On 14 Jul 2003 06:59:02 -0700, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , erniegalts says...

No matter what type of a "surface pump" the best that can be done is
to create a vacuum so that atmospheric pressure will force water to
the surface from below. 33 feet or so from memory, although if you
want the exact value of suction you could look up the range of
atmospheric pressures in your locality.

Ah. Then all those windmills were pumping shallow
surface water then?


Not hardly. Windmills pull water from what ever depth you need. My
dad has some that are 100+ feet deep. Our shallowest well is about 30
feet. Slightly north of here 200+ feet deep wells are the norm and
most are pumped with windmills.

Windmills and hand pumps don't have the pump on the surface. The
pump itself is at the bottom of the well. It consists of a working
barrel, bottom check, and top check. The bottom check sits in the
bottom of the working barrel and does just what it name says. Acts as
a check valve. The top check is attached to sucker rod which moves up
and down either by windmill power or hand power. It has leathers on it
which seal it to the working barrel and moving it up and down pumps
the water.

The same technology is used in the oil field in pump jacks. The
working barrel is a little different and much more rugged but it works
about the same way. Pump jacks can go real deep like in more than
3,000 feet.

Wayne Cook
Shamrock, TX