What is a Hand Pump and How Does it Work?

What is a Hand Pump?

Hand pumps, as the name illustrates, are manually operated devices that are used to move fluids or air by combining human power with basic mechanical methods.

You see these pumps being used in different environments for a whole variety of situations including; industrial, irrigation (on farms), on boats, and in recreation. Wherever you go, you can expect to see a hand pump of some sort somewhere in the world.

What’s fun is the variety. Although the principle is the same, there are several designs based on a wide range of principles (most commonly piston, diaphragm, or rotary valves).

The operation of these pumps is rather simple. Usually, a check valve will be located at the inlet and outlet to control the flow of fluids and or air. Among these configurations, piston pumps and plunger pumps are the most common; both are positive displacement pumps.

In a community setting, hand pumps are often seen; particularly in developing areas, which are an essential means of water access. Hand pumps are located on boreholes or may also be on traditional hand-dug wells; either way, hand pumps play a huge role in providing water for public and private purposes.

How Does a Manual Water Pump Work?

A manual water pump operates through a relatively simple mechanistic movement of a piston or plunger, a lever connected by a pivot point and a connecting rod, and a washer. Let me explain the process of moving water; it is relatively simple when described:

• When you are lifting the lever the piston drops, allowing water to enter through ports, or suction tubes. When you lift the lever, the pressure created by the water gradually increases until it lifts the washer into the pump creating suction, and pulling the water up.
• When you finally start pushing the lever back down, the washer comes down after the lever, effectively blocking any incoming flow and allowing the water inside the pump to fill up.
• It takes a few advance movements (up and down) to increase water that will eventually be discharged through the outlet valve.

Manual water pumps don’t need to be in just one position, as described above, In practice they can also be effective to draw small amounts of water from a barrel, or shallow well.

On a larger scale, manual water pumps like those described can also be used in an industrial environment too; as they can reliably and simply transfer a variety of chemical liquids in practice based on their simple yet effective design.

Types of Hand Pumps

1. Suction and lift hand pumps

When referring to the actions of pumping fluids, there are two actions, sucking and lifting. Suction is the vertical distance from the center of the pump to the surface of the liquid you are trying to move. Lift is the vertical distance from where the pump is located to the location on the waterline where the fluid is being delivered.

In the case of a hand-powered water pump, the limiting factor to how deep you can actually draw the water is the atmospheric pressure above the surface of the liquid. The working depth that is achieved is on average less than 7 meters.

More than this depth will not work with the hand pump system because it isn’t practically a matter of removing the volume of water through the lower atmospheric pressure.

When we refer to lift, the distance being lifted isn’t a matter of how far up the pump can physically lift the water but how much strength the operator has left to overcome the weight of water being transferred from the supply line.

For example, if you are using a hose with a smaller diameter, the same pump and the same person can easily achieve a larger pumping stroke than with a larger hose.

Benefits of Suction and Lift Pump:

• No requirement of electricity
• These pumps are extremely reliable
• These pumps can lift a significant amount of water using small tubes.

2. Force Pump

When it is required to raise water to a greater height than could be managed with a simple suction or lift pump (more than seven meters) or to increase the pressure on the water (for example, to clear the fire hose with a strong jet), a pressure pump can be used.

As with the suction pump, there is a manual pressure pump and it requires an operator to pull the handle. In fact, the only significant difference is in what happens after the water has been lifted up through the valving in the lower valve of the suction pump.

In the pressure pump, this water is not just going to collect in a chamber, it is pushed out through a side pipe or nozzle that is built into the main cylinder.

Here is the detail on what is happening inside: when the operator pulls up on the handle, the piston is raised, water is drawn in through the lower valve, and on the next downward stroke, this same water, being trapped in the chamber below the piston, is forced out.

The outcome of this operation is a continuous stream of pressurized water to direct where you need it.

3. Siphon

An elementar siphon is simply a bent tube. To use the siphon as a manual water pump, you would insert one end of the tube into the water source, and the other end would extend outside the tank / container you wish to move the water into.

While you are siphoning water, you are relying on the force of gravity and so you want to place the tank / container lower than where you want the water to come from, so that the height difference will help the water get pushed through the tube.

It’s a simple idea. After you start the water flowing with a squeeze from a rubber or plastic bulb (suction), the water simply moves from the higher container to the lower container with the help of the height difference between the two containers Simply put, in general, the bulb will have a one-way flap valve on both ends to keep the liquid moving in one direction.

One of the nice things about siphons is that they can move liquids without having the height difference of the two containers being bound only to the normal hydraulic pressure.

