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Here at Land To House you can find Hydraulic Ram Pumps for sale as well as a host of information of installing a pump. The Ram Pump Kit for sale comes with pvc ball valves on the drive pipe and delivery pipe sides so you can turn off the water to and from the pump, unions on both sides to allow for installation and easy cleaning, a Lead Free brass waste valve to create the pressure wave, a pvc inline spring valve to hold pressure in the tank, and a pvc pressure tank to smooth the water hammer. The only other things you need is a drive pipe and delivery pipe to get water pumping up hill.

Hydraulic Ram Pumps For Sale

5 Steps to Buying a Ram Pump

(Already know the size you need? Click Here)

1. Determine your Water Flow Rate.

The ram pump needs flowing water to operate. The amount of water that you have available in the creek determines the size ram pump that you can use.

Here are the flow rate specs for each size ram pump available on Land To House

1/2″ Ram Pump 2gpm(7.6Lpm)
3/4″ Ram Pump 4gpm(15Lpm)
1″ Ram Pump 6gpm(22.7Lpm)
1-1/4″ Ram Pump 8gpm(30.3Lpm)

The water that each pump size needs is consistent for operation regardless of delivery flow.

How to measure flow rate? Use a 5 gallon bucket to catch the water. Time how long it takes in seconds. Divide 300 by seconds and you will have the Gallons per Minute.

Example:  28 seconds to fill a 5 gal bucket:    300/28 = 10.7 gallons per minute

Flow rate test

2. Determine your Head Pressure (water drop from source to pump)

The Ram Pump needs falling water to utilize the water hammer effect (ram). This is called Head Pressure. The pump works on a 1:7 ratio input head pressure to lift. For example if you have 10 feet of head pressure the pump will lift 70 feet vertical.

There are a few ways that you can determine the head pressure. 

a. Take a garden hose and lay it in the creek. Let water run into the upper end. Lift the lower end up until the water stops flowing. Measure the distance from the surface of the water to the hose end. This is the head pressure available to the pump.

b. Place a garden hose in the creek and use a gauge that reads psi (pounds per square inch). Convert the psi to feet by using: psi/.433=feet of head.

c. Use a site such as Google Earth to find the elevation of the upper and lower parts of the creek and subtract the lower number from the higher number to find the head pressure. 

head pressure

3. Determine the Lift height from the pump to where you need water

The main limiting factor of the ram pump is the lift height of the water. The horizontal distance that water is pumped is not an issue.

There are a few ways to determine the lift height. 

a. The easy way is to use a site like Google Earth to get a general idea of the lift height. Take the elevation of the highest point you need water and the elevation of the pump location. Subtract the lower elevation from the higher elevation and you will have the lift height.

b. Use a clinometer. This tool finds angles of the incline and will let you use trig to find the height of lift. 

c. Use a line level and tape measure to find level and measure down to the ground. This can be done in stages to find all the drops from the top of the hill to the bottom. 

d. Fill a garden hose or pipe with water and use a psi gauge to find the height. psi/.433=feet of head.

4. Determine how much water you need in a day. 

The amount of water that you need in a day is based on your own application. That being said here is what each ram pump size can supply in a day:

(Max output based on ideal setup)

1/2″ pump : 360 Gallons per day. (1211 liter per day)

3/4″ pump : 720 Gallons per day. (2725 Liter per day)

1″ pump : 1080 Gallons per day. (4088 Liter per day)

1-1/4″ pump : 1440 Gallons per day. (5451 Liter per day)

Keep in mind that these numbers are based on ideal input head pressure and lift height. If you have less head pressure or you are lifting higher your flow will be less.

5. Select the ram pump size below that fits your needs. If you still have questions please check out the Frequently Asked Questions.

New Silt Filter and Air diffuser Buckets for Ram Pumps.

New Ram Pump Kits. You Build your own Pump

To learn more about selecting the right pump, watch this video:

 

What else do you need to get the ram pump running? 

-You will need a Drive Pipe to get water to the pump. This can be PVC or Poly Pipe. Be sure to match the pump size and the Drive pipe.

-You need a Delivery Pipe to take water up hill from the pump. This can be any size you like. Garden Hose, PVC Pipe, and Poly Pipe are all good options. 

-Depending on the pipes you select you will need fittings to connect to the pump. 

  • For PVC you will need adaptors from thread to socket. Then you will need couplings to connect sections of pipe.
  • For Poly Pipe you will need barb fittings that go from thread to barb. Then you will need barb to barb connectors to join sections of pipe. Hose clamps are often needed to keep the poly on the barb.