumps more than once per set. If the valve were outside, you could easily pump it back up without disassembly.
To be fair I don't think that part is even necessary or functional. The air inside the PVC chamber itself acts as a pressure buffer.
@@carvedwood1953 agreed
great video. If you are using a bigger sized hose, 1 inch versus a 1/2 does it matter with water flow? more water flow the bigger the pipe you should use?
If you stretch the Teflon tape as you apply it, it stays on better.
Very nice information to build a ram pump. Thanks a lot bro.
Could i have the component sizes necessary for a 1/2” drive please? Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
You're the Best and kind...👍👍👍...
Nicely done video, Seth! Where was UA-cam in the 70's when I built my first ram pump from Mother Earth News instructions using all metal parts? That led me on a several year adventure of ram pump use. It may be time to build one again for this property. Cheers!
Thank you. I have seen a number of ram pump plans in Mother Earth News. that is a fun magazine. Its always time for a ram pump haha.
Hey Seth. I'm enjoying your ram pump videos very much. Thanks for putting these on line. I was looking at the hardware available at my local store and wondered if there would be any benefit to having a 4" delivery pipe feeding a 1" pump? Or would this cause to big a loss in delivery momentum? Rgds Stu
Why do you put a tire tube in the pressure tank? I've seen so many videos and you are the only one who does that.
Thank you, you made this so easy to understand.
Glad to see it's possible to build one of these with relatively cheap PVC instead of all metal. Just one question: What is the purpose of the big fat unions between fittings? Ease of disassembly?
+camoronL yes it is nice to make these out of PVC. Much easier to work with. The unions are not necessary for operation but it makes things much much easier to work with when debris enters the pump or stops up the drive pipe.
The water that goes off onto the ground, can you add a hose to that to direct it to a specific place?
Why do you choose to use an inline valve instead of 2 brass check valves? Thank for the awesome video.
Thank you for watching! There are a few reasons. Pvc is cheaper, lighter, and when tightening the pvc does not have a direction. The brass has to have the swing pin upright.
@@LandtoHouse Thanks so much for the reply. My only concern was will the inline valve have the durability of a brass check valve?
If I understand what you're saying (and I probably don't - :^} ) there would have to be a few more components to get a second brass check valve in the proper orientation - or - is it the orientation of the threads that's the problem?
Thanks again! Awesome video and product. I have you bookmarked and in my wish list on Amazon.
Does the output have to be running constantly? What happens if an output valve is normally closed and opened periodically, e.g., a garden irrigation system?
I have closed the delivery valve for several hours and it will still work after that. There are a few things to consider. If you do not have enough back pressure and then reopen the delivery valve the water might rush out and stop the pump because the pressure tank loses the pressure. Also if you close the delivery at the top it can build a good bit of pressure and make the valve hard to reopen.
sorry to keep bugging you but what do you think about running a pliable material into your pressure tank making your pressure tank much larger and using the ram pump to compress air you could then use the compressed air on a Venturi pump to drop potable water out of a well just a thought I am far from a genius LOL if you couldn't tell from the other comment but I do have a habit of thinking outside of the box
I have wondered how one might use the ram pump to pressurize air. So far I have not seen a design that worked. If you can make it happen you will be on to something!
That's clever, when you actually are using the pump to move water up hill the pressure in the tank should increase. If you have another valve attached to the Air tank portion (at the top so it fills with air) you could open it the pressurized air could be moved to a different container. I think you would need the snifter valve or some other way of adding ambient air back into the air tank when you remove it.
@@LandtoHouse Have you seen Mr Teslonian's Trompe Hammer?
Excellent video dude! 👍 However, it is unclear to me how pressure is coupled from the inner tube to the valve system. How does air pass in and out of the tube? Does it? Or does it simply use the tiny air gaps between the tube as the chamber with the inner tube simply being an inner wall of the chamber? Please clarify for the non mechanical engineering layman. Thanks again. I'm getting one of these for sure! 😁
Seems pretty solid. I love how your brain works. Rock solid quality. It will last many years...
well explained. excellent demonstration.
What you say may be true, but with it being outside, the UV will ruin the tank before the joint gives out i suspect
would you have a parts list for the tiny ram pump ( 1/2 inch pump )?
Great video!!
Also one question please:
What would be the difference on delivered water if you simply keep all fittings same size?
+saeed1642 thank you. As long as you have the waste valve and drive pipe the same size the other components can be altered. Increasing the size of the delivery pipe does not affect the output of the pump.
Hi there, can i know all your pvc size?quite confius..tqsm for the vid btw 👍👍
Please check the description for the Land To House website. There is a free pdf with sizes.
Is it possible to use a ramp pump in a river with no head but with quit a lot of flow?