Start the Ram Pump for 2024
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 พ.ค. 2024
- The Hydraulic Ram Pump was turned off and drained for the winter to keep it from freezing. Now that spring is here its time to start it up for the 2024 season of ram pump testing. I walk through each step of the startup beginning with the screen intake. This needs to be dug out and the silt removed to allow water to pass. I drain the silt out of the filter bucket and get clean water filling that back up. I get the drive pipe full of water and start the ram pump cycling. It can take a while to get the delivery pipe full of water up hill. Lastly I walk the delivery pipe to make sure that the water is getting to the top of the hill. The large storage tank is working well and ready to hold 330 gallons of water.
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Glad to see the pump is still going strong
Filled my 330 gallon tank overnight. Now I am ready to make more ram pump videos.
Agreed
I started to get worried last week, as there was no Ram pump 2024 yet. But finally, it's here! :D Ram pumps on this channel are the best!
Love seeing the pump in action
It’s alway fascinating when that valve starts clicking away on its own!
It is! And to walk outside a week later and hear the valve clicking away is also fun!
I really am not sure why I watch these every year, but I just can not fathom missing one.
Thank you for watching. This is year 6 that I have done the startup videos.
Thanks again for this and all your great videos.
Obviously, I study your videos.
That's interesting. You have two filter pipes, I'm guessing 2 inches in diameter each joining together to go down a maybe 1 inch black poly pipe? That might solve a problem I have where the filters can go a week, but benefit from daily cleaning. Complicated by the location being somewhat time consuming to get to. I've wondered to what extent my filters may be constraining the flow. I guess my stand pipes may be a measure of this and I think I'm mostly OK.
We don't have much fall, only 30 inches over 70 feet of creek, so at you and others suggestions, we use 3 inch, replacing with 4 inch diameter 3 feet tall stand pipes to move the height of the water closer to our ram pumps. I still find it hard to believe, but the stand pipes increased the water pumped by 70%. After watching this video I'm wondering if I could modify the stand pipes to filter silt like your buckets or maybe have a bucket filter closer to the top that would also function as a short stand pipe. Filters are important when the irrigation ram pumps run for long periods of time to supply water to mini-wobbler sprinklers.
Never thought about a stand pipe on water tanks - that would solve a few things, maybe even allow going to another tank. Did you ever get a useful self starting siphon to work reliably? (I think there is a Land-to-House) video on this. With limited water pumping, a self starting siphon might allow water to be accumulated at a higher location and "automatically" quickly release a bunch of water for irrigation when required volume of water accumulated.
The creek flowing through our property is lower than the surrounding meadow. The location is far from electricity and impractical to haul fuel for a reasonably priced gas pump that is not usually designed to run continuously. The meadow has steep hillsides on both sides that somewhat limit sun for solar pumps and part of the problem we've had with solar pumps is what to do with the heavy batteries over the long winter. Ram pumps in our case are so far the best way I've managed to irrigate the 4 acre meadow. The connected mini-wobbler sprinklers direct the water precisely where the water is needed and work better when windy by spreading the water in a wider area.
One continual challenge we have is cleaning the input filters which need cleaning weekly and benefit from daily.
Another challenge is rotating the output of pumped water among the sprinklers. For 4 acres directing the water to the high areas, I think we need 36 sprinklers and so far I've had as many as 24 sprinklers installed (but not running at the same time). Each of our four 1/4 ram pumps can run one and a half or so mini-wobblers - let say 1 pump per sprinkler with me switching the connections - potentially 36 ram pumps. However if I can figure out how to rotate the output 1 day out of 10 to each sprinkler - in theory, I'd only need 4 and maybe a few more ram pumps. Thus my interest in filling water tanks with self starting siphons - maybe the output from different tanks could be directed to different sprinklers? Also, sometimes, like when its raining, irrigation is not needed and might as well be filling elevated water tanks.
