We have a submersible pump in a 125' well to provide water to the
house. The water just stopped last night while my wife was preparing
dinner. Since the pump is only five years old, I suspected the
pressure-sensing-relay-switching thing. After checking which lines in
the gizmo had power, I was even more convinced. A few taps with the
ball peen hammer didn't fix it so we got the plumber out this morning.
He confirmed my suspicions and $497 later we had water again.

In an emergency we can bring pails of water from the pump house down
by the barn but that's a hundred yards down the lane. My wife
suggested putting an old-fashioned hand pump on the house well head in
the back yard, which would be much closer. That would be decorative
and functional, a clever idea I thought.

Is that possible? I thought of dropping a 125' hose down the well
shaft and attaching it to a hand pump up top but don't hand pumps only
work to a depth of 15' or so? Something to do with air pressure I
believe. Even if it worked at that depth, we'd have to remove the hand
pump and hose if the submersible pump ever needed repair or
replacement, but that only happens about every 15 or 20 years.

Opinions appreciated.

Paul