Treadle pumps
Practical Action
Main Highlights
• High water output
• Easy to operate
• Affordable
• Appropriate and attractive to smallholders
• Zero fuel cost for operation
• Can be installed locally
• One year warranty
Suitability and Cost for Installation
a) Recommended depth of pumping: up to 22 ft
(exceptionally up to 25 ft)
b) Water Discharge: 0.8 - 1.0 litres per second
(depends on the depth of water and power of the
operator)
c) Irrigable Land by one pump: 2000-3000m2
(depends on soil type and aquifer type)
d) Size of the tube well: 1.5 Inch
e) Cost of Installation under sludger drilling at a
depth of 40 ft
• Pump head: $9
• Pipe & Filter: $20
• Installer’s Service fee: $ 8
• Local materials / labour: $ 6
Total: $43
Figure 5: The piston design.
f) Operation and Maintenance cost: $ 0.8 per year.
Technical Components
The completely installed treadle pump has essentially three
parts.
a) Pump head with Piston set
b) Superstructure and
c) Tube-well pipe with filters
The pump head consists of a twin barrel connected by a
junction box in one end. The barrels are made of a 16BG,
16 Imperial Gauge (1.63mm) or
equivalent mild steel sheet metal. A
check valve is housed at the bottom of
the cylinder. The piston set is made of
10mm diameter mild steel rod which
has two round discs at one end kept
10mm apart by a PVC bucket washer
which is housed between the discs.
The other end of the rod is connected
with the treadle.
Figure 6: The fabricated cylinder.
The superstructure is erected by using
bamboo or wooden poles. It consists of
two horizontal pedals and two vertical
poles as shown in the picture. A dwarf
pole (Guide) is installed between the
pedals to prevent the collision of
pedals. For tubewell the most are most
Figure 7: Farmers, from Mainhiya Village Development
Committee, installing a treadle pump for irrigation. Photo:
Practical Action Nepal / Matrika Sharma.
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