In many instances, the siphon will work and continue to function without gravity even through a partial vacuum, which is not a possibility with many pumps.

4. Chain pump

A chain pump works by means of an endless loop of chain with a sequence of discs on it. As the chain moves, the discs descend down into the water, and retreating up, they take a parcel of water upwards through the tube.

Even if it is a simple design, chain pumps served as a hand-powered technology. In fact, during the eighteenth century they were widely used by ships, to pump water out of the bilge.

5. Direct action

Direct action hand pumps are hand pumps that have a pumping rod that the user can move up and down to discharge water with each stroke of the rod.

The primary benefit of a direct hand pump is its simplicity the setup is usually simple, and the maintenance is straightforward, which makes them quite usable: you can have a direct action hand pump even when you are limited in funds or some situation exists that limits your technical abilities.

One major limitation of direct action hand pumps is that physically, you can only lift so much water. Typically, this limited height happens at about 15 meters of water column.

A couple of direct action type pumps you might see are the Canzee hand pump or the EMAS hand pump; these pumps are designed for these limitations.

6. Deep wells

Deep well hand pumps are alternatives that can be used when water must be withdrawn from a deep well, often from depths when the water is more than 15 meters down.

The distinguishing aspect of a deep well pump is the weight of the water lifted; often too heavy for one person to lift without assistance.

Generally, the pumps will have features to reduce the amount of work necessary to lift the water, such as levers or flywheels. Below are some other features related to deep well hand pumps and how to install and maintain them:

• Complexity and Cost: Deep well hand pumps are typically more complex and more expensive than regular hand pumps. This is mainly due to the purpose or usage of the pump, which requires more strength and durability, and therefore, more complexity.
• Depth Restrictions: A unique aspect of deep well hand pumps is that, from a design perspective, there is no real depth restriction, meaning that they can theoretically operate while submersed at any given depth.
• Human Strength: Practically, however, the factor that limits the depth restriction is the strength of the operator. Generally, deep well hand pumps operate within 80 meters depth limits, or whatever one person can manage.

7. Diaphragm

One of the main advantages of diaphragm pumps is the ease of use they simply will run, and when you are dealing with no tie rods, they are more likely to run smoothly and resist corrosion. However, diaphragm pumps have disadvantages.

First, diaphragm pumps require the correct length of tubing and high quality rubber diaphragms to run. The rubber diaphragm materials are costly, deforming the diaphragm while operating is labor intensive; this also leads to a less efficient operation on the pump as a whole.

Rubber diaphragms will leak over time and will have to be replaced, there is nothing easy about replacing the pump diaphragm and it can also be expensive.

Therefore, in delayed resource rural communities and areas, diaphragm pumps are usually filled or left unattended once the diaphragm fails because it was too difficult and expensive to maintain and repair.

8. Progressive cavity

A progressive cavity pump is classified as a positive displacement pump and has a more compact design that is acknowledged to be more performant.

The design advantages of this pump exist in the internal configurations and functionality of a helical rotor and a double-helical stator. As the rotor begins to turn it generates cavities that fill with water that is transported through the pump to its discharge.

However, with a more compact design comes a dis-benefit, and the assembly of gears in these pumps is highly specialized, such that repairs and maintenance become an issue especially given the local technician’s troubleshooting capabilities.

The advanced construction, and that complexity and specialization since it is generally a good thing, is also one of the reasons that progressive cavity pumps are more costly.

If you were looking for some practical design and functionality we could compare a rope pump or, even, a washer pump; that both use similar principles.

Criteria for Choosing a Hand Pump

When purchasing pumping equipment, many people initially concentrate on the price as the most important consideration or decision.

However, you can make an unfortunate decision if you decide on the basis of price alone. If you are buying a hand pump for your well, there are a few other important factors to consider.

• Depth: One of the first considerations is the depth of the water source. Mechanical pumping stations are generally classified into two categories: pumps that can extract water from a maximum of 30 meters underground and pumps designed to extract water from 6 meters depth or shallower. Ensure that your pump is at an appropriate capacity based on the depth of the well.
• Well Diameter: Most industry experts will suggest drilling a well with a diameter larger than 10 centimeters. The reason for this is that having a larger diameter will enable you to add almost any pump with efficiency that would accommodate your changing needs in the future.
• Water Quality and Type: The type of water can also make a difference as well as how clean the water is. Certain pumps are designed to pump sediment or some contaminants, whereas there are pumps designed to work with clean water only. It is always advisable to read the documentation that the manufacturer has provided to make sure you are using the proper equipment relevant to the quality of your water.
• Performance Requirements: There are pumps and there are pumps. Some may be unable to fully meet a home owner’s expectations and requirements due to certain limitations related to their design.
• Intended Use and Seasonality: Consider when and how you will be using the pump. It may not make sense to have a pump that may only be used seasonally, primarily in the warmer months. If year-round access to water is needed, it may be a serious consideration to invest in a pump that can operate year-round, even if it is a more costly option.
• Looks and Construction: While it may not be the highest on the priority list for everyone, the appearance of your equipment will matter (of some importance) for those with value in the visual aspect of their home. Most pump housings are made with cast-iron, which means the pump can be rugged and reliable, but attractive.

