@GoatHollow Great catch. You are right that the unions could go on the other side of each gate valve but in my setup I have valves on the drive pipe close to the dam that I shut off and then I take pump out with gate valve and all and on the delivery side you just lose the water in the pipe not from your source. My extra drive pipe shut off is where I can also change to a diff. drive pipe size. You'll see in pt3 . I am just glad that folks are paying attention to the details!
About powered well pumps. I have installed several types from the relatively inexpensive Sure-Flo DC solar powered pumps up to the 3-phase constant flow type. The one I really like is the multi-voltage AC/DC “SQFlex” pumps by Grundfos. These pumps run on just about anything. Solar, Grid, Generator, Inverter 30-300 VDC, 90-240 VAC 50-60 Hz and can lift water from up to 650 Ft.
Right on time!!! Awesome! The ram pump is now the answer to a HUGE task for our planned off-grid, eco-friendly, self-sufficient, and very efficient home(s) & greenhouse business! I find your videos tremendously informative and COMPLETE with all of the details and/or formula to answer all of the questions I had, I believe ;^) You Sir are very much appreciated, thank You for caring. The World needs more like You!
I first became aware of hydraulic ram pumps years ago but "got too busy" to experiment with one. Also managed to lose all the notes & articles over those years, now that I'm needing to build one for our gardening system upgrades. Thanks, because of your efforts I have hope of accomplishing the goal! You are a light in a darkening world, sir!
your shadow on the dry erase board shows you have angel wings...............Nice. I like your videos. spent the last two days watching them.. you r a special person.
@billythebaboon Under a $100 depending on where you can get your plumbing parts. You can save a some money by using a PVC ball valve on the deliver side. You also can leave off the pressure gauge as well. So if you shop around ~ $75 for a 1 1/4 pump 50 for a 3/4 " pump. If you were to purchase a 1 1/4" pump from Rife Ram it would cost you around $1500.00 - I have a 2" 20 SU from Rife I bought 12 yrs ago for $900 - it is now $1950.00 !
Wranglerstar built this same pump and used a 3' section of pvc 1/2 filled with a pool noodle. His lifts about 150 ft verticle roughly 500' from the pump station. Hope that helps, 3' will be the size I use when I get around to building my pump.
Nice design. I do a lot of repair on many things and I have a suggestion for the order of your pieces. The valve should always be first and last in the sequence. This will allow you to turn off all water flow before cracking open the unions which will be much less messy whenever the unit is removed.
Yes a 10 HDU (10HDU Max Fall 50ft. Max elevation 500ft. Intake 3 - 10 GPM) will work . the pump cost ($1970.00). Send me a pm or got to practical preppers and contact me there for more info.
I have a couple of questions about the formula for output volume V x F/E x 0.6 = D[gallons] x 1440 at 1:30 in the video. I think E stood for Efficiency - how do we calculate this? Is it volume of water lifted / volume of water in? I noticed that lift height was not one of the parameters. If we double the lift height, is the same, 1/2 the volume or 1/4 the volume or some other volume of water delivered, I've seen charts that vary. Also, while initially, I thought all I cared about was volume of water delivered to the needed height, I've realized that I also will need some pressure for irrigation purposes to run a drip or low pressure sprinkler system unless I fill a tank, but then the height of the tank matters to get the pressure anyway. For irrigation, optimizing cost per volume delivered to a usable height (or pressure) would seem to be the objective. It is possible that several smaller pumps, costing less per each, might deliver more total water volume and cost less than a larger, more expensive pump - or maybe not. Dave from the Water Powered Pumps facebook group: facebook.com/groups/240458583255303/
yo..buddy... does it good if i put another check valve on the delivery pipe(that is in between the pressure chamber and gauge as per your model in this video) ? nice demonstration indeed! thanks!
Do you bolt your ramp pumps down? When your putting it together on the table you just spin your delivery hose on but outside i would imagine both your delivery and source pipes would be held fairly static or at least be very long? Is that where the unions come in? How do these allow you to disconnect the ramp pump?
"Recommended wisdom of advice" There are several different check valves to choose from, the one you want is a swinging check valve, that way you don't have to deal with Spring adjustments it works on gravity.
First union should be after shutoff valve...that way you don't get soaked when servicing ..I'm sure someone else probably caught that in the comments..?
