In article , Pavel314 wrote:
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. [...]
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?

No.

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.

The maximum depth from which water can be raised by any pump that relies on
suction is approximately 34 feet. That's because suction pumps raise water in
a tube by creating a partial vacuum above the water; atmospheric pressure
forces the water up the tube. Atmospheric pressure will support a water column
no higher than 10.34 meters, or about 34 feet.