Installation of a Manual Well Water Pump

One major advantage of our water well hand pumps is their simplicity of installation, even if you have little or no technical ability. The process is not difficult, and you won’t need any special tools or complex skills. This is what you need to do:

1. First, check the package on the pump and make sure it has all the components and none are missing. While you can verify all the parts are present and intact at a later time, better safe than sorry. It is much better to double check at this stage than realize something is not quite right midway through the process.
2. The pump casing needs to be installed verticallwy with the bottom end submerged in water, There are no exceptions for this. A level active pump casing is important as a canted pump casing could lead you to damage the pump casing. It is best to double check now than have a problem later down the road.
3. Be observant of the user manual concerning installation especially if it advises the pump is not suitable for water containing much solid particles. If that is the case, your placement must be address further or upstream with the installation of a filtration system. I suggest waiting and looking up your owner/installation guide if unsure. You have nothing to loose.
4. Make sure to secure your structure to the ground. The hand pump should remain steady and not wobble with use. Proper fastenings will help at the long term reliability.
5. Before regular use, you will want to flush the pump. Run a good amount of clean water through the pump so that you clean off particulates or residue left from install or set up.

Professional tip: Choose the flattest and cleanest surface area possible for your installation process. If you clear away pebble, stone and debris before, you will make your installation much easier, and things will go a lot better. If you follow our steps, you will have your new hand pump functioning before you know it, with no fuss.

Applications of Hand Pump

The hand water pump has the following major applications:

• These pumps are regularly seen in rural locations, where the bulk of the population obtain their drinking water through groundwater.
• They would be especially useful for shear sensitive foods, as they would help maintain the quality of food products.
• Manual pumps are still used in many of the agricultural applications as they are ideal for simple use in locations where highly sophisticated equipment is not available.
• These pumps can be very effective for the transfer of sludge and slurry, when it comes to the transfer of thick mixtures, these systems can react with impressive dependability.
• These pumps are also used to transfer oil in a variety of forms, both as lubricating oil and non-lubricating oil. They transfer various forms of oils, non-lubricating, lubricating.
• These pumps are frequently found in industries that deal with varnishes and with paints as they can assist in transferring an array of liquid viscosities.
• Hand pumps are not only found in industrial or in agricultural applications. They also show up in the cosmetic industry when products or preparations are dispensed in lotions, creams, and other similar products.
• Hand pumps can also be found in adhesive transfer, showing that they are quite a versatile and reliable pump for use in a manufacturing environment.
• Hand pumps are also employed for drawing water from wells, providing aeration of ponds and filtering ponds; all of which allows the hand pump to be flexible in use when working with many types of water systems.

Advantages of Hand Pump

Here are the top four advantages of hand pumps:

• Ease of Installation: One of the main benefits of water pumps is how easily people can install them. Most people find installing them to be uncomplicated and do not need special skills or tools.
• Efficiency and Versatility: Water pumps are well-documented to perform efficiently in a variety of applications. Whether used in the home, agriculture, or an industrial application, water pumps provide versatility through varying degrees to address so many different needs.
• Durability: With manual pumps, one of the major points of durability is they are built to last in tough conditions and are constructed for durability over many years, and with ample use, to serve their intended purpose.
• Cost-Effectiveness and Longevity: Choosing a water pump, and especially a manual version, is often an affordable and long-lasting investment. Most often, the depreciation value and service life are lower than the cost of purchasing the pump.
• Price Point of Hand Pumps: In particular, hand pumps can be very affordable because their low price makes them affordable to many users and can even be purchased in countries with lower income.
• Simplicity: Manual water pump designs are intentionally simple, which results in ease of use; including functions related to reliability and ease of maintenance.
• Not Dependent on Power: One of the tangible benefits of a pump is that it completely operates independently of electricity or an outside power source. This is particularly valuable for remote locations or areas that are off-grid and simply may not have power.

FAQs.