Do you use just swing check valves for both your waste and pressure valves? It sounded like they both clapped freely, so I'm assuming you are using check valves on both. On the Clemson Extension link you gave, they show the pressure valve as a spring check valve. What would be the advantages/disadvantages of using either type, for your pressure valve?
if you put the two gate valves on the drive and delivery lines rather than on the pump ie on the other side of the union you can isolate the pump as you do now but with the advantage of being able to stop the flow down your drive line and the supply line will not drain back to where you are working. Also if you put another check valve about halfway along the supply line the pump will be far more efficient because of the reduction in back pressure. very good tutorial please keep going
My spring volume is 3.5gpm and I can get up to 30-40 of drop with the drive line to my pump site but I have to get water up 160' to the tank site and the over all distance is about 1000' from pump to tank so my question is can this work with a ram pump??? If so what pump would be recommended for this project??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Justin
Very interesting. I remember being at an antique steam engine and farm machinery show and they had on display something like this, Only it was a dome shaped contraption. If i remember right it was called a Bell pump. They said they were using them back maybe 200-300 years ago. Could they be using the same principle?
I think you want to AVOID closed cell foam. Worked at a factory making it. Was years ago and I hope I get this right. Closed cell uses "celogen" as a "yeast" to create encapsulated nitrogen bubbles. Closed-cell is used for drink cup holders (DCH's) and for the better pipe insulation, for wresting mats, for astroturf mats. You mentioned "noodles" ... which I *think* are "open cell." Double check, but I think this is right.
Engineer775, Great videos! I have a question about how you determine the volume needed for the pressure tank, and if you could, comment on the shape Hight/Diameter ratio. Muchas Gracias!!!
@mir09333 I haven't built mine yet, however I believe you keep pressing and releasing the check-valve to "prime" the pump, and get the water flow started. After a number of times of pressing and releasing the check-valve, my thinking (I could be wrong?) is the pump will then have the pressures in the places it needs to work on its own. Also make sure the gate valve on the outlet side is closed until the pump is working on its own...then slowly open the outlet gate valve. I hope this helps.
I do not recommend the Grundfos CU200 control box, I have installed two of these and had to send two back for warranty. I do recommend the Grundfos IO101 control for solar powered systems; this box allows you to automatically switch to AC power, (generator or grid).
This is all good advice. Built one and placed it 14 feet below a water fall with probably 50 gal. per second flow. The water comes down the pipe and fills up the pump and nothing happens.Then we try to get it started and still zero. What is next?
Great video! I‘m planning to start this project.I‘ve seen alot of ramp pump demonstration videos but this one‘s captured my intrerest,hope to seek youy help when i started this interesting project...Good job Sir! :-)
Would be nice to show a diagram of the pump and show how it actually works. Much like you did with flow rates and drops in elevation. It's great you put one together but how does the water flow through it and build pressure?
@DeleteMeOnline A bladder tank would work just fine and yes you can use a foot valve. You remove the spring so that is falls closed and you can also weight the valve. I have found it is simpler and easier to adjust a swing-check valve than to make your own. Weighted/adjustable valves are great and some you can make real quiet with leather or rubber gaskets.
hi, my question is when you use a tire tube in the bladder. how do fit it in and get the correct firmness of the tube? can you actually show a vid of you assembling the bladder itself.?
Great job Dude. One question, wouldn't it be better to put the unions "Inside" of the gate valves, so that you can remove the pump, and have no water flow from the inlet/outlet pipes while you are working on it. Seems like it would be lot's better to be able to fit those unions back together with no flow/pressure coming out of the other half of the union. Btw. hope you don't mind, I'm downloading this series, to burn to DVD for after SHTF reference.
Should the unions be on the other side of the valves so you can shut off the drive pipe and delivery pipes and take the pump out without having to drain the water from those lines?
would it be more efficient to have your well pump , pump water into a tank high enough to give you your required water pressure or have it run as normal ?
Hi nice vid. I got a question. The first check valve you install, minute 3:36, i bought the same one but when the water flows and hit that check valve the pressure its just to much and doesn't permit the valve to stop. This mean my ram pump still not work. Could you please explain to me what should i do thanks a lot.
Good job! I wanna build my own pls help me.Are these materials available in the market without modifying them specially the valves?how much it all cost?
