New Years Ram Pump sale $5 off Ram Pumps with code: “jan5” at checkout
Here you can purchase Pre-Assembled Hydraulic Ram Pumps!
Select the Size you need:
—————————————-
Large: 1-1/4″ $175
The Drive Pipe that will run this pump needs to be 1-1/4″.
Medium: 1″ $155
The Drive Pipe that will run this pump needs to be 1″.
Small: 3/4″ $115
The Drive Pipe that will run this pump needs to be 3/4″.
Tiny: 1/2″ $75
The Drive Pipe that will run this pump needs to be 1/2″.
————————————————————
When you buy a Ram Pump I ship out the next day unless its Sunday.
I am very interested in building one of these but I don’t have a stream.
I have a dam. So that means that I have to set the pump below the water line ? Or will it work submerged. I would appreciate your comments. Regards Rod.
That very question will be answered in a video soon! I have seen a pump working underwater but it looks like it reduces the efficiency by a good bit. If you leave the top check valve above the water line then you will have no problem.
Hi Seth,
I hope to be moving onto a piece of land on a mountain with a downward flowing spring stream.
I’ve been watching your ram pump videos with interest….Thank you for sharing your journey and knowledge.
I’d like to install one of your ram pumps to pump the water to an elevated holding tank, about 4 metres up and approx 50 meters away from the stream.
First question: what size pump would you recommend? ( have I given you enough information?)
Second: Although I’m practical, I’m not mechanically minded.I’m a novice natural builder Could you provide a glossary of the terms you use for the simpleminded?
Kind regards,
Hello.
Nice to hear that you are interested in using a ram pump. It is so rewarding to have water on your land. So to get water to 4 meters you will need .5 meters of head pressure but 1 meter would not hurt. This will get you water to the 4 meters and have enough flow to work with. The 50 meters is not an issue. The size of ram pump depends on the amount of water you have in the creek. If you have 8 gallons per min you can run the largest pump just fine. The smallest pump needs around 1gpm to function. ….. As for terms. (my brother in law is reworking my ebook to make it more clear) The pipe that feeds the pump is called the “drive pipe”. The pipe that takes water to the end location (storage tank) is called the “delivery pipe”. Feet of “head pressure” is the drop in elevation of the creek. Those are the main terms that you need as you work. Other than that you need “waste valve” that is the valve that lets water out and the others are just parts of the pump like ball valves and unions. … Let me know if this helps.
1. In order to get the right head pressure I’ll be 3x further away to get delivery pipe to holding tank. will I be able to get the water up hill ? will I need check valves.
2. Will smaller dia. ram pumps be better than larger to deliver water?
1. The horizontal distance is not really an issue. The Vertical is what will get you. Adding one check valve in the delivery will help. I have found that a second valve does not help much.
2. The size of the pump determines the flow rate. Each pump size produces based on the 1:7 ratio head pressure to lift so size does not matter there.
Dear Seth,
I purchased a 1 1/4″ Ram Pump Set last year thru a cousin in Texas, USA. It operated well in my farm here in Philippines, submerged in a clear pond. However, after sometime both swing valves got busted and the pressure tank was damaged also. So I ordered replacement pvc swing valves sized: 1 1/2″ via EBay but I could not find any pressure tank similar to what you made at land to house. How much per unit of complete 4″” Dia. pressure tank? I need two units, so that i can have a spare.
Your prompt response is highly appreciated.
Miles Fidel A, Evora
engrevora@yahoo.com
My apologies for the delay I have been on vacation for some time. I do have the large tanks for sale on land to house. Here is the link.
https://www.landtohouse.com/product/large-pressure-tank/
I have a spring on my property . But it is a half of a mile down the driveway from where I need it. Would one of your ram pumps work that far away?
I personally have pumped water 600 feet. I stopped because I ran out of garden hose. I have heard stories of pumps going over a mile. The flow rate is so low that there is little friction loss in the delivery pipe. The main factors are head pressure (fall from source to pump) and lift hight.
I have answered your question in Adventure 22. Check it out here:
https://www.landtohouse.com/adventure-22-underwater-ram-pump/
Does it matter what size the standpipe is? Example can you use a 4″ standpipe on a 3/4″ ram pump or does it have to be 2″ or 3″ ?
You will be just fine with a 4″ stand pipe but if you can go a little smaller it is some better. I would use a 2″ for the ideal.
It will not work. You need a stream to use it.
I have actually used the pump from a dam by syphoning water out. This only works when there is sufficient elevation drop out of the dam. It works much the same as pulling water out of a pond and downhill to the pump.
My ram pump is fed from a dam and works fine. I use the 1 1/4 drive pipe as a syphon, priming from a T with a screw in plug set at the highest point. The head of water is about 4-5ft. I get about 160 gallons per day pumping to a hight of about 65ft
Very nice! I prefer to pull water from a dam or pond. Less likely to get stopped up with debris that way. As for results I would say you are getting lots of water at that hight.
please. make one 3 inchs recive in delivery 1 inch same way the build the others.for about 10 miles to fill my tanks in 5 to 10degrees in the hills
Hello. I have heard of people taking water up to a mile with a ram pump. I am not sure about going 3 miles. As for a 3″ ram pump, I only make pumps up to 1-1/4″ size.
Can you make a 3″ ram pump? or do you know someone who can make them?
I do not make them for Land To House. They are rather expensive to make. I also dont know anyone that makes them. If you would like to make a 3″ ram you can use the instructions in my free ebook and just increase each part to the right size for a 3″ pump.
The elevation between the water source and the pump, is important. You can normally pump uphill from the pump about 7 times that elevation.
Exactly what I would have said. Thank you.
Hi there, Do you know roughly what height the large model ( 32mm ) will pump to ? , if set up
right, cheers Brian.
Hello. Yes there is a ratio of approximately 1:7 for every 1′ of head falling into the pump you will get around 7′ of lift. for example if you have 5′ of head you will get 35′ of lift. I have not tested the pump over 40′ vertical but I know that it will pump higher as long as the proper feet of head is going into the pump.
I don’t see any mention of a snifter valve. Does this pump not require one ?
That is a good observation. The snifter valve is used to replenish the pressure tank with air with every action of the pump. My pumps use a partially inflated inner-tube to keep the water from filling the tank. I have started my pumps and let them run for many months non stop and never had an issue with water-logging. If the pressure tank is set on its side you will have water fill the tank some so I recommend leaving it upright…. So basically if you have an inner-tube or a pool noodle in the tank you will be just fine.
Pingback: Hydraulic Ram Pump |
if you place a funnel on the supply side inlet, does it increase the head on the pump. also if your design is modified to allow multiple pressure tanks, will it increase the height it can pump? I am looking for 100 ft lift. Thanks so much.. great videos!
Interesting questions. I have not worked with a funnel on the drive pipe but I have the suspicion that it would not make a noticeable difference. The drive pipe can only pull so much water and when it is in an unlimited water supply it still only pulls a limited number of GPM at the pump. My best test so far for height is with the flex tube and 12′ of head. I will have to revisit this test and see how high I can get the water. The pump stopped working at around 50′ because the tube kept jumping out of the water. haha. With an inline check valve on the delivery end and a rigid drive pipe and around 13′ of head you should be able to get 100′ out of this pump. Using multiple tanks is an interesting concept. Do you see them being in line with each other? meaning one tank then check valve and then another tank?
Just wondering if you couldn’t install another smaller pump at say 30 or 40 feet using the feed from the lower pump to get you to the higher elevation. I realize the output would be diminished but, he might could live with a lesser volume that is constant.
I actually have a test of this. It was better to let the single pump push water to the top and not use the second pump. Too much loss to do any good on the second pump.
I have studied water hammer and tried to model it analytically in order to properly design piping systems to withstand the pressure, and I have measured the pressure spike from water hammer, and I think the correct answer to your question is, if you design the feed side check valve to open only with high force (spring loaded), it will only accept the highest part of the spike, increasing the pressure in the delivery line and allowing you to pump higher. The downside is you will of course get less flow, because the pressure decays very rapidly.
I might not be using the right terminology here. Feel free to edit my previous comment. When I said spring loaded valve on the feed side I meant the outlet (this is the way you have yours designed). What I’m saying is, I think you can get the water to go higher if you increase the spring force on the second check valve.
HI
It is my understanding that adding weight to the first check valve will add pumping potential because the hammer will have much more force. I had not considered the second valve spring tension. That does make since. Someday I will have to tighten the spring on my valves and see if there is much a a difference. The second valves that I use are only 1/2 pound springs. Thank you for the insight and thoughts.
I could be wrong but …. the spring check valve will not be a good idea! If you have a head of water you are pumping into it will not make any difference if the pumping pressure is lower than the lift pressure (nothing will happen as the check valve will remain closed and simply hold the weight of water in the feeder pipe). When the pressure increases (your “spike” it will cause the flow to commence …. until the feed pressure of the spike is equal to the head of water in the feed pipe and the check valve will close! It is the inertia of the water entering the ram that causes the build up of pressure in the ram and the closing of the primary check valve that diverts that energy into the second chamber (with your inflated innertube or snifter valve fed reservoir)! For this reason multiple chambers would not produce any more pressure! You would need to add a sieve to the end of the input pipe to prevent clogging by debris or fish ……. NOT what you want in your drinking water!
