wrote in message
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SteveB wrote:
I want to lift water about 20 feet from my truck to the storage tank on
the
second floor of my cabin.

I used to be a commercial diver, and have used many types of "airlifts."
This is a device where a suction is created by venturi-ing air into a
line
in the direction you want it to flow. In real underwater conditions, the
air expands as it rises, increasing the suction power. It really sucks
up
whatever is in front of the nozzle.

I was playing with the idea of buying a pump that I could pump water from
my
truck tank up to the storage tank of the cabin. (This is just for winter
use. In the warm months, there is a water system.) I am running into
the
problem that a lot of them just don't have a lot of head pressure. And
they
cost a lot. And they require special plumbing connectors. A small
compressor would not have to put out a lot of air to lift the water in a
1/2" line and get it to rise up. The bubbles will push the water up and
rise automatically.

This works *under* water because the water/air mixture is lighter than
the surrounding water, and thus rises. *above* water, this won't work.

I'll wager a days pay against a donut hole that it will work. If you put
some air pressure on there, it will blow the water out the other end a good
distance.

In everything engineering, I take things to the nth degree. Imagine what it
would be like if you put just enough air in the line to percolate small
bubbles up the column of water. Now imagine 150psi of air.

Do you think that will move some water?

As I said, a days pay against a donut hole. I get $85 per hour, so that's
$680 betting that it will work.

The downside is that one poster stated that the quality of air will
contaminate the water with oil, and he is correct. So, I have opted for a
pump instead.

But yes, the idea will work, and it would work for a very long distance if
the venturi is configured to pull the water into the airstream.

Steve