Something like an artesian well which is you know a tap spring with a lot of pressure you could probably use a ram pump for but that's like a whole other ball game not digging a hole and finding something that's harvesting something that's already coming up
Hi jimOWSmc, I have no reply to this just yet, but thinking that once you put that foam in, it takes space which can not be water locked any more and that foam is flexible as well to be compressed ;-) But still waiting for a reply on this.
Hi. Given the current times I am putting in a Ram Pump. I am using your design in this video. Question when installing the waste check valve is there a optimal orientation for the valve in its 360 rotation. Specifically the access cap on the valve. In the video it is oriented at a 90 degree angle to the linear flow of the water. Is there a benefit to pointing it Upstream or downstream of the flow? I saw the demonstration of changing the perpendicular angle from vertical and understand the volume adjustment but it I didn’t see this other point in your video. Another hydraulic question. Is there any benefit in a high flow creek ram pump set up to start out at the filter input with a larger pipe size say 4” and drop that down to a 2” for the drive pipe. Would this increase the velocity of the water before it hits the ram increasing pump potential? I have a bunch of pipe around. I am putting in a 2” Ram
Interesting video... I will try it.... One question... Can i use 1" Swing valve for waist valve and 1" Spring valve (NRV) for pressure valve ? Hope your answer... Thank you.
I tried to make ram pump today... As you taught in the video... And it's amazing... I got success... It is working... Thanks a lot of... 🙏🙏 I used check valve without spring...and swing valve...
I run a aeroponics system. which include fish in the water system. metals in the tank are not good for water management. what are my options? i want to pump water from the tank to another tank that may be 15 in elevation. i can create the fall, but how low would i have to take the fall to make this work?
A note about the Sure-Flo, it’s a good pump for low flow but it doesn’t last. I have replaced every one I put in after about a year or three, so if you go this way make sure you have a spare or a re-build kit on hand for when it fails. Sorry I had to post this in three parts.
We live in Florida and there's not a lot of fall on my creek. Maybe 6-8' over 250-300' of creek. It has great volume though. Approximately 60 gallons per minute. Should I try a long drive pipe or short one?
I watched your Part 1 and have 2 questions. One is when the flow is low , say 2.0 - 2.5 gpm the largest intake line can only be a 1/2 inch pipe. Schedule 40 PVC preferred. I believe the average maximum lift is a 1:7 ratio with a top lift of no more than 170 vertical feet. Therefore to maximize a systems potential , the head ( fall ) needs to be approx. 24 feet to lift 170’. I like this however your formula does not support this type of system . Number one you state the delivery pipe needs to be half the diameter of the supply line, so for a 1/2 pipe, this would be 1/4” which is not standard for this use in poly rolled pipe. Secondly you state that for head of approx. 24’, the length of the supply line needs to be 4 x the fall or approx 100 ‘. My question here is : Can this length be shorter or longer by some established percentage or is it critical to your formula? For my use, I have a minimum flow of 2.0 gpm. I need to lift it to a minimum 500 gallon tank . This tank sits 160 feet above the discharge point of the ram pump. This because I need a minimum of 35 PSI to my points of use and that is why the storage tank is set as high as possible on the farm. I have been told that most RP’s discharge 80% of the water back into the spring fed creek. So I get 20% of the water coming in or .40 gpm. Or 1440 x.40= 576 gallons per day. This is great except for your 2 points regarding the sizing of the intake PVC line and the output lift line. I would love to hear your thoughts on my comments. Thanks, Michael
Thank you for the video!. First time watcher. quick question on your buildup. Don't you need to drill a small hole at the base of the accumulator for air intake?
This is a pretty good, but this can be simplified in many ways and there's no reason to build a special air chamber. The design I came up with is also very easy to start. I used to build dozens of ram pumps for watering cattle.
I have a water tank at my house and would like to use a ram pump to bring water up my hill to an elevation of about 35 feet. The spigot on the tank is only 2-3 feet above the ground, but the top of the tank is 8 feet high. Silly question: is the fall needed for the drive pipe equated at the spigot, or at the water level of the tank??
Inisfad I would recommend that you do not pump the water into the bottom of the tank, but the top to reduce the pressure pushing back against the delivery flow. That being said, you need to worry about the highest point that water needs to be pumped to. In the case of the water being pumped into a tank, it is the point where the water exits the delivery pipe and falls into the tank. If you are filling two tanks at the same time, I would have the delivery pipe go up to the top, put two elbows on, then put a T in, sending one half to each tank. I would also suggest that there be a little space between the elbows and the T before splitting to allow the little gravity to help with the flow. Just my pennies worth.