The spring check valves that I use in the pumps I sell are 1/2 pound spring. I have been running them for over a year now and there is no issue in operation. Now if you are trying to run a pump on less than 1 foot of head pressure you might have some issues getting the pump to start. There is just not enough pressure in the wave at this point. I am finding that the spring does make a little difference in the efficiency but it is not by much. I would leave it at 1/2 pound of pressure or remove the spring all together. A lot of people use a silt catchment tank and a reverse flow strainer to keep the debris out of the drive pipe.
Hi Seth,
I have a few questions:
1. I am interested in purchasing one of your prebuilt ram pumps. I have I would guess only 2 or 3 feet of head. I’m not sure of the flow. It’s a small creek that can become a raging river but I would guess the flow would be pretty good. I’m having difficulty determining the largest size ram pump I can buy for my stream.
2. If I have large penstock possibly 4 inches that decreases in size until it gets to the ram pump would that put more pressure on the ram pump and make it produce higher water pressure on the other side?
3. If there was a check valve placed at the end of the penstock and water was prevented from being pushed back up the penstock would that create more pressure and lead to higher water pressure on the other side?
Thanks!
Hello!
Thank you for your interest in my pumps and thank you for asking some awesome questions!
1. 3′ of head will result in the potential of over 20′ of pumping! To help you with flow rate you can check out my video using a bucket to find the GPM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuOklAqxZf4
If you have 10 GPM or more I would use a 1-1/4″ ram pump. It will deliver much more water than the other sizes. If you have between 6 and 10 GPM I would use the 1″ size. and if you have between 1 and 6 GPM Then the 3/4″ is your best bet.
2. If you add have the larger pipe it will put more pressure on the pump BUT the issue is the pressure wave that makes the ram pump work will be diminished in that larger pipe. SO you need to have a uniform size Drive pipe. for instance if your pump is a 1″ then the drive pipe needs to be 1″ all the way to the water source.
3. The pressure wave that makes the pump work has to reach the other end of the pipe so installing an inline valve like that would stop the pump from working. Now you can add an inline check valve to the delivery pipe to keep the water from pressing back on the pump as it goes uphill. check out my video on this installation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZgeFsM2BxE
You are very welcome. Feel free to ask any more questions that you come up with.
Seth
I am interested in purchasing a pre-built ram water pump from you. I have a creek at the bottom of a hill. I need to pump the water up a 70 ft steep hill. What size pump would I need? Please reply to jimmargo@msn.com or 410-451-1561. Thanks Jim Harvey
Seth,
This just answered most of my questions about sizing the pump and installing it. Most of the vertical fall for our little creek is off our property, and not far enough downstream from us the creek supplies an artificial lake. I assume I should plan on a standpipe?
Doug
Hello. Happy I answered most of your questions. Typically you need a stand pipe if you can’t get your feet of head within 100 feet of drive pipe.
Pingback: Ram Pump Potential2 |
Pingback: 1in Ram Pump GPM |
Pingback: Low Head Ram Pump |
Hi, I live in Ireland, do you ship this far and how much would it be. I would be interested in the largest one but I would need to check my gpm first. I have an unlimited head height in a small stream running down a hill but I would need to pump the water a long journey but not uphill at least not until the last few hundred feet or so where the ground rises slightly and then into my header tank, would that be a problem for the pump.
Hello!
Sadly Shipping to any other location outside of canada and the USA is dreadfully expensive. And I mean well over 100 US dollars. So at this point I am not able to ship a pump to you. It is something that I would really like to do but just makes things impractical.
As far as your pump needs are concerned, The limiting factor is not the distance but the height. I have heard of people using pumps for over a mile distance!!! So several hundred feet should be no problem. I have not tested over 450 feet but there was little loss in that setup.
Please feel free to ask any more questions as you run into them. I apologize for not being able to ship to you!
Hi this is Dustin I need to go up a holler about 250ft I’m using 11/4 and I’m going to three quarter inch to pump up the hill do I need a bigger tank it’s a 3-inch do I need it to be longer than 3 feet to build pressure in the tank so it will push further
3″ by 3 foot should be just fine. Is the 250 feet vertical lift? Or horizontal distance?
Would this work on the well 15′ from home with a drop into cellar of about 8′? Is there someway to attach to system via a cut off for emergency use?
Thanks
Thank you for asking about wells. Sadly the pump needs falling water and does not work in a well.
Thank you for the answer. Are you aware of anything that would work in the case of power going out. We have an alternative power source but I have to assume it may not work at some point.
Thanks
Ruth
Other than an old fashioned hand pump I am not familiar with any pump that will work on its own like the ram pump. Perhaps a solar powered battery bank that could run your pump in an emergency.
Hello Sir, unfortunately you do not sell your pump to Europe. Why? We do not bite. So you force me to use your ebook and build your pump myself. I will install that pump in the Philippenes then because I have a farm there. I hope it will really work and then I can sell your idea to many others in RP because you only like to sell to North-Amerikans. But I will always mention that without you I would not have been able to built such a nice ram pump.Thank you for your generosity, he he. No, serious. I wonder and appreciate very much that you put your ebook into internet. Regards P. Kunze
Hello Sir, I just mailed you about your “negligence” of customers outside of North America.
To avoid a misunderstanding may be I should point to it that my remarks about selling your idea in RP etc. were jokingly made. But I promise in case your system will really work I will inform you about that. And in case other people will be interested in your system then I will inform you as wel. I have been doing some research in internet for quite some time and was so enlightened when I found your website because of your hands on description of how to built that ram pump especially the precise complete list of the materials needed. Great. Very easy to follow your instructions. I will check later all your hints on your website. May be I will find more practical offerings like hydro water or solar energy etc. Thank you again. Regards P. Kunze
Hello!
Thank you for taking the time to search out my website! I have enjoyed working with the ram pumps over the past year. I feel that this old technology needs to be spread to the world because it is so useful and effective. Funny that you mention selling outside of the United States because I have been contacted by several people in many countries inquiring about purchasing a pump. I am in the research stage of getting the best prices in global shipping. So far I have found that the shipping will be more than I wanted it to be. But for some people the shipping will be well worth it to have water flowing. I have only been selling ram pumps for a couple months now and my company is very young. (a little over one year old now) …Please feel free to spread my ebook to anyone you want.
As far as hydro power goes I do have a project in the works. The Flume is almost done giving me a 7′ fall with 100GPM flow. Should bring lots of good content in the future.
I need to pump the water up a hill with 400 ft gain.
Is the biggest ram pump the best to build for that??
Thank you
Erin.
Hello. The potential of all sizes of pumps is about the same. The difference will be the volume you get. The issue you are going to run into is the feet if head to get water up that high. To get the 400 feet you want you will need a minimum of 57 feet of head in your source. … If you have that you can pump to that hight. The small pump will deliver less water than a larger pump but both will get water that high.
Thank you Seth!! I enjoy watching your videos,
They are most informative! We have a creek on our property totally off the grid.
Lots of flow! So maybe if I put that pipe in that goes vertical ,
Before the pump I could get more hieght. Can’t wait to try it out!
I could also do a second ram half way up the hill to get it to the top where
The house is. It’s 200′ elevation change.
Thanks agian
Erin B
You are welcome!
Installing a stand pipe will allow you to add more pipe to get more feet off head. You will need around 29 feet of head to get your 200 feet of lift.
Adding a second pump up the hill can be an affective way to push water higher. Fill a tank with a larger pump then run a smaller one from that tank on the hill. Placing oneway check valves in the delivery pipe will increase the output on such a hight as 200 feet.
If you run into build issues let me know 🙂
Hi again Seth.we are working on a project on ram pump.so i could not figure out how to find the pumping power theoritically.as the formula goes P=specific gravity of water*delivery flow rate*lift.the question is what is the value of lift that i should take,the total height from pump to delivery end or static head (lift-fall). plz help…
have you ever built a ram pump with 4″ diameter drive ending in a 1 1/2″ delivery line?
The largest that I have built is 1-1/4″ in and 3/4″ out. The larger pumps are so pricey to make. If you went with the same style I make the check valves alone would be over $60.
Drive pipe : same level as pump but flowing water would be source of water feed .
Would this work ?
The Feet of Head falling into the pump is what makes the pump work. So flat water actually does not work.
Great stuff Seth! Do you think I will have a problem using a rampump to get water out of a flowing creek that has fairly steep banks? My slope to the pond I want to fill is gradual and not too bad….I’m just worried about the initial climb/slope to get it out of the creek and up over the bank. Thanks for any advice.
Hello and Thank you.