I did not realize this in the beginning, but the Land-to-House ram pumps are the cheapest and most dependable part of our irrigation system. I've bought several from Land-to-House and built one of my own - definitely faster and easier to buy. May also be cheaper by the time we goof up and get some wrong parts. Also, in our case, the pumps are a fraction of the overall irrigation system cost - economizing time is important with lots of other ranch work to be done.
Thank you for all your videos - I've watched most of the videos more than once. I see you have a few new items like the filter bucket and the kits vs assembled pumps on the Land-to-House website. Any thoughts of selling replacement parts with perhaps a minimum total order price? Sometimes parts get lost in the creek and other places. ... like finding the right size for the rubber gasket used by the PVC Union.
Oh - I also see pump statistics on the website that I don't remember - how exciting.
Thanks for the videos and ram pumps.
Dave
I still got a little bit of snow but I just got a new check valve for mine cuz I left mine in and froze I'm glad to finally see a nice land to house video
It's far too easy to forget the pump during the cold months and have some broken pieces. I believe I've got approximately 30 ram pump videos planned out.
@@LandtoHousebest way to have reliable water is to buy two and have a spare for repairing whenever something go bust.
Let the pump pumping the whole pumping season!
Yes lots of ram pump content is planned for the summer.
@@LandtoHouse I miss micro hydro.
Love your videos been subbed since 2016
I’m starting mine back up next weekend
It's time! Nice to see the warm weather returning.
Thanks for sharing this video. You have a great system!
Thank you for watching. This pump has been a champ for many years now.
I'm 2 weeks behind! Great job Seth! Looking forward to more Ram Pump Shenanigans!
Ram pump season is here. Haha shenanigans. Yes plenty of that.
Woo Hoo, glad to see the start of ram pump season!
Wow that's brilliant.
Thanks for sharing!
It is ram pump season again!
Used to watch these videos of yours all the time during the pandemic. And I stopped getting them recommended. One day I was working and remembered the ram pump videos. Still impresses me even after 3-4 years.
Thank you for watching! Yes 90% of the videos are longer recommended, and I don't know why. The ram pump has so much potential as long as you have a creek.
@@LandtoHouse I live in the desert of Arizona. The only time we have a creek is when you're hose is on full blast in the grass lol. I hope when I move I have somewhere with a creek. Not because I plan on needing the ram pump but they amuse me. Plus I could think of many things. Like could you take a stand pipe on the swing valve and once that one is working hook up some pipe with a good fall into the next size smaller. Don't know if there would be any practicality but it would be fun to test.
@@LandtoHouse they are not recomended because they suck.
@offroadz4861 I used to live in New Mexico. It's so dry out there.
You can run a small pump from the waste water of a large pump.
@@LandtoHouse that's good to know, thank you!
2024 video ideas:
Make a concrete/masonry intake for the micro hydro Coanda box to replace the one you made from wood.
Make a concrete/masonry box to hold your turbine alternately use a old/free chest freezer & cut a hole in the bottom
I've a question. If I want to supply my home with water, I need it all year; I can't shut it off for the winter. Why can't I use the ram pump in the winter? Running water does not freeze unless it get ***EXTREMELY*** cold. So if the creek is running all year, why can't the ram pump be used all year? The water is running in it. It won't freeze. The coldest it gets here in Connecticut is between 5 to 10 degrees on the coldest nights. Normally it doesn't get below 15 degrees in the winter. The creek is still running and so does not freeze. So the ram pump shouldn't freeze either. I want to pump the water into a storage tank inside my garage, which never freezes. It's easy to outflow excess water to the drain.
Pretty neat
Parabéns pelo belo trabalho, esse tipo de bomba é conhecida no Brasil como "bomba carneiro" muito utilizado por agricultores
I wonder if you might like to try this experiment with your ram pump. Could you try screwing a bike valve assembly just before your pressure tank to see if it can add an air bubble after each cycle? I'm thinking one of those with a soft spring and rubber seat. They don't need much back pressure to keep them shut. You can also use it to add air manually. I've noticed the larger pumps have a small air hole but that doesn't work with the smaller models.
Yeah, we are back!