I'm curious. Why not have a third check valve on the inlet before your hammer valve, even 10 feet back to the source, to prevent the spike from ramming back into the supply line, back to the source? Could this work, and maybe increase efficiency, or possibly prevent it from working?
@GoatHollow Great catch. You are right that the unions could go on the other side of each gate valve but in my setup I have valves on the drive pipe close to the dam that I shut off and then I take pump out with gate valve and all and on the delivery side you just lose the water in the pipe not from your source. My extra drive pipe shut off is where I can also change to a diff. drive pipe size. You'll see in pt3 . I am just glad that folks are paying attention to the details!
About powered well pumps. I have installed several types from the relatively inexpensive Sure-Flo DC solar powered pumps up to the 3-phase constant flow type. The one I really like is the multi-voltage AC/DC “SQFlex” pumps by Grundfos. These pumps run on just about anything. Solar, Grid, Generator, Inverter 30-300 VDC, 90-240 VAC 50-60 Hz and can lift water from up to 650 Ft.
Right on time!!! Awesome!
The ram pump is now the answer to a HUGE task for our planned off-grid, eco-friendly, self-sufficient, and very efficient home(s) & greenhouse business! I find your videos tremendously informative and COMPLETE with all of the details and/or formula to answer all of the questions I had, I believe ;^)
You Sir are very much appreciated, thank You for caring. The World needs more like You!
I first became aware of hydraulic ram pumps years ago but "got too busy" to experiment with one. Also managed to lose all the notes & articles over those years, now that I'm needing to build one for our gardening system upgrades. Thanks, because of your efforts I have hope of accomplishing the goal! You are a light in a darkening world, sir!
your shadow on the dry erase board shows you have angel wings...............Nice. I like your videos. spent the last two days watching them.. you r a special person.
Thanks for advising videos 1 2 and 3 with both: theory and practice.
Thank you for doing this series. I have seen a lot of examples of rams, but none explaining the math and how-to behind it. A+
@TheBeeperman Sounds like a Davey Ram as they are dome shaped and are great little ram pumps!
tks for the upload it was really useful, have learned from it, you have done a great job.
Your series on ram pumps is comprehensive. Thanks for including the math!
I have a well 220 ft down, can't wait for that video, thanks for doing these very helpful
@kenwilson63 You are quite welcome. Sounds like you are ready to install a ram!
@billythebaboon Under a $100 depending on where you can get your plumbing parts. You can save a some money by using a PVC ball valve on the deliver side. You also can leave off the pressure gauge as well. So if you shop around ~ $75 for a 1 1/4 pump 50 for a 3/4 " pump.
If you were to purchase a 1 1/4" pump from Rife Ram it would cost you around $1500.00 - I have a 2" 20 SU from Rife I bought 12 yrs ago for $900 - it is now $1950.00 !
The union goes in front of the shut off valve, so the pump can be serviced, the pressure vessel dose not need any thing inside just air.
It can be
I really appreciate your lessons, we are actively looking for land for off grid living, thank you! (Mr. Rain).
@CopingWithTheTimes It is and honor!
Wranglerstar built this same pump and used a 3' section of pvc 1/2 filled with a pool noodle. His lifts about 150 ft verticle roughly 500' from the pump station. Hope that helps, 3' will be the size I use when I get around to building my pump.
Excellent series. I say again...Excellent series. Thank you very much for posting this video!!
Nice design. I do a lot of repair on many things and I have a suggestion for the order of your pieces. The valve should always be first and last in the sequence. This will allow you to turn off all water flow before cracking open the unions which will be much less messy whenever the unit is removed.
Yes a 10 HDU (10HDU Max Fall 50ft. Max elevation 500ft. Intake 3 - 10 GPM) will work . the pump cost ($1970.00). Send me a pm or got to practical preppers and contact me there for more info.
no, questions. Excellent explanations. I really liked seeing it in action. Thank you so much on this and all of your videos.
It's the great invention for all people.
Bravo -----------!!!
this is a great set of equations and everything....worth a textbook
very good.....waiting for part 3.......thanks
I have a couple of questions about the formula for output volume V x F/E x 0.6 = D[gallons] x 1440 at 1:30 in the video. I think E stood for Efficiency - how do we calculate this? Is it volume of water lifted / volume of water in? I noticed that lift height was not one of the parameters. If we double the lift height, is the same, 1/2 the volume or 1/4 the volume or some other volume of water delivered, I've seen charts that vary. Also, while initially, I thought all I cared about was volume of water delivered to the needed height, I've realized that I also will need some pressure for irrigation purposes to run a drip or low pressure sprinkler system unless I fill a tank, but then the height of the tank matters to get the pressure anyway.