I have used the ram pump with an almost vertical delivery pipe. You should not have any issues at all as long as you have the needed feet of head dropping into the pump.
hi i am verry interested in bying one maybe two of your pumps i have 22 gpm coming out of artisian well can i get enough pressure to run a pelter hydro spout hope to hear from you soon thank you
I have only performed one test with nozzeling down the ram pump to make a jet stream and I have not placed a pelton wheel to the pump yet. that is on my list of things to do as soon as the cold weather passes. 22 gallons per min is a nice flow plenty large enough for a 1-1/4″ ram pump or two. What is your feet of head?
thanks for your reply i dont have any feet of head this water is coming out of the ground with a flow of 22 gallons a minute its a good artisian well actually its two wells hooked up together i have 11 gallons a minute per well would that run your bigest pump and im realy hoping it works so ican use 2 of your pumps for more pressure to run the hydro spout also that double pressure thank might create more pressure sounds like a good ideal guess we wont know until its tested thanks for your time
Hi Seth. I have built a ram pump using you design. The issue I have is that I need to get the water from a river up a 10ft bank side to a pond. I have sat the ram pump on the river bed which is approximately 3.5ft deep and lifted the feed pipe up into the current so it has a 3 ft drop. If I lift the feed pipe when it is full the check valve operates nicely but when I drop the feed pipe back to the water level the valve stops operating. The pump is 1 and a quarter onto a three quarter delivery pipe. I have used a 2 inch feed pipe onto the 1 and a quarter pipe thinking this would create more downward pressure. Is this wrong? Can you think of a reason why it won’t pump?
Hello
I am happy that you found my pump design.
So there are a couple things going on. It is true that a ram pump can work underwater BUT the source of water must be above the surface of the water the pump is in. So by placing the drive pipe in the river you are not getting the drop that is required for the pump to work. Now if you have a spot in the river that is higher than the river bed your pump in on then it will work. The pump sees the river as the same level and that is why it stops when you lower the drive pipe back in the water.
Next it is not good to have a larger drive pipe than the pump. This is because the pump works on a pressure wave effect that travels both to and from the pump. If the drive pipe is bigger than the pump it will allow more water to go to the pump but not allow as much to leave the pump and travel back up. So match your pump to drive pipe.
So if you can get your drive pipe on a “rapid” or fast falling part of the river then sink your pump in the deep part you will be alright. If you river is flat all the way then you might consider another pump. There are two. “river pump” and “water wheel pump” I like the water wheel pump. it has been around since the egyptians. Paddles are moved by the river and a spiral hose pulls water in and uphill.
I hope this helps.
Thanks Seth. That’s very helpful. I had considered the waterwheel as it will make a nice feature but the ram pump is in place now……lots of plodging with the waders on…….I will order up some correct size pipe and put a longer length of feed pipe on as I can get it to some rapids which are about 1 mtr higher than the pump. It’s a brilliant idea and its getting a lot of attention here in the UK. I am using it to re hydrate a dried up pond on a local nature reserve so hopefully I can get it working. I’ll let you know how I get on. Thanks for your help.
Happy to help and happy you are getting attention with the pump. We need more people using them. That 1mtr will give you lots of potential for lift. Now do keep in mind that if your drive pipe is much more than 30mtr you will need a stand pipe because the pump will work very slowly or not at all. you can see the video I have on stand pipes here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPovo-QUUaM
That might just solve the problem. I didn’t know you could do that. The delivery pipe will be around 15mtrs so it looks like I’m going to need to install a stand pipe. Thanks again.
Oh sorry. You said 30mtr not 30ft. Ha ha. I’ll let you know how I get on.
Haha yes 30mtr or 100 feet. Do let me know how it goes.
Hello Seth,
I would like to purchase one of your pumps, I have a flow of about 3 gallons a minute. I am in the UK would you be able to ship one to me please?
Thanks
Best Regards
Paul Edwards
Hello
That flow rate would require the 3/4″ pump.
I am sad to say that I have not set up shipping outside of the USA and Canada because the price is so high. To ship the small pump to you would be $62 USD. That just seems too much.
Seth,
I recently purchased a 1″ Ram Pump and set out to install in yesterday. I have very good flow to the pump but for some reason the valve stays closed unless I firmly press down on it. When I do hold it open the water shoots up about 2-3 feet in the air and when I let go the valve closes again. Do I have too much water pressure? Do I need to be concerned that the pump is totally level? Do I just need to continue trying to see if any air remains in the drive pipe?
Thanks,
John
Hello. When this happens it is almost always because there is air still in the drive pipe. Make sure that your intake is low enough in the water that it is not gulping air. Then hold open the check valve for a long time. If there are any places that the drive pipe lifts up like over a rock there will be air pockets. The pump will work just fine even if it not level. but the pressure tank can fill with water faster if it is not level.
We have a commercial fish farm, and I need to gain a little elevation for our hatching station. We have up to 250 gallons per minute available at a maximum elevation right at 6 feet.
What we need is about 75 gallons per minute lifted about 10 feet from the pump. Is it best to just put a few pumps in parallel to achieve that flow? Or can these pumps be scaled up in size?
Hello. You can lift that water over 40 feet with that feet of head. I should think that a 1-1/4″ pump would give you about 2 GPM at that hight. You can scale these pumps but they do get more and more expensive as the size goes up. 2″ check valves are expensive. So you can do either but it would take several pumps to get your 75 GPM.
Hello
Looking at purchasing one of your pumps and had a couple of questions. If we are using a spring with a decent year around flow around 100 feet above the pump what is the best way to set up the drive pipe to deliever thw water to the pump? We are planning on using a 55 gallon drum under a small waterfall with the drive pipe coming out the bottom on a valve. Are we on the right track? Thank you in advance
Tim and Susan
Hello. Thank you for checking out my site.
Sounds like you are on the right track. One thing I would change is perhaps not pulling the water from the bottom of the 55 gallon tank but come up a little so that you can control the sediment and other debris that might enter into the system. Unless you can install a screen on the top of the tank to keep those things out.
Having your source as a tank like that will make priming the pump very easy.
A couple questions. Is the “100 feet above the pump” the horizontal distance or the vertical hight? The pump will normally run on a 1:7 ratio so for every one foot that falls into the pump you will get seven feet of lift out. The horizontal distance makes very little difference.
Thank you for all your posts and information! I want to purchase or build a ram pump and understand the 7 to 1 ratio. Is this number correct and constant or is their curve leading up to a max pressure. Or some sort if modifications required for higher pressures. I have 30+ feet of vertical fall and need to pump up 200 vertical feet high, so the numbers work. My concern is that all the videos I have seen I have never seen anyone get a lot of pressure out of one of these pumps, they have all been low psi/head application and I will need approximately 80 psi.
Thank you!
Chuck
You are welcome! Thanks for watching my videos.
Yes the 7:1 is rather consistent in my testing. At times I am able to get a pump to hit 8:1.
Most of the small ram pumps like the ones I sell are made for a hight of 180′ or less. This is due to the weight of the brass check valve. You can get better results with a pump that uses a modified spring valve with weights added. The pump does not supply much pressure but it is consistent. You can fill a tank then use a diaphragm pump to build the pressure you need. Along the delivery pipe you can install check valves to relive the pressure on the pump and this will give several feet potential in your setup.
My PVC pumps are not the best for your needs because the pressure is so high.
I hope this helps.
Hi Seth your website is great. I have read through most of the comments and watched I think all of your videos. I do have one question that I am not sure has been addressed because it is a unique application and would be difficult to install. Here is my theory but I am unsure if it would work. I saw that the ram pump does seem to work well under water but you had it feeding from a higher body of water in to another. If you had a lake and the capability (scuba diving) to mount the top of your drive line near the surface. Lets say a few feet down and could anchor the pump at maybe 20 feet would the pump be able to function. Technically there is pressure but not head from “falling water”. In my mind I would only need to “lift about 20-30 feet above the surface of the water. This is well within the 7:1 ratio but i’m not sure if it would work like that. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Dave
HI Dave. Thank you for watching my videos! There sure are a lot of them. You are not alone in this question. I actually get it a few times a month. In the underwater video I did have the water falling from a level above the water and that is key! The problem with pulling from the same source of water as the pump is setting in is there is no real change in head pressure. The pressure does increase as the depth increases but that pressure is uniform. There would be no movement of water in the drive pipe because there is no lower pressure for the water to go to. I am not sure that is explained the best but in short it wont work (but we all wish it would!) I have hear some very creative ideas of placing a box with air underwater but the issue is the waste valve would fill that air chamber fast and the pump would stop. . . . I do hope this helps some!
Hi Seth
So does this mean that the Ram Pump will not work in a lake?
That is right. The pump will not work in a lake but you can pull water from a lake as long as you have falling water.
can this pump be used in a river where the tide comes in and goes out . is it possible for this kind of pump to drive water up to 10 feet height with maximum pressure .
The ram pump needs head pressure to work. This means there must be a drop from the source of water to the pump. So as long as your river has this drop in elevation you can use the pump. I have pumped water over 70′ up a hill with only 11 feet of head.
Hi, sir.
My name is Bora.
This is Korea.
I bought your product 1/2 inch ram pump few days ago.
When I got your ram pump.
Best Regards.
Hello
Thank you for buying a ram pump.
