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Possibility of using hydram pumps for a water system

RedR TSS
RedR TSS
KnowledgePointAdmin
RedR CCDRR

Working in a village where the water supply is via a series of springs below the village, where there is a waterfall of 2.5m height. We want to be able to somehow pump the water to the top of the village - surveying has shown this to be via 2km of piping and a head difference of 55m. I want to check how viable it would be to either use a Hydram to pump the water to that height, or a normal pump, considering that the village does not have an electricity supply. Any information or resources you could help me with would be great.

Comments

HOPE YOU FOUND A SOLUTION TO YOUR ISSUE. With a waterfall of 2.5m and hoping that your springs flow throught the year you can be able to pump water to the village. Its my hope the fall can be enhanced to 3 meters would be ideal and I would be keen to learn what the flow is. If you are able to chanel the water to a large container about 50ltrs or more, find out what time it takes to fill the container and give us the size. Hydrams may seem to deliver little water but when you factor that they continue running 24hrs a day without need for fuel or management they are really worth considering. I have been manufacturing,installing and also researching on hydrams and its a technology that I am passionate about. My email is cleanairkenya@gmail.com if you would like to contact me.

Hydramskenya gravatar imageHydramskenya ( 2017-01-26 13:02:49 )

4 Answers

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RedR TSS
RedR TSS

A useful site with ram pump links is here - https://www.lifewater.ca/ram_pump.htm

Concerns would be seasonal flow of the waterfall - do you have enough during the dry season to supply the village? If there is a major change in flow you might consider several pumps in parallel, so that as the flow reduces you can reduce the number of pumps operating so that they can still continue working. Both the drive pipe and the mains pipe need to be of good quality to withstand the hammer blow set up by the pump. Other concerns would be on maintenance - even though they require little maintenance you will still have to train up an operator who can prime the pump and replace parts when they wear out. Appropriate Action also has good info on ram pumps.

Regards Toby Gould

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Prof. Terry Thomas is still the best point of reference I know - he is I believe still active at the DTU in the University of Warwick but more involved with low cost rainwater systems. Viz: https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/research/civil/crg/dtu-old/rwh/pubs/

He can be contacted via the link at the bottom of that page.

Hydrams are great! I think COFORWA in Rwanda may still make them - I have a contact there if you need one - just PM me.

I also have some friends who made one from standard parts in the UK and sent it out to Kenya to some friends we have in common. I think a local chap was gpoing to start to make them but I have not heard any more about that.

Where in the world are you/ where is the application for? I have found something I downloaded from an ACF website some time ago but it is too big too attach through this website. You can find it here: https://recette-acf.jouve-hdi.com/sites/default/files/publications/fichiers/module_6_-_hydraulic_ram_pump_system_2009.pdf There are several modules in that series - this is number 6. Well worth a read.

Also Google this term: ram pumps filetype:pdf and you will find a lot more information.

There are manufacturers of Ram Pumps in the UK:

Blake/Allspeeds https://www.allspeeds.co.uk/blake-hydram/water-powered-pumps Green & Carter https://www.greenandcarter.com/ Aries https://ariesrampumps.org.uk/products.html.

All the best,

Steve

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HOPE YOU FOUND A SOLUTION TO YOUR ISSUE. With a waterfall of 2.5m and hoping that your springs flow throught the year you can be able to pump water to the village. Its my hope the fall can be enhanced to 3 meters would be ideal and I would be keen to learn what the flow is. If you are able to chanel the water to a large container about 50ltrs or more, find out what time it takes to fill the container and give us the size. Hydrams may seem to deliver little water but when you factor that they continue running 24hrs a day without need for fuel or management they are really worth considering. I have been manufacturing,installing and also researching on hydrams and its a technology that I am passionate about. My email is cleanairkenya@gmail.com if you would like to contact me.