Amazing work. May I ask what is the difference of height and length of hose from the source to the pump
Good job Seth. Any news on vlogs coming back? I’d love to see what you and the kids are getting up to! Hope you’re all well
if theft was the main concern then either bury it in concrete with the servicing parts visible and accessible or as i suspect the noise is the main concern then i seem to remember a video of yours where a ram pump works perfectly fine underwater , that would dampen the sound , if you have excess water then construct a water fall near it to mask the noise ,just a couple of ideas
love your channel keep up the good work
An underwater test is a good idea for sound. I will give that a try next. Thanks!
@@LandtoHouse lol seems like i commented on the wrong video of yours!! Im sure there was a video of yours about security of the ram pump ? Oh well i will enjoy this one as well
How much total head do you have on that stream? It would be really cool if you built a large stainless steel waterwheel and had the wheel driving a water pump. Do you have microhydro on that stream?
What happens if you had a shut off valve at the destination tank so it wouldnt over fill? When the valve opens would the ram pump start back up?
Hey Seth
I'm planning on doing fish farming in Guinea Conakry, that's West Africa.
Is it possible for you to build a bigger ram pump for me?
Thanks
i have a question .... if we use two pressure chamber instead of using one pressure chamber in a single drive pipe will it increase the pressure of the water ?
I could not find the valve pressing stick on your merch page. How much are they?
HAHA it would be funny to offer a valve pressing stick. Someone would buy it.
@@LandtoHouse Especially if it was laser etched with the land to house logo!
Does the pumping action noise disturb you?
Curious how far from pump can you hear it?
Do you have a simple design or idea that would entail using a ram pump in a container (IBC tote) to continuously recirculate the water to fall on a hydro turbine?
That’s called a perpetual motion machine, and it doesn’t exist
What a great video. What are the pros and cons of the sizes you carry?
Thank you. Larger pumps require more water to operate, but pump more water while smaller pumps require less water but also pump less water.
Would still love to see you try making something like and idea I've had, to see if it would work or not...
My idea, not sure if it works or not, would be to make a LARGE tank with multiple output pipes with some kind of floaties attached inside, up to different levels in the tank, so they'd only open sequentially when the water is above a certain level. [like one with a pipe top at the bottom, another pipe terminating 1-2 feet from the bottom of the tank, and another terminating 2-4 feet from the bottom, etc.]
The idea here is to try to be able to use all available water year-round, both when it's low flow during the summer, and high-flow during the winter.
The idea being that when you can pull in more water, the tank maybe fills up more, and you can have more output pipes "open" as you get more water into it. So, you can make use of extra water when you've got it to pump more water up hill, but always have some "minimum" amount always going 24/7.
I guess the question is whether you can have multiple output pipes come down and connect to like a y-joint, or a 3-way joint or something, so all 3 pipes can feed the same uphill pipe/hose or whatever via one or more ram pumps?
And can you connect either a valve after the joint, and a ram pump after that, or else 3 ram pumps before the joint? Not sure which way would work better for delivering more water uphill faster (or, at all)?
Would putting the ram pump after the 2-way or 3-way joint cause too much pressure from the united 3 drive pipes, and cause it to cycle too quickly, or something? If you'd have to put 3 ram pumps above the joint, I assume you'd lose a bit more water out of 3 pumps than out of 1, but if that's the only way to get it to work [without too much pressure causing it to cycle too fast and stop or not work right]?
Just wondering if this would be a way to have a variable performance pump that'll make use of extra water when it's available [fall rains, etc.], but always work at some minimum level [from the lowest output pipe in the tank]?
Another fun idea I was toying with was the idea of losing as little water as possible in the process of moving water uphill through several "pumping stations," so-to-speak. So, if someone's trying to move water over a long uphill climb, and needs to use multiple pumps in series to get water all the way up top, potentially that's a lot of water lost along the way at the waste valves.