Your pump has been shipped and should arrive within 10 days.
i want to buy this ram pump from u sir…? i needs this ram pump . how much cost do i need to send to you in malaysian ringgit. i need 1/2 tiny ram pump. tq.
Hello. The cost of the 1/2″ ram pump is $75 usd. There is a shipping cost of $75 usd to get to your country. Your total would be $150. At this time all sales are through paypal.
https://www.landtohouse.com/12-inch-ram-pump/
hello, i am planning on buying from you, but my water source (river) kind of flat. so i wonder if it’s still can pump water to about 4′ high. if possible, which pump do i have to buy? thanks. johny from sabah.
Hello
All sizes of the pumps have the same ratio for operation (1:7) but change in flow rate per size. You will need a minimum of one foot of head to get the pump going but it is better to have at least 1.5 feet of head for better results. This will get the water up to 4 feet. Does your river have that kind of drop? If not I am working on a pump that would work for a flat river. It’s just not quite done yet. Check it out here https://www.landtohouse.com/river-pump/
Pingback: Ram Pump Micro Hydro | Land To House
Hi Seth. I have a creek with around 5 gallons per 15 secs. I wanted to get the big size pump you sell , but I worried about summer when the creek slows down. Could i put a size restriction output pipe so the pump wouldnt pump too much? I was thinking to use 1 1/4 input to garden hose output.
It is fine to use a garden hose as the delivery. Since you have 5 gallons every 15 seconds you have a gpm of 20. My question is : does the creek drop below half flow rate in the summer? The 1-1/4″ will need around 8 to 10 gallons to run. Even if you turn off the delivery garden hose the pump needs this amount of water to work. If you think that the creek will slow that much you might consider the 1″ pump. (You can still use a garden hose delivery pipe)
Thanks Seth. Going with 1 inch because we just got property and not sure of summer GPM. Big fan of your vids good job and keep it up.
Awesome! I think that would be best if you are worried about flow rate. The 1″ I sell has a delivery pipe size of 1/2″ but you can adapt to 3/4″ if you want to use garden hose. My local hardware store sells 1/2″ black flex pipe for $10 for 100 foot. Thanks for watching the videos!!!
I was hoping you could help me out. I have a pond with no slope at all around it so I know a ram pump is out of the question. I need to move the water uphill about 200 feet, what would be the best way for me to do this without having the benefit of having electricity to operate an electrical pump and not spending a lot of money on a gas powered pump.
If you want it to run by itself you might look into a windmill style pump. I have seen a number of interesting hand and foot water pumps. I have an idea for a double acting see-saw pump that I hope to test soon. But you are right. The ram pump won’t work without head pressure.
How yo go about the testing is all wrong using hose loses so much energy that’s y they use steel line to feed the pumps bc there is no give in steel so you don’t lose any energy the water makes
You are correct Using the black flex pipe as a drive pipe does have some loss due to the movement of the pipe. But it works well enough for testing. In my free ebook I state that using a more ridged pipe will increase the efficiency. 🙂
Have you ever tried or heard of connecting the drive pipe directly to a 4″ field tile output using a pipe reducer to the size of your drive pipe? Or would I need to capture the field tile output into a holding tank and connect the drive pipe to it?
You can do that but I have two thoughts. First is that debris might get into that tile pipe and clog up the ram pump. you would have to use a screen on the pipe to keep it clean. The second thought is that the ram pump will stop if air gets into the drive pipe. If the tile is not completely full of water the air might get into the ram and stop it. I prefer to collect the water into a small tank and run from that just to keep things under control.
Seth,
Have you ever seen a ram pump run a reverse osmosis water filter? I have seen one maintain 40-60 psi. That should be enough…
I have not seen those! Do you have a link?
They are working on getting a patent for this pump. This one has a colleting tank at the spring. Flow into the tank is only maybe 7 gpm. When it reaches the high water level in the tank, it discharges the water in a surge at 28 gpm. Then the pump will self purge of air and starts the pump cycle by itself. They are running a much larger pump than would normally be possible from 7 gpm, in intermittent operation. When the surge tank runs low of water the pump stops, it waits for the next cycle. I am considering buying one to water my cows….The whole thing is gravity powered.
That sounds incredible! A pump that can self prime would be very helpful. I talk to people all the time that have low flow rate and would benifit from this concept.
No web site yet…..
It does work. I wanted to see if I could use a float valve when filling a stock tank. Otherwise I would have to drain the overflow water back to the stream to prevent a big mud puddle around the stock tank. I blocked the pump expansion tank outlet with a pressure gauge and waited for the next pump cycle to start. The when the collection tank filled, the pump self purged and started the pump cycle. Shortly, the gauge began to show pressure and peaked at 40 PSI. this is enough to run several types of filters. The pump didn’t even stall, just kept operating until the collecting tank ran out of water.
I think will buy one and put it into the pasture this summer. I’ll over size the expansion tank and maybe be able to run a water sprinkler. Might have to use a pressure activated solenoid of some sort to control the water and keep the water pressure to the sprinkle high enough to be useful.
I may have a new toy….
This sounds like a fun new toy! If you get it you could post a video on youtube so we can see how well it works! I get questions about self priming pumps all the time.
Can’t do video until the patent is farther along in the process…Sorry. But you have told me there is a market for this idea which is important. I will test the unit and see if anything breaks and help the kid to improve it. Overall, it is not a bad idea from kids that are too young to drive.
I will send you the first videos when they can be released.
Thanks for your help.
Matt
That sounds awesome. I look forward to seeing it. Thank you for working to get this made.
I want to use a ram pump to feed my duck pond that I have built and have about 80 feet of head. I have a 275 gallon watering trough with a half inch threaded bung at the bottom. I have a spring that feeds a small pond on the property and is about 300 feet away ( I don’t put the ducks down there because of foxes and I can’t see them haha) its about a 15% grade from spring to duck pond. I want to use the spring to fill the trough then have the pump fed from the trough.would the downward pressure on the pump from the Reservoir make it not work or would it help the pump get up hill?
Hello. I am having a tough time visualizing your setup. I just want to make sure that I am understanding what water is going where. If you have the ram pump on the bottom of the reservoir it would actually help the pump to work a little better. This is due to the extra pressure. (Hydrostatic Pressure).
Yes that’s what I want to do is have the pump attached to a Reservoir. That was the conclusion I had came to I just wanted an expert opinion before going and doing this. Thank you for your input and in such a timely fashion at this time of day.
You are welcome! I prefer to use a tank or reservoir because it reduces the debris and possibility of air entering the drive pipe.
Hello Seth,
I was wondering about your opinion on using a ram pump for an indoor aquaponic setup. I was planning on using the 1/2in model.
If i understand the principles properly i could hook up a drain pipe above the pump to place in inside the fish tank to drive water up to my fiters and later (probably using another) up to my growbeads.
What’s your opinion on the matter?
Hello
You can use a ram pump to pump water in your setup but there is an issue. The ram pump has lots of loss. Within only a couple cycles you would be out if water. In closed system setups is best to have an electric/solar pump to save all the water.
can you give me some advice if my plan will work using Hydraulic Ram Pump. I want to bring the water to our house but i want to build water tank to store the water from Hydraulic Ram Pump but the distance from Hydraulic Ram Pump to my water tank is 1000 meters. 940 meters elevated and 40 meter mountain height where my water tank is located.
I plan to use 2×2 Blue pipe for delivery and 2×2 Inlet blue pipe. please tell me if this possible and how much it will cost?
Dear Seth:
I have read and reread and looked at your ram pump videos which I think are great. Here is my situation and I would like your input. The water source is a gravity drain running under my new construction basement and emptying out into a dry creek bed. I would say the water is about 2 gallons a minute coming out of a 3″ pipe. I believe I need a linear ram pump to take the water 400′ uphill (15′ to 20′ rise) to a pond. The pond is created by runoff from the barn roof but by mid summer, the pond is down a couple of feet. The water from the gravity drain would only supplement rain and runoff from about June to November. Thanks for your input.
Hello.
It sounds like you can use that water for a pump. Because it is such low flow you will likely need the 1/2″ pump. The 3/4″ will use 2 to 3 gpm so I fear it would pull air at some point and stop. But the 1/2″ pump would work well. What feet of head do you have from that 3″ pipe? You need a minimum of 2.5 feet to get water up to 20 feet height. The horizontal distance of 400 feet is no issue.
I have a spring that puts out 8 gallons a minute from a 2” pipe. I have a small pond about 500 from this source that is fed by a smaller spring. The pond is about 10 feet higher in elevation from the main spring house. (the pond is actually the same elevation as the spring but because of the contour of the land I’m thinking there is about a 10 ft lift needed.
I’d like to tap into the main source to fill the pond with a ram pump .
what size pump would I need for this ?
With 8 gpm you can run all sizes that I make. The largest pump 1-1/4″ requires 6 to 7 gpm to function at full potential. A 10 foot lift will only need 2 feet of head pressure. I do recommend capturing the water from that pipe into a tote or tank and then pulling from that with the ram pump.