For irrigation, optimizing cost per volume delivered to a usable height (or pressure) would seem to be the objective. It is possible that several smaller pumps, costing less per each, might deliver more total water volume and cost less than a larger, more expensive pump - or maybe not.
Dave from the Water Powered Pumps facebook group: facebook.com/groups/240458583255303/
Just love your formula.
you, Sir, are a great dude. Thanks.
Very usefull thanks from the mountain springs of Costa Rica.
yo..buddy... does it good if i put another check valve on the delivery pipe(that is in between the pressure chamber and gauge as per your model in this video) ? nice demonstration indeed! thanks!
Do you bolt your ramp pumps down? When your putting it together on the table you just spin your delivery hose on but outside i would imagine both your delivery and source pipes would be held fairly static or at least be very long?
Is that where the unions come in? How do these allow you to disconnect the ramp pump?
I wonder if you could show how you use that foam inside the pressure vessel? Thanks for sharing.
thanks, waiting for when you do the well pump vids
Awesome video. Just enough so that I could do it on my own. I was sent to you by Wranglerstar
Thanks for the info. Great job! What is in your bladder tank?
"Recommended wisdom of advice"
There are several different check valves to choose from, the one you want is a swinging check valve, that way you don't have to deal with Spring adjustments it works on gravity.
First union should be after shutoff valve...that way you don't get soaked when servicing ..I'm sure someone else probably caught that in the comments..?
And last union should be before the delivery shutoff, so you don't get backflow from the delivery line.
Well, guess I do not need to ask...
Do you use just swing check valves for both your waste and pressure valves? It sounded like they both clapped freely, so I'm assuming you are using check valves on both. On the Clemson Extension link you gave, they show the pressure valve as a spring check valve. What would be the advantages/disadvantages of using either type, for your pressure valve?
if you put the two gate valves on the drive and delivery lines rather than on the pump ie on the other side of the union you can
isolate the pump as you do now but with the advantage of being able to stop the flow down your drive line and the supply line will not drain back to where you are working. Also if you put another check valve about halfway along the supply line the pump will be far more efficient because of the reduction in back pressure. very good tutorial please keep going
My spring volume is 3.5gpm and I can get up to 30-40 of drop with the drive line to my pump site but I have to get water up 160' to the tank site and the over all distance is about 1000' from pump to tank so my question is can this work with a ram pump??? If so what pump would be recommended for this project??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Justin
do the upper check valve needs to be covered?
well explained. can it be used in a river with fast moving water? (much like the colorado river for example)
Very interesting. I remember being at an antique steam engine and farm machinery show and they had on display something like this, Only it was a dome shaped contraption. If i remember right it was called a Bell pump. They said they were using them back maybe 200-300 years ago. Could they be using the same principle?
I think you want to AVOID closed cell foam. Worked at a factory making it. Was years ago and I hope I get this right. Closed cell uses "celogen" as a "yeast" to create encapsulated nitrogen bubbles. Closed-cell is used for drink cup holders (DCH's) and for the better pipe insulation, for wresting mats, for astroturf mats. You mentioned "noodles" ... which I *think* are "open cell." Double check, but I think this is right.
That was great detail information provided plz also make a video on well ram pump
Engineer775, Great videos! I have a question about how you determine the volume needed for the pressure tank, and if you could, comment on the shape Hight/Diameter ratio. Muchas Gracias!!!
@mir09333 I haven't built mine yet, however I believe you keep pressing and releasing the check-valve to "prime" the pump, and get the water flow started. After a number of times of pressing and releasing the check-valve, my thinking (I could be wrong?) is the pump will then have the pressures in the places it needs to work on its own. Also make sure the gate valve on the outlet side is closed until the pump is working on its own...then slowly open the outlet gate valve. I hope this helps.
Absolutely awesome information you're sharing. Thanks!
I do not recommend the Grundfos CU200 control box, I have installed two of these and had to send two back for warranty. I do recommend the Grundfos IO101 control for solar powered systems; this box allows you to automatically switch to AC power, (generator or grid).
