LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In
,
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.

Well how do those oil well pumps pump up the oil? It's just a hand
pump with a big motor and cam wheel.

And counterweight. If the pump is below the water level, it works fine.