Hello Seth,
I have a spring that puts out 8 gallons a minute from a 2” pipe. About 500 ft from this source I have a small pond fed by a smaller spring but not enough to keep the pond full. The pond and main spring are the same elevation , but because of the contour of the land I think I would need about 10 ft of lift.
What size pump and what size waterline would you suggest for a project like this.
Also, you do ship to Alaska don,t you?
thanks
JB
Sent the same message twice. Didn,t see the first one went through. Question..Why use a tote to captur the water first?
Not to worry. A couple reasons to use a tank before the ram pump. First you can empty it when it gets full of silt. There’s nothing worse than having to clean out a drive pipe and RAM pump that is packed full of silt. Next pulling from the bottom of a tank lets you know that no air is getting into the system. And there is no extra Force pushing into the drive pipe. If you were using a certain amount of head pressure in your calculation for lift the hydrostatic pressure of the pond could add too much pressure.
I have a tank that holds about 15 gal of water fed from my spring house. If I pull from the bottom of the tank I can get the 2 ft of head needed. Let”s say I get 5 to 6 gal/min from the holding tank. what size pump would work the best?
I see the different size pumps but Im not sure what pump works for what. Im guessing the smaller ones work best with less water flow . Is this correct?
Yes. Each pump has the same 1:7 input to output ratio but the smaller pumps use less water and thus also pump less. The 1/2″ pump needs about 1gpm to operate while the 1-1/4″ pump needs 6 to 7gpm. I would use the 1″ if I were you.
Hi I am going to make a 3/4 inch Ram Pump, I have some 4 inch plastic pipe for the compression tank. I don’t know how long this tank should be using the 4 inch pipe. Also I am going to use 3/4 inch pipe for the delivery and out put. Do you think this will work? You are doing good work with your Ram Pump info but I am having trouble finding info on the compression tank.
The pumps that I build use a 15 inch long 2 inch pipe for the 3/4″ pump. With a 4-inch pipe you could go as little as 8 inches but if you went with 15 inches you would have more than enough volume for that size pump.
As for Drive pipe and delivery pipe. The drive pipe needs to be the same size as your check valves so using 3/4″ is right. The delivery pipe can be any diameter you choose.3/4″ is great.
Thank you for your prompt reply. You answered everything I asked. I am hoping the little over a Gal. per minute is enough to run the pump. Now just to put it all together and build a little dam.
Thanks again for your help
Lance
Hello,
I’ve red all of the Q&A and watched your video. However, I didn’t see anything regarding what I have in mind. I have a 1500 gallon tank that collect rain water. It sets about 3 feet off the ground. My question is (buying your pump) would I be able to left the water 15 feet up to fill up another 150 gallon tank? Right now I use a solar powered pump to do the job and I want to know if the ram-pump well do it.
Yes you can use a ram pump off 3 feet to pump to 15 feet. One issue you might consider is that the waste water is going to be around 60% so you will be losing a lot of water from your rain tank. Now if you want to run the pump long enough to fill the small one and then turn the ram pump off it would not drain the large tank fully.
Hello Seth, I want to run a fish pond business with the ramp pump set up, but my worries is that of so much waste of water resulting from the ramp pump. is there any way ramp pump can be constructed with 90% of the water saved?
The ram pump is very lossy. even the most efficient setups are going to have a loss of 60% or more. I am not sure of a way to get one more efficient than that.
I found this site that sells snifter valves with Light Core Spring. I don’t know if this would work for us or not.
https://www.merrillmfg.com/product/tank-accessories-air-valves
Lance
Oh cool! That seems like what is needed. Did you find a price for each?
I have a small creek on my property. Seasonally the flow can be very strong. On my stretch of land the creek broadens out and feeds a wetland. There still seems to be a main channel that I can develop a bit (may have to be careful with Fish and Game to do too much). Will a flowing creek that widens out to only several inches deep be sufficient to take water from or will that be too compromised?
You will be fine pulling from that source. Do you have much feet of head after that wide spot?
Seth,
Thanks for your response to my previous questions. I understand completely about my Ram waste water filling the hole I dig below the creek. What if I was to create a separate water tank up the hill and ran an addition ram pump from it. I could run a 2″ ram at the bottom, pump it up as far as possible to a holding tank. Then create another ram pump below the holding tank in order to pump up the remaining hill.
I have a test where I used two pumps in a setup like that. I wanted to keep the top pump running from the lower one by having a large pump feed a small pump. The loss between the two was rather great. It was better to have the large one pump as high as it could and forget the smaller one. Now if you were to pump to as high as you could with the bottom pump and fill a large tank you could then run the second pump from the tank until it is empty. That might be your best bet. The only thing is it wont run all the time.
Can a 1.5″ polypipe be used for the drive pipe on your small 3/4″ pump? We already have it available so if it can be used it will save cost.
Typically it is a good idea to keep the drive pipe the same size as the to check valves of the pump. This will result in the best efficiency. There is still a way you can use the larger pipe with a smaller pump. About 15 to 20 feet before the pump install a vertical pipe known as a stand pipe. Then reduced down to the size of the pump. This essentially moves the source closer to the pump and allows you to use the larger diameter pipe.
Hi,
If I order from the UK could you give me a rough idea about the delivery time for a 1/2″ pump?
I ship international orders 2-3 day shipping. It is a little more expensive but I have found that other shipping rates result in damage to the pump. You Would not believe the way they treat packages.
Hi Seth, I am from South Carolina. I have a 3/4″ pump and supply line is 1″. At present it does not work. I have app. 2ft. Of head in A dam I built. My pressure chamber is app. 3ft. Tall and 3″ in dia. App. 80ft. Of line. Also my pipe lengths are not glued together for easy removal if necessary. It is very dry here and I have cows that need the grass from the now dry bottom pastures. I am 67 years old but love the off grid things you are doing, but I need a little help on this one. I’m I sucking air though the unglued pipe or is my pressure chamber to long.
Hello. It is a good idea to match the drive pipe size to the check valves. If they are not the same size the pressure wave will be off and the pump does not work right. because you already have the 1″ pipe I recommend installing a small tank in the line and reducing to the 3/4″ I will share a video showing this: https://youtu.be/e0HSMtpb53U Watch from 3min on to see the example of the tank.
That air chamber is fine. Any air that gets in the system will stop the pump. SO yes you will need to glue that together.
Hello Seth,
I would like to buy a ram pump that I can put at the location where the water is pumped to. In other words I want the pump to be located at the highest point that water can be pumped to.
It always seemed inconvenient that the pump needs to be at the end of the drive line. Do you have a pump that can be installed anywhere along the drive line? Right at the water level of a lake or even above the feed water line when using a siphon?
I am asking because I designed a pump that will do this. Someone must have already designed a similar pump! it wasn’t that difficult.
Please let me know if you have this pump or know where I can get one.
Thank
Harold
The ram pump works by means of a pressure wave generated by head pressure. Without this pressure the ram pump does not work. You might be thinking of a pump that can pull water uphill but the ram pump cannot do this. It has to have that energy source above the pump to work. There are electric or gas pumps that can pull the water up hill like a siphon but they will have to have electricity or fuel. Its my understanding that pumps that pull are less efficient than those that push water up hill.
Pingback: River Pump Build and Test part 3 | what is china
Hi Seth,
I bought your 1 1/4 inch pump for use in Panama, Central America. Unfortunately, 1 1/4 inch flexible irrigation tubing is not available here. If I use 1 inch tubing for the supply line, will the pump still work? I have loads of head.
The pump will still work as long as you have lots of head pressure. It will not be as efficient as it would be with the same size drive pipe as check valves but it will work.
on your sniffer put a wire in the hole-bend over at the ends– tipe in-things that work
I have seen that done. Decrease the hole size. After several tests I have concluded that it’s just better to use an inner tube.
On your 1/2 in. ram pump, what is the size of the pressure tank also the size of the intertube used—on the 1/2 ram pump test gpm–is there a way to set it up to save the waste water useing 1 barrel ?
The 1/2″ pump has a pressure tank of 2″ by 15″ long. The tube is 12″. As long as the pump is lower than the intake you can place a catchment system under the pump and save that water.
Pingback: How to Build a hydraulic Ram Pump | A 720p
Pingback: Hike up the Mountain and Camping Bags – Weekly Vlog #14 | Camping Gear
Pingback: Minimum GPM 3/4″ Ram Pump | Tube 3g
Seth,
I want to use a ram pump to move water from my aquaponic fish tank to my holding tank about 4 feet off the ground. Would a ram pump work and if so what size? I can adjust the tank to give me whatever head height I need to pump the water.
You can pump water to a tank like that with the ram pump but the waste valve will use up all your water very fast. In a closed system you are better off with a solar pump.
Hi Seth,
What size pump at the minimum do I need to drive water up a sloping 30′ drop and 250 meters distance to our property? Thanks!
Hello. Each size pump can deliver water to that height and distance. You will need at least 5 feet of head pressure to get water to that height. The smallest pump needs 1gpm to operate. The largest pump needs 8gpm.