But, my other idea was to have each upper "pumping station" collect/capture the water output from the waste valve into a collection box, or bucket, or whatever, and then have that drain back down to the next lower pump's input tank, giving it a "second chance to go up the hill" (as it would continue to feed the next lower ram pump). And, in theory, then only the lowest ram pump would actually be "losing water" to the ground. And, in theory, each collection/feed tank could have an "overflow" hose either connected down to the next prior input tank, or else to maybe do something useful at that level, like water a garden, etc.
If one wanted to get crafty, one could potentially also use the collected "waste" water's flow to, I dunno, like run a water wheel and generate some small amount of electricity (prior to being dumped into the next lower feeder tank), or something? Done at multiple "levels" along the way, maybe it'd add up? Not sure... Heck, if the run is long enough, maybe you could even put multiple such water wheels along the way at intervals? Kinda' zig-zag the water down the hill through a few water wheel stations before it goes back to the next "feeder" tank?
Would be funny if it generated enough electricity to take the "waste" water from the bottom ram pump and electrically pump into the first feeder tank, so it becomes "zero loss" or close to it. ;) No idea if there'd be enough "drop" to get enough energy to turn all the wheels and generate enough energy for that, or not? Just an amusing thought...
I've often wondered if one could capture the waste water from the valve into a bucket or other container and have that weather flow down to a second rampump theoretically conserving some of that waste water for use back up at your containment tank. Your thoughts?
I think you will find this video interesting. th-cam.com/video/q3BOG0hureY/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
@@LandtoHouse Excellent! I missed that one from 3 years ago. THx again.
Similar to my idea. But my idea is to use multiple ram pumps to get water up a large hill/cliff/tower/etc., and capture the "waste water" at each level above the first in a small box or bucket, and to then channel it back down to the prior level's feeder tank, and basically "recycle" it or give it another chance to go up the hill... ^_^
In theory, then only the "bottom" pump would be losing water to ground, as the others would just be getting recycled back into the prior pump's feed tank.
In one of your videos you had a bicycle inner tube in the air chamber. In these newer iterations, the inner tube is no longer necessary?
After some research I have found that the tube is not necessary. It can even plug the lower portion of the pump.
How would ram pumps work for intermittent water sources instead of constant ones like your creek?
You would Ned to save up water in a tank and release when full to power the pump. You would need to restart the pump manually each time.
@@LandtoHouse Thank you for the response! Sounds like too much work to restart every time. Probably better to just go with a regular pump.
You left the pipes disconnected during the winter and they were open for any kind of critter to go into.
Or did you put something into the opening that allows water to get out but no critters in. Something like a mesh?
The intake has a mesh. The output was open. I let a lot of water flow through before the first restart. That gets the silt out and any critters.
@@LandtoHouse Alright cool. Do not want a dead mouse to be stuck in a pipe that you use potentially for drinking.
Just had a thought - since you’ve got a ‘silt filter’ bucket part way through the inlet line, is there actually any need to screen the intake itself, since a lot of the silt still gets through and into the bucket, and then it’s only 1 maintenance item, not 2.
The screens keep out larger floaty stuff like leaves and sticks, the bucket lets the water slow down and drop most (not all) of the silt. Floaty and neutrally-ish buoyant stuff won't settle to the bottom of the bucket.
Could you use a well to pull water out of for your water source?
The pump needs water falling into it to operate. Well water does not work.
did you know you can turn them into an air pump to get compressed air to run tools or power
The air tank only holds a small bubble of air.
I notice you have removed the rubber tube from the pressure tank. Any reason for this?
The tube did not help maintain air in the tank.
Definitely getting one from you this spring. Can I get one that has the clear pressure tube?
Thank you. The clear tank was super costly. The clear pvc in that small section was almost $50. Because of the cost I don't make them for sale.
@@LandtoHouse Thanks Seth. your AWESOME I so enjoy your video's. I'm putting a 1" this spring, I'd like to do the larger one but the 1 1/4 supplies a not as popular in our area but the other size's are.
is there not a way to auto prime that pump?
There are a few people experimenting with the idea. So far no success. As soon as air gets trapped in the drive pipe it's done.
I miss your intro theme music
Ah yes. My mom wrote that years ago.
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