👏👏👏👏love you for sharing you are the best🙏
I havent seen any discussion of how to determine the size of the Pressure Vessel.
This is all good advice. Built one and placed it 14 feet below a water fall with probably 50 gal. per second flow. The water comes down the pipe and fills up the pump and nothing happens.Then we try to get it started and still zero. What is next?
Sir you are saving me money--thank you!
What length is the schedule 40 you cut for the pressure vessel and does it matter?
Hello, Why do you put foam inside the tube please? Is it necessary? Thanks!
Thank you sir.. mr paras from the Philippines
great video!!! keep on uploading!
Great video! I‘m planning to start this project.I‘ve seen alot of ramp pump demonstration videos but this one‘s captured my intrerest,hope to seek youy help when i started this interesting project...Good job Sir! :-)
I like absolutely your ram pump. i ask one question sir about pressure vessel what is the component inside. and how its made.and thanks engineer775.
Would be nice to show a diagram of the pump and show how it actually works. Much like you did with flow rates and drops in elevation. It's great you put one together but how does the water flow through it and build pressure?
@DeleteMeOnline A bladder tank would work just fine and yes you can use a foot valve. You remove the spring so that is falls closed and you can also weight the valve. I have found it is simpler and easier to adjust a swing-check valve than to make your own. Weighted/adjustable valves are great and some you can make real quiet with leather or rubber gaskets.
Great work sir
hi, my question is when you use a tire tube in the bladder. how do fit it in and get the correct firmness of the tube? can you actually show a vid of you assembling the bladder itself.?
Nice vdo..what is it you said to put inside pressure pump or bladder??
Great job Dude. One question, wouldn't it be better to put the unions "Inside" of the gate valves, so that you can remove the pump, and have no water flow from the inlet/outlet pipes while you are working on it. Seems like it would be lot's better to be able to fit those unions back together with no flow/pressure coming out of the other half of the union. Btw. hope you don't mind, I'm downloading this series, to burn to DVD for after SHTF reference.
Should the unions be on the other side of the valves so you can shut off the drive pipe and delivery pipes and take the pump out without having to drain the water from those lines?
Does the length of the pressure vessel make a difference?
was there a reason you went with the longer nipple on the clack valve?
Just curious what’s the ballpark cost of all the materials?
would it be more efficient to have your well pump , pump water into a tank high enough to give you your required water pressure or have it run as normal ?
The Art of Ram Pumping
Hi nice vid. I got a question. The first check valve you install, minute 3:36, i bought the same one but when the water flows and hit that check valve the pressure its just to much and doesn't permit the valve to stop. This mean my ram pump still not work. Could you please explain to me what should i do thanks a lot.
Good job! I wanna build my own pls help me.Are these materials available in the market without modifying them specially the valves?how much it all cost?
Nice. about pressure vessel there are component, inside sir? how its made.
Something like an artesian well which is you know a tap spring with a lot of pressure you could probably use a ram pump for but that's like a whole other ball game not digging a hole and finding something that's harvesting something that's already coming up
Is there any available material for waste valve that used to close during the cycle?
Hi jimOWSmc, I have no reply to this just yet, but thinking that once you put that foam in, it takes space which can not be water locked any more and that foam is flexible as well to be compressed ;-) But still waiting for a reply on this.
Hi. Given the current times I am putting in a Ram Pump. I am using your design in this video. Question when installing the waste check valve is there a optimal orientation for the valve in its 360 rotation. Specifically the access cap on the valve. In the video it is oriented at a 90 degree angle to the linear flow of the water. Is there a benefit to pointing it Upstream or downstream of the flow? I saw the demonstration of changing the perpendicular angle from vertical and understand the volume adjustment but it I didn’t see this other point in your video.
Another hydraulic question. Is there any benefit in a high flow creek ram pump set up to start out at the filter input with a larger pipe size say 4” and drop that down to a 2” for the drive pipe. Would this increase the velocity of the water before it hits the ram increasing pump potential? I have a bunch of pipe around.
I am putting in a 2” Ram
thanks for video info.
Can you plz list every pieces we need?
For compression then pressure I believe.
Is that everything needed in the list at end of video
Sir,I saw a piece on U Tube about making a piston with a spring in place of the blatter assemble. ,what are your directions and comments.
Interesting video...
I will try it....