Pingback: Ram Pump Micro Hydro | Land To House | what is china
Pingback: How to Build a hydraulic Ram Pump | what is china
Pingback: Ram Pump Micro Hydro | Land To House | Russia 720p
Hello Seth, My question is what is the difference between the different sizes. I mean if all of them pump up to 7 times the head, why would I need a bigger or smaller pump.
Great question. The answer is water volume. The small pump will run on as low as 1GPM and will pump about 1/8 of that per min. The larger pump needs around 8GPM and will also pump about 1/8 of that. So if you need to have more water you need a larger pump.
Can you post to france?
Yes I sure can. The shipping cost outside the USA is $75 USD.
Sir, Good day, my Uncle is building his ram pump, thank you so much for your manual, by the way I’m from Philippines, can I have your suggestion of what size our ramp pump must be, the water from the stream goes 20 seconds per 1 gallon, if we have 15 ft. from the source of water down to the system, can it deliver 50 ft. or more than? I hope you can give me some suggestion sir, Thank you so much in advance.
Sorry for my English..
Hello. With 3GPM you will need to use the 3/4″ or 1/2″ ram pump. Yes 15 feet of head pressure will actually get water up to 100 feet. You will likely need to have only 8 or 9 feet of head pressure in your system.
Dear Seth. It is possible to send me tha ram pump here in Greece. I prefer the 1,25 inches pump. What will be the final cost of pump in Greece?
Sincerely Dr Peter Kakavas
Hello. Yes I can ship pumps to Greece. Normally the final cost would be $250 but I have a sale in April that will bring the cost to approximately $241.
Dear Seth, I would like to buy 1″ and 1 1/4″ Rams. How much does each of these cost, and what is the cost of shipping to me here in Uganda? Thanks Francis
Hello. Shipping outside of the USA is $75. There is a 5% sale going on April and May.
I am interested in your 1″ pump. How much pressure will I get at 12′ elevation. I have a cabin off the grid and want to run kitchen, toilet and shower.
Hello,
We have an off-grid cabin that sits on a hill about 100 ft above a flowing creek. We have at least 20 ft of head drop in the creek and plenty of flow. There is an existing 1″ galvanized pipe leading from the creek, up to a tank in the attic of our cabin. The original builders of the cabin used a large gasoline powered pump to fill the tank. I would like to use a ram pump to fill the tank instead, utilizing the existing 1″ metal pipe that runs down to the creek as the supply pipe to the tank.
I understand that the ideal ratio for the ram pump to operate is that the drive pipe is twice the diameter of the supply pipe. Will I need to use a 2″ ram pump to utilize the existing 1″ outlet pipe? Or can I use a smaller ram pump with an adapter to attach to to the 1″ pipe? Flow is not really an issue. We only use the cabin on the weekends, so it can take all day (or several days) to fill the 50 gallon water tank. But I need to be able to lift to 110 feet above the source.
For our flow needs I think a 1″ or 1-1/4″ ram pump would be sufficient, but that would require me to run a new 1/2″ supply line up the hill. If I use an adapter on the supply pipe outlet, would either a 1″ or 1-1/2″ ram pump be able to make use of the existing 1″ supply pipe that is already installed at our site?
Hello. The supply line (Delivery Pipe) will be just fine! Think of it like this: If you insert the delivery pipe into the bottom of the storage tank it will still be able to fill that tank to the top. It does not matter the size of the Delivery pipe because Atmospheric pressure is the same no matter what the pipe size is. Now it does matter if you go too small. Friction loss can slow the water but that would not happen until you get down below 1/2″ for a ram pump. All that to say that your 1″ delivery pipe will be just fine for any size pump you use. You will need 16 to 17 feet of head pressure to get water that high. That is a lot of pressure. I would not try to run the pump 24/7 or the valves will wear down fast. I hope this helps.
Is it possible to use 1.5″ drive pipe with a reducer to 1 1/4″ without loss of output? I have a lot of 1.5″ pipe laying around and dont want to have to buy 1 1/4″. Thanks
Those pipe sizes are close to the same but there will be some loss. The pressure wave going downhill will be stronger than the one going back up. This will create some efficiency loss. What you might consider is using your 1.5″ pipe until 20 feet before the pump and then install a stand pipe. After the stand pipe use the 1.25″ pipe for the last 20 feet.
Can you drive multiple pumps from a single drive pipe that is split into a manifold? If yes, can you then connect all pumps to a single delivery pipe? I would be doing this to increase the output on the delivery line.
I have not tested either of these yet but it is on my list of things to do. I have a feeling that connecting Delivery pipes is a great way to gain double the flow rate. However my assumption is that two pumps on a single Drive pipe would cause interference in operation. The pressure wave would be ineffective.
Good Day Seth,
I have watched your videos, repeatedly, on YouTube and have already made a U siphon for my small aquaponics system. Though, I am considering using one of your ram pumps. I currently have my system using an electric pump, but I want an option to not require electricity. I noticed in one of your videos, you had attached a ram pump to a siphoned drive pipe. That is when the epiphany happened: I could use a siphoned drive line from my elevated fish tank, use a ram pump to eliminate the need for electricity and then support one of the YouTuber I watch at the same time! haha
Now with the back story, I do have a couple of questions:
What size ram pump would you recommend? I have a 75 gallon fish tank currently using a 1000 size fish tank pump to feed 3/8” hoses to a swirl filter and eventually to my 2-24x24x12 grow beds connected by pipes for water in both to rise and fall together and finally my 3/4” U siphon modeled after your concept. (it replaced a bell siphon I had, which worked, but kept getting clogged and had issues) I know from using just a hose in the fish tank to drain the fish tank, the 3/8” hose has a decent pull and flow rate. Not sure what exactly it is, but can drain my tank within 45 minutes from full. No pump.
For the ram pump, would I need a filter on the intake end of the siphoned drive pipe? In my tank, I tend to get a lot of solid fish waste, un-eaten food and scales. Sometimes other matter as well. These don’t usually bother my electric pumps, which is why I have a swirl filter to catch most of the debris and for a mostly self cleaning system.
Last question, for the waste valve. I was planning to set the ram pump at the base and side of my tank. How much waste is typically seen? Can I direct the wast back into my system in some way for a closed loop system?
Thank you in advance!
Robert
My apologies for not getting to you sooner. I actually get asked often if it is possible to have a ram pump in a closed system. For fish ponds and aquaponics and so on. It would work but only for a very short time. The ram pump needs to have a constant supply of fresh water. It will have around 80 to 90% loss of water. This means when you start with a fish tank of 100 gallons you will pump back 10 to 20 and lose 80 to 90 of that original water. In a closed system its much better to have a solar powered pump or electric. Thank you for checking out my videos! And also thank you for being a thinking person!
No problem at all.
I have been thinking for quite some time on it now and am still interested in experimenting with a set up. So with the amount of water I figure I need to pump is about 1 gallon/min. I can easily set it up to get 2-3′ of head. Should I look into building a 3/8″ pump or can I restrict the flow from the 1/2”?
Basically my thoughts are to either keep the pump under water in a sump tank of sorts or have it within the fish tank. Not quite sure how the fish would like the clicking however. and in the sump tank run a siphon for the excess.
It may end up being a great weekend project that I learn it is not possible, but in any-case, I will have a ramp pump in the shed for future use. 🙂
oh and the maximum height I would need to pump up to is only 8′ at the very highest.
Cheers
I have just now started working with the 3/8″ ram pump and dont know much about how well it works. I can only recommend the 1/2″ pump for the smallest true working pump. The issue with such a small pump is that it does not pump 1gpm. You would have to have the 1-1/4″ ram pump for that. It would require around 8gpm to function. Not very practical in a closed setup. You might want to start by building the 1/2″ ram pump and then go from there. This way you dont have as much money into the project if things are not going to work as you would like.
Hello, I am interested in one of your ram pumps. The creek is approx. 1,700 feet away from where the tank will be. The vertical lift over the distance is 138 feet.
Question #1: I plan to use a stand pipe on the drive pipe for increased lift; and use one way valves on the delivery pipe to help in the lift. What type size of ram pump would you suggest for the demanding project?
Question #2: I know I am asking a lot for a ram pump to lift 138 feet. Could this really work?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Hello. The distance of 1700 feet is no issue for the ram pump. The issue will be the 138 feet of lift. You will need to have at least 20 feet of head pressure. This is reaching the max potential of the ram pump. Each size pump will handle this the difference is the volume of water you need to pump. What is your source water flow rate?
HI Seth. I enjoy the site. I just order a 1.25″ pump. How long after an order is placed does it generally take for a shipment to happen? Do I get a tracking number at shipment? I plan to use the beaver pond on the back forty of my property to bring water uphill to supply my pigs with water when they are rotated to that section. The beaver dam is about 5 to 6 feet tall. Since I haven’t see photos on your site with that type of set-up I’ll snap some pictures and send them to you…
Hello. I have your order ready and labeled to ship this afternoon. Should get to you within 2 days. I would be more than happy to take a look at your setup! If you would send your pictures to my landtohouse@gmail.com email please.
firstly,all those videos and posts were very informative brother..i want to help my grand mother who has to carry water to the top of house to fill the tank..The height at which the tank is plased is 4 mtrs…how much is the minimum height required from the bottom of water source to the place where Ram pump is placed?is there any way to minimize the wastage of water or make it useful?can we store this waste water in a container and take this again to the water source?
