How to get water from well with no power?

[Big Daddy]

I was wondering how I would get water out of my well if power was lost for a significant time. As in a national emergency or something. My well is 900 ft deep if I remember correctly from when we bought the house. So I'm thinking any kind of hand pump would have to lift a lot of weight.

 

[inchworm]

A few months ago their was a thread where someone (I think Pat) suggested a bucket that is tall and skinny for such things. I can't find the thread now, but maybe somebody remembers what those buckets were called. Of course, 900' is a lot of rope!

Inchworm

 

[Homesteadmom]

Not sure how much they cost but they do make a solar pump for wells. WE were talking to a guy at the local drilling co where we have our remote property about a windmill & he said we would probobly be better off with a solar pump monetary wise. Plus there is less wear & tear on them & less parts to break down.

 

[sylvie]

I know your well is 900' deep but where is your water level?
I think you would need to remove your pump to use the bucket method.

An above ground plastic tank painted white(algae control) or buried cistern or a new unused septic tank(waterproofed) should get you through a power outage. Keep it full by using it and refilling periodically, adding some bleach. We have a 1500 gal buried cistern for this reason. Buried has to have water in it or the air will cause it to migrate up out of the soil. There are simple hand pumps that they used for heating oil tanks or drums that you can use to pump through a hose into your house.

 

[Homesteadmom]

I know your well is 900' deep but where is your water level?
I think you would need to remove your pump to use the bucket method.

An above ground plastic tank painted white(algae control) or buried cistern or a new unused septic tank(waterproofed) should get you through a power outage. Keep it full by using it and refilling periodically, adding some bleach. We have a 1500 gal buried cistern for this reason. Buried has to have water in it or the air will cause it to migrate up out of the soil. There are simple hand pumps that they used for heating oil tanks or drums that you can use to pump through a hose into your house.

Sorry the white ones do not control algae. We have one on our place up north & by the end of the week we are getting algae growing in it.

 

[Beekissed]

They have deep-well, hand pumps at Lehmann's and they are pretty costly. I don't think it would be feasible to expect to draw water by baler from a well that deep....you'd have to be in darn good shape and have a crank to do it!

Check out their website and see if they can give you more info....I'm not at home right now or I would tell you more from my catalog.

 

[patandchickens]

I totally agree with Beekissed - a hand pump or well bucket is fine for a shallower well but for 900', even if the water level is sitting at 'only', say, 600', I'd say forget it.

Solar powered 'normal' pumps for wells, even relatively shallow wells, are unfortunately quite expensive, because the pump requires a LOT of current, especially to get started. It can be done, but I was getting the sense that for my thirty-foot well it would be in the $5,000 range... :/

Cheaper, but I don't know about for a 900' well, would be the kind of setup that ranchers use for stock -- a solar powered pump that pumps only like a quart a minute or something like that, but does so constantly the whole time the sun is shining (thus, no batteries etc to deal with) and puts it into a cistern.

Really, with a well like that, I'd say a cistern (or a totally alternative source of water altogether) would be by FAR your best bet. (Even without anything solar. Just plumb your existing system to put water into it, and then an auxilliary pump to keep your pressure tank pressurized). Cisterns require a bit of ongoing management you really should test your water at regular intervals to make sure nothing exciting is growing there, but they can be an excellent way to stockpile water against temporary interruptions.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[sylvie]

I know your well is 900' deep but where is your water level?
I think you would need to remove your pump to use the bucket method.

An above ground plastic tank painted white(algae control) or buried cistern or a new unused septic tank(waterproofed) should get you through a power outage. Keep it full by using it and refilling periodically, adding some bleach. We have a 1500 gal buried cistern for this reason. Buried has to have water in it or the air will cause it to migrate up out of the soil. There are simple hand pumps that they used for heating oil tanks or drums that you can use to pump through a hose into your house.

Sorry the white ones do not control algae. We have one on our place up north & by the end of the week we are getting algae growing in it.

Our 1200 gal plastic outdoor tank is white plastic and painted white over that. We periodically add some bleach and have never had algae since 1999 when we bought it used. Because the freezing here would affect the fittings we don't store water in that tank in the winter.

I think I read that manual deep well pumps only go to 300'. That is why I asked about the water level depth.

 

[SKR8PN]

I was wondering how I would get water out of my well if power was lost for a significant time. As in a national emergency or something. My well is 900 ft deep if I remember correctly from when we bought the house. So I'm thinking any kind of hand pump would have to lift a lot of weight.

Generator would be your best bet.

 

[Homesteadmom]

I know your well is 900' deep but where is your water level?
I think you would need to remove your pump to use the bucket method.

An above ground plastic tank painted white(algae control) or buried cistern or a new unused septic tank(waterproofed) should get you through a power outage. Keep it full by using it and refilling periodically, adding some bleach. We have a 1500 gal buried cistern for this reason. Buried has to have water in it or the air will cause it to migrate up out of the soil. There are simple hand pumps that they used for heating oil tanks or drums that you can use to pump through a hose into your house.

Sorry the white ones do not control algae. We have one on our place up north & by the end of the week we are getting algae growing in it.

Our 1200 gal plastic outdoor tank is white plastic and painted white over that. We periodically add some bleach and have never had algae since 1999 when we bought it used. Because the freezing here would affect the fittings we don't store water in that tank in the winter.

I think I read that manual deep well pumps only go to 300'. That is why I asked about the water level depth.

We use no bleach as it is too caustic. I will tell dh about painting it white & see if that would work. We drain it before we leave up there & never leave water in it over winter as it snows & freezes up there.