One question... Can i use 1" Swing valve for waist valve and 1" Spring valve (NRV) for pressure valve ?
Hope your answer...
Thank you.
I tried to make ram pump today... As you taught in the video... And it's amazing... I got success... It is working... Thanks a lot of... 🙏🙏
I used check valve without spring...and swing valve...
Can you add the pressure tank to the 3/4 in piping or does it need to be 1 1/4 in?
GRACIAS
I run a aeroponics system. which include fish in the water system. metals in the tank are not good for water management. what are my options? i want to pump water from the tank to another tank that may be 15 in elevation. i can create the fall, but how low would i have to take the fall to make this work?
A note about the Sure-Flo, it’s a good pump for low flow but it doesn’t last. I have replaced every one I put in after about a year or three, so if you go this way make sure you have a spare or a re-build kit on hand for when it fails. Sorry I had to post this in three parts.
What is the difference with a snifter and without? Which is better?
We live in Florida and there's not a lot of fall on my creek. Maybe 6-8' over 250-300' of creek. It has great volume though. Approximately 60 gallons per minute. Should I try a long drive pipe or short one?
I watched your Part 1 and have 2 questions. One is when the flow is low , say 2.0 - 2.5 gpm the largest intake line can only be a 1/2 inch pipe. Schedule 40 PVC preferred. I believe the average maximum lift is a 1:7 ratio with a top lift of no more than 170 vertical feet. Therefore to maximize a systems potential , the head ( fall ) needs to be approx. 24 feet to lift 170’. I like this however your formula does not support this type of system . Number one you state the delivery pipe needs to be half the diameter of the supply line, so for a 1/2 pipe, this would be 1/4” which is not standard for this use in poly rolled pipe. Secondly you state that for head of approx. 24’, the length of the supply line needs to be 4 x the fall or approx 100 ‘. My question here is : Can this length be shorter or longer by some established percentage or is it critical to your formula?
For my use, I have a minimum flow of 2.0 gpm. I need to lift it to a minimum 500 gallon tank . This tank sits 160 feet above the discharge point of the ram pump. This because I need a minimum of 35 PSI to my points of use and that is why the storage tank is set as high as possible on the farm.
I have been told that most RP’s discharge 80% of the water back into the spring fed creek. So I get 20% of the water coming in or .40 gpm. Or 1440 x.40= 576 gallons per day. This is great except for your 2 points regarding the sizing of the intake PVC line and the output lift line. I would love to hear your thoughts on my comments.
Thanks, Michael
Awesome, thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the video!. First time watcher. quick question on your buildup. Don't you need to drill a small hole at the base of the accumulator for air intake?
sooo cool. thanks
Would it be possible to use a ram pump to pump 600 meters up a mountain?
what is the pcv pipe for and what if u change the lengths and widths
This is a pretty good, but this can be simplified in many ways and there's no reason to build a special air chamber. The design I came up with is also very easy to start.
I used to build dozens of ram pumps for watering cattle.
WoodchuckinPA If I send you my plans for a ram pump setup to aerate my pond, would you help me? Vern Boggs
G. Vernon Boggs atlin4vern@gmail.com
Hi, good Job ..... Outro :-D
And Thank you for sharing :-)
can a ram pump be used in a fast moving river?
I have a water tank at my house and would like to use a ram pump to bring water up my hill to an elevation of about 35 feet. The spigot on the tank is only 2-3 feet above the ground, but the top of the tank is 8 feet high. Silly question: is the fall needed for the drive pipe equated at the spigot, or at the water level of the tank??
Inisfad I would recommend that you do not pump the water into the bottom of the tank, but the top to reduce the pressure pushing back against the delivery flow.
That being said, you need to worry about the highest point that water needs to be pumped to. In the case of the water being pumped into a tank, it is the point where the water exits the delivery pipe and falls into the tank.
If you are filling two tanks at the same time, I would have the delivery pipe go up to the top, put two elbows on, then put a T in, sending one half to each tank. I would also suggest that there be a little space between the elbows and the T before splitting to allow the little gravity to help with the flow.
Just my pennies worth.
Yeah... you're not going to pump into the spigot.
I'm curious. Why not have a third check valve on the inlet before your hammer valve, even 10 feet back to the source, to prevent the spike from ramming back into the supply line, back to the source? Could this work, and maybe increase efficiency, or possibly prevent it from working?
I would put the cut off valve before the union so the water can be turned off to work on the pump!