Typical situation where a ram pump may be used
Momentum building up
Shock wave pushes water into delivery pipe as impulse valve shuts
Water enters the ram from the thick drive pipe and runs out of the impulse valve, which is held open by a spring (or weight in larger pumps). As the momentum increases, the pressure of the water will drag the impulse valve shut. This creates a shock wave inside the ram body, pushing water past the delivery valve (a non-return valve). As the pressure subsides the impulse valve opens and the cycle begins again. This takes place more than 100 times a minute, depending on the head pressure and tuning of the impulse valve, and each pulse pushes up a small quantity of water through the thinner delivery pipe. The air chamber cushions the flow. The tiny snifter valve below the chamber allows a small quantity of air into the air chamber with every pulse to replace air lost into the deliver pipe. A small squirt of water will come out on the recoil.
If you have a water supply (spring, brook or river) below the point where you need the water, and the source is higher than the lowest part of the property, then a hydraulic ram pump may be the solution. Hydraulic ram pumps are powered by a portion of the water running through it. If the cost of a commercial pump puts you off, or the water volume is too little to operate the pump, you can make one to suit your conditions at very little cost.
It is made with 1″ stock brass compression fittings, some inner tube for valves, a few nuts and bolts and some copper pipe, some of which was flattened to use for valve seats. It is held down onto some concrete embedded I-beam with exhaust pipe brackets, cushioned by inner tube. The supply pipe is 3/4″, the delivery pipe 1/2″ and the expansion chamber 1″ diameter. There is a small amount of soldering involved. It pumped a little over 10% of the water a few dozen feet up, making it as efficient as commercial pumps. The small size works with the limited amount of water I have. The basic principle for building it came from a book, but I scaled it down, and made some changes, and avoided welding. The measurments were roughly calculated by rule of thumb: “that looks about right”. In this picture the pump is disconnected from the pipes. It only cost a few GB Pounds for the bend and ‘T’s, the 1″ pipe piece needed was recycled from a skip (dumpster).