Thank you. The 4 meters is not bad for hight. The minimum head pressure required to run a pump is .5 meters. The more head pressure you have the higher the lift. You can save the waste water in a catchment tote of tank. If your source is from something other than a creek you will find that the ram pump will use all your water up very fast. 80 – 90% of the water from the source is lost by the pump. This is how the pump is able to work without electricity or fuel.
Thanks brother..It was very useful.My source and collecting tanks are both normal tanks which we use to store water on top of house.There is no other mechanisms to take the waste water to the source right?how much liters of water and time will be required to fill a tank of 1 litre if the head pressure available is 1 mtrs?
what is this 2″,3″ ram pump and all…Are they not the same?I have a 750liter tank for supply of water and a 1/2″ hose for supply and delivery.I have to get it to a height of 5mtrs.Iam intrested in making one pump.which one should i make?what does that specifications mean?does the end of delivery and supply need to be changed or does the size of whole pipe connections need to be changed??
The size of ram pump is what determines the flow rate. Each pump will work on the same 1:7 ratio head pressure to lift. A 2 or 3″ pump can supply larger volumes of water but at the same time these pumps require a lot more water to run. It is important to match the ram pump brass valve to the drive pipe. So if you are using a 1″ ram pump you will need to have a 1″ drive pipe. The delivery pipe can be any size.
Thanks for all that brother…It was very useful.
I just saw your 3/8″ pump demo. This is a good size for my little spring. Will you be offering it for sale on your website?
Thanks for watching! The parts for the 3/8″ pump are not very easy to find and those check valves are $10 each or more. The PVC parts are not around here. Until I can find a good supplier I wont have that size on the site. I am hoping to get some good data for those who need a pump with such low flow rate input.
Thanks for the info…by the way, I have really enjoyed your videos.
My little spring flows about 0.8 gpm. I would like to use your 3/8″ design ram pump with a 1/2″ drive pipe. I can get about 5′ of head using 75′ (horizontal) of drive pipe. I have to lift 35′ so I am concerned about the 7:1 lift to head ratio. Do you suggest anything regarding the delivery pipe to help with this? Does delivery pipe size affect lift? I can sacrifice delivery flow in order to get more lift (just filling a small tank for drip irrigation of garden). How many one-way valves have you successfully installed in a delivery pipe to extend the lift?
Also, what is your experience with flexible black pipe? There is PVC, PEX, vinyl, etc. What do you recommend for exterior applications like ram pumps? Which would you recommend for exposed drive and delivery piping?
My experience with the 3/8″ pump is basically two videos haha. From what I gathered it was able to keep close to the 1:7 ratio with the 1/2″ drive pipe. I cant say for sure what the results will be higher than 20 feet. Now you could install a small dam and run a 1/2″ pump but it would not run 24/7 at that flow rate.
Delivery pipe size does not matter. Atmospheric pressure is what effects that lift and it will be the same on every size delivery pipe. I have only installed 1 check valve in-line with the delivery pipe. Seems like more could be used. Would be helpful to remove the spring on a low flow setup like the 3/8″ pump.
If you use the black flexible pipe be sure to get it rated to at least 100psi. Although the ram pump pressure will not be that high the pipe is more resistant to rodents. The cheap pipe for drip lines will be victim to squirrels. I like normal PVC but I use more of the flexible pipe than anything else.
Hi, I want to buy one of your pumps for my garden. It is bordered by a year-round stream. How do I figure out how many gallons/minute my stream runs? It seems that this is the way to figure out what size pump I need right?
If I send it to a holding tank above the ground, what happens when the holding tank is full?
Do I turn the pump off and then turn it on when I am using the water to water the garden or when I want to fill it again? If I keep it on all the time, wouldn’t there be a lot of over flow?
Thanks
Hello. I like to place a bucket in the creek and capture water. Lets say its a 5gal bucket that takes 30seconds to fill. The math is: (5gal*60seconds) / 30seconds = 10gal/min.
The ram pump will pump 24/7 so it will need an overflow. Some people have rigged up a ballcock valve to stop the water when the tank is full. This can cause issues with pressure but it does work. You can run a return line to the creek if that is best.
If you dont need the water all the time it is a good idea to stop the pump to save the overflow and to slow the wear of the pump.
Hello,
I was wondering if you sell a ram pump with a 2 inch drive pipe?
Thank you.
HI. I actually only sell up to 1-1/4″. Once you go larger than that the cost goes way up.
I’m wondering will this work in an aquaponic setup to pump water from a sump tank back up to a fish tank? As long as I place the pump below the sump tank (source) by 1 foot I should be able to send the sump water back up (7′ or less) to the fish tank? If that is correct, what size pump would you say I need to keep recirculating the water?
Sadly the ram pump does not work well in a closed system like aquaponics. You will only get about 10% of the water from the source to the destination. The other 90% is lost from the waste valve.
What do you think about combining both the bell siphon idea or principles with the flood and drain principles? Mainly because if your pump shutsoff in a bell siphon system, your water level stays where it’s at. But if you had your fill tube coming into the grow bed like a flood and drain it would drain.
I have to be honest with you. I do not know much about growing aquaponics or hydroponics. The ram pump does not work well in those situations. As for the siphon I have only tested those briefly.
Hi there. You certainly are busy. The video that you use in the 1/2 inch ram pump sales point, says you only sell 3/4 inch ram pumps.I am after a 1/2 inch ram pump. I have a small spring on my property with a 1-2 litre per minute output(1/2 gallon). The ram pump you are using in the video doesn’t look like its using much water as you are using a very small diameter in-feed and out-feed tube.
Any water I can pump up to my big holding tank, which is 20 meters below my spring, is a bonus. I have 4 alpacas and one acre of lavender to water. So if I got 200 litres per day, it would be wonderful. 2 litres x .1 x 60 x 24 = 288 litres.
Cheers Tony
Hello. That is an older video. I am now selling the 1/2″ ram pump. They are actually very popular because they only need approximately 7.5 liters to operate. Your storage tank is below the spring? If that is so you would be better off gravity feeding to that tank. The ram pump needs to pump uphill or it wont work. Now if your spring runs away from the storage tank you can us the ram pump to pump up to it. The output depends on the hight you are pumping to and the head pressure going into the pump. You should be able to get over 200 liter per day.
What a dummy! Sorry about that.The large holding tank is 20 meters above the spring and 125 meters up the hill. I guess the 7.5 litres is litres per minute. Can I work off less than that? As I said 200 litres would be a blessing. I have a 2 meter fall from the dam so I can go close to pumping the 20 meters height and 125 meter distance. In your video, you’re only using a 5 gallon bucket with very thin tubing attached to both ends of the pump.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed with your reply. Many Thanks for taking the time for me, its most appreciated.
Cheers Tony
I am interested in purchasing a Ram Pump
If you have questions about a pump please feel free to ask.
Hi Seth, love the simplicity and portability of your pumps, defanatly want to purchase one. I have a small creek not sure gpm yet but it rips in spring about 5 feet wide couple feet deep in spots but the problem is it does eventually dry up in late July. My plan was to keep multiple tanks full and pump from them, I have descent amount of head. What pump would be most usable for that situation, also I would like to pump from my rain barrels that have a garden hose valve?
Hello. Thank you for checking out the ram pump.
Seems like you have plenty of water to run any size pump in the spring time! The 3/4″ is the closest to garden hose but you will need a more ridged pipe than garden hose. I like to use an adapter from garden hose on tanks to pvc or flex pipe. To run the ram pump you need head pressure. (drop from water source to ram pump) How high are you looking to pump water to? The ram pump will work from storage tanks but do keep in mind that the pump uses around 3 to 4 GPM and will have an output of 10 to 20%. So out of a 100 gallon tank you can expect to have 10 to 20 gallons pumped to the final location. also that tank will be out of water in only 30min. I hope this helps.
Yes that helps thank you, I only need to gain 20 feet max, but was looking for something to pump from creek to higher tanks where then I can gravity from tanks to garden or wherever need water. Do people do this? Also is it easy to disconnect the pump say I want to move it from creek to then my tanks and pump to garden?
That is probably the most common use of the ram pump. I actually have a setup in the works to pump from my creek to storage tanks and then water my garden. It is possible to remove the ram pump from the pipes by unions. Now if you are pulling water from the storage tanks to run the pump keep in mind that the ram pump is very lossy (because it does not use fuel or electricity it “wastes” water) If you have a 55 gal tank and use the a 1-1/4″ ram pump the tank will be out of water in 7min. and you will have pumped around 5 to 10 gal of that 55 gal.
hello, I really do interest in the idea of ram pump. Just want to know, if I have an almost flat water resources and a quite low flowrate, is it possible to use ram pump to generate water jet to rotate Pelton wheel?
