Human and animal powered water lifting devices
Practical Action
between 100 to 150 litres. This arrangement can discharge about 130 litres/ min at depths of
up to 9 metres.
The rope and bucket lifter can also be adapted to include two buckets which are raised and
lowered alternately. In this case the pulling animal moves in a circular path and with the help
of central rotating lever, rope and pulley arrangement the buckets move up and down. Each
bucket has a carrying capacity of up to 70 litres. The buckets have a hinged flap at the
bottom, which acts as a valve. Guide rods are provided in the well to control the movement of
the buckets. The buckets are automatically filled and emptied during operation. This device
can lift about 230 litres /min from depths of up to 5 metres.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Simple technology which is inexpensive to build Water Delivery from Human Operated Rope and
and maintain.
Bucket Water Lifter is limited to 15 l/min.
Can be operated at depths of up to 100 m.
Water Delivery from Animal Operated Rope and
Bucket Water Lifter of over 200 l/min for
double bucket system
Animals need to be maintained all year even
when irrigation is not necessary.
Relatively low efficiency for traditional human
and animal operated designs (10-40%)
Shallow-Well Piston Pump
A reciprocating suction pump has a plunger or piston
which moves up and down in a two-valve closed
cylinder. As the plunger moves upward it forces water
out through the outlet valve and at the same time draws
water into the cylinder through the inlet valve. Moving
the plunger down brings it back to its starting position.
The reciprocating suction pump has the pump cylinder
situated above ground or near the surface. Pulling up
the plunger lowers the atmospheric pressure in the
cylinder (creates suction) causing the atmospheric
pressure outside the cylinder to push the water
upwards. The main limitation of this pumping method
is that the atmospheric pressure difference between the
inside and outside of the cylinder is only large enough
to raise water up to a maximum of 7m from the water
table.
A large piston diameter will give water delivery of 24-
Figure 9: Shallow-Well Piston Pump
36 litres/min at a depth of 7 metres. Most designs
have a maximum usage of around 50 people/day, which makes them less appropriate for irrigation
purposes than for household water supply.
Advantages
Relatively simple maintenance (main pump
components positioned above ground)
Large piston diameter gives water delivery of
24-36 litres/min at 7 m depth
Medium to high efficiency (60-85%)
Disadvantages
More expensive than most basic/traditional
irrigation methods.
Limited to wells of less than 7 metres in
depth
Treadle pump
A type of suction pump designed to lift water from a depth of 7 metres or less. The treadle
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