Hello. The ram pump must have head pressure (water drop from source to pump) Without this the pump does not work. So in your case with a flat moving water I do not think that you will get results.
I’m interested in buying a ram pump from you Seth Johnson. Send me an address to purchase. My name is Jose L. Moris, 1649 Colleen Drive, Belle Isle, Florida 32809. Tel. 407-353-9526
Hello. The best place to buy a ram pump is here on the land to house site. Here is the link to the sales page. There are 4 sizes to select from. https://www.landtohouse.com/rampumpsales/
Hi Seth:
I have been going to a small village for 10 days in Honduras each year for 3 years now. It’s about 30 homes and they have a water system to most of them. There are a few houses that are higher up the hill, and have no water to them due to the lack of pressure in the existing system. Could a ram pump be used as a booster pump and supply those houses without water? The supply pipe for the system is 2″ and the branch lines are 1″. I’m not sure of the feet of drop, but it was a good climb up to the top of the pipe last year.
Thanks for your help, Greg
Hello. My dad used to go to Honduras back in the 80’s to help. Its nice that you are going there and considering water. The ram pump is not designed to be a booster pump. It needs to be a stand alone pump. you will need a water source such as a creek that has falling water (head pressure).
Hello, this may be a variation to the use and purpose of the ram pump. I have a fish pond, 1 acre, 3′ to 5′ deep, and it needs aeration. Now I could buy a reasonably priced pump and run it off electric which just adds to the cost. But what if using the ram pump would do the job. Rain aerates but only when it rains, and plants add a small amount of aeration.
If the pump is mounted under the water so that the inlet is submerged and the outlet is say 2′ in upright length with a sprinkler spray head attached, lets say a foot above water level do you think it would have enough pressure to spray? It would only cover a very small area but then I could add more ram pumps displaced around the pond.
OK so the ram pump is designed to move water from low to high but can it create rain!
Hello. This is actually a common question that I get. Sadly the ram pump does not work in the same body of water that the intake is located. I have a video showing what happens. https://youtu.be/T2idony585A
Hello,
I have a small stream on my property. It has about 10 Gmp flow. My problem is it is a relatively flat stream with no drop. Is there any options with using a ram pump or anything else you sell, with a flat stream?
To use a ram pump you have to have head pressure. (drop in water from the intake to the ram pump) Without this the ram pump does not have the pressure to cycle. Your creek might have more drop than you think though. You can use this website to find the hight at the intake and the hight at the pump location. That will give you the head pressure. 10gpm is enough to operate a pump up to 1-1/4″ but I would recommend a smaller pump such as the 3/4″ pump.
Good day sir!
Can i ask data’s about this ram pump? i wanted to make a one of this. The data i wanted to ask is like size’s of ram pump vs delivery pipe, pressure chamber, delivery pipe, etc…
Thank you…
Yes ask any ram pump question you have. You need to keep the ram pump waste valve and the drive pipe the same. This will keep pressure wave to the pump and away from the pump the same. The pressure tank changes based on pump size. The Delivery pipe can be any size large enough to prevent friction loss. Typically half the size of the drive pipe.
Does the Ram Pump you sell come with the pressure tank?
Yes it sure does! Each ram pump size has a pressure tank that is made for that size pump.
hello sir seth,
I am frim the Philippines, I really want to build a ram pump but I don’t have a layout and a material’s list on how start building it. Can you help me. thanks
Hello. You can find the parts list here in my free download: https://www.landtohouse.com/rampump/
Hi Seth, I’m not sure what size ram pump. I have 3/4 pex supply and 3/4 pex delivery.
Thanks,
Beth
Hello. When you say pex do you mean poly pipe? Or pex like you find in home plumbing? The main thing to consider is the inner diameter of the pipe. If it is 3/4″ then you are good to go with a 3/4″ pump. Sometimes the measurement is the outer diameter. Now 3/4″ delivery pipe is good for any size pump.
Seth, I printed out the instructions and built my first 1 1/4″ pump. I have to say, even with the shipping cost, I think I would have saved a few bucks if I had ordered from you. But it’s been a fun learning experience. I’m having trouble getting it to work. You responded to one of my other posts but I can’t find it now. I think I need to install a stand pipe but I don’t know how. I have 97′ of 1 1/4″ drive pipe. Given my contraints, I can put a stand pipe about 30′ behind the pump. The stand pipe will be about 3′ above the pump. Is that ok? Can I simply put a T in the drive pipe and connect the stand pipe? Should I use 2″ or 3″ pipe for the stand pipe. I’m assuming the stand pipe does have a cap?
Pingback: How To Build A Pump House Shed | Woodworking Repair To Service
seth johnson what is the function air chamber ?
The pressure tank has air inside that becomes compressed as the pump cycles. This pressure is what allows the pump to push water uphill.
i understand now . thank you for answer my question
i understand now . thank you for answer my question
Hello Seth,
Just a line to be helpful, I have watched many of your videos and I am impressed with your work with Ram Pumps. I have worked with heads and pressures in my line of work. I am now retired and 81 years of age.
Helpful info: Here is a number that will save you a lot of walking it is 0.433 this number multiplied by the height or head in feet will give you the pressure needed at the pump.
The gauge pressure divided by 0,433 will give you the static height of the column of water that, that pressure will support.
This is the static pressure not the flowing pressure. Note: In order to obtain a flowing stream from the pump at that height or head the outlet would need to be slightly lower.
Keep up the good work, I hope this helps, you probably already know this.
I am also a TarHeel.
Good Luck
Tom
Hello. Thank you for the comment. I have worked with 0.433 psi per foot of head pressure. I tend to stay away from the ram pump math because it does not make very good video content and I am very poor at math. haha but I probably should give some more values in my videos. Thank you for watching my content. I have several more ram pump video ideas I just need to take the time to film them.
seth how i want to improve effieciency ram pump ?
There are a few things that you can do.
1. Make sure that the pump and drive pipe do not move. Using rocks or heavy items to keep the pump from jumping.
2. Keep the drive pipe the same size as the waste valve.
3. You can find the best length drive pipe for the head pressure you have. I do not have these calculations. There is a “sweet spot” in drive pipe length vs head pressure.
Those are the main things that you can do to improve efficiency. Some pumps have a valve with adjustable weight. That can also improve the efficiency.
Hi
I am running drip irrigation hydroponic system. The nutrient solution (mixed) tank is placed about 1.5m above ground. I want to adopt recirculating drip system
Can the ram pump be useful for my intended work.
What specifications do i need.
Hello. Sadly the ram pump does not work well in a recirculation system. The waste valve will have an output of around 90% loss of water. Meaning you will be getting only 10% pumped. This is why the ram pump works best in a creek.
currently i am doing a swimming pond with size of 4m x 5m x 1.6m and it use natural filter.. so, i’m thinking to use ram pump for draining and skimming. the, the waste water will go to waterfall structure and slide. so, i am looking for a pump which not use electricity. what is your recommendation based on your finding?
Will you be using a creek as the water source? If you do not have a constant flow of new water the ram pump is not going to work for you.
Hi,
I would like to purchase one and I am in Kenya.
Whats the price and mode of payment
Hello. I do ship to Kenya. The pump prices can be found here:
https://www.landtohouse.com/rampumpsales/
The cost of shipping cost is very high for the pumps outside of the USA.
All sales are through paypal (you can use credit card through paypal)
Do you have a phone number so I can call to ask a few questions.
I am in New Zealand any chance you can send a ram pump??
I’d like to see a longer (much more than 5 gallon bucket worth) test done with a standard ram pump but with one modification. The mod would be placing a tire valve on the pressure pipe. Once the system is primed, pump in 40-50psi and see if that would give a “quick start” to the output flow, and another test to pump in an extra 5-10psi once the pump is running for a while to see if that has any impact on operation.
Loved most of your videos but would like longer tests on many like the dual waste valve and testing the different styles of pump.
In hoping to purchase a piece of property soon that has a nice flowing spring and will be adding a few pumps for watering animals, garden and around the house.
Ah yes it would be nice to have longer running tests. I actually will be getting back to ram pump testing this upcoming year. Did not do too many tests in 2018. Time to change that. Perhaps I can use my new 55gal tanks for tests. Best wishes in your land purchase!
How practical is it to use several ram pumps at different levels on a mountain flank to move water from a creek in a valley to the top of that mountain?
Although it can be done it is not very practical. Each stage of ram pump will only have around 10% or less water than the previous. With this happening you will soon be out of water and have to wait for tanks to fill before you can start the pumps again.
Seth,
I’ve been looking for something like this for a cabin I’m building here in Alaska. I have 200’ of drop that I can tie into, would that increase pressure as well? I’m interested in using it for shower/sink but would like to do it without a holding tank. Many thanks!
The ram pump is great for low flow applications. If you were to go without a holding tank your pressure would be very low and the flow rate would likely be less than 1gpm. The style ram pump found on Land To House can only handle 25 feet of head pressure. (drop). Anything over that and the waste valve will stay closed. This will give a total of 180 feet of lift.