How To Get Water From A Well Without Electricity
Water is an essential part of life, and we have become accustomed to having it available on demand. But what if the power went out? Where would you be without water?
What would you do when your water well ran dry because there was no electricity to run its pump or some other reason that left your family without access to clean drinking water?
In this article, you will learn how to get water from a well without electricity.
4 Ways to Get Water From Your Well In a Power Outage
1. Hand Operated Pumps
Hand-operated water pumps are still in use today and can work wonders on wells less than 200 feet deep. Certain brands advertise that their hand pump will get you the cleanest, freshest water even if it is 250ft or more down a well!
If you have a hand-operated pump, you can use it to get water from your well in the event of an outage. It may take some practice, but hand-operated pumps are fairly straightforward machines that will allow you to access water until power is restored or the crisis has passed.
These hand pumps are easy to use as long as you have enough strength and can withstand the hand cramps that come with pumping them! Please keep in mind that hand-operated water pumps need a hand crank, not an electrical one.
Hand-powered water pumps are great for any household especially if there is no electricity on hand or if the power isn’t coming back on anytime soon. These hand pumps could be a lifesaver in an emergency situation where you need water quickly!
In most cases, hand pumps can be purchased for under $100.00. There is one at my local hardware store that retails for nearly $200.00 but it only requires 18 strokes per gallon as opposed to hand pumps that require 80-100 strokes per gallon.
So take into consideration the depth of your well and the number of pumps or strokes that it takes to pump each gallon of water from the well.
It is a good idea to consider installing a permanent hand-operated pump to your well for this type of situation. Affordable permanent hand pumps can be found on Amazon.
Our recommendation for a permanent hand-operated pump is the Simmons 1160/PM500 No.2 Pitcher Pump.
2. Solar Powered Water Pumps
If you’re in a power outage, one of the best ways to get water is by hand pumping it out of your well. Solar-powered water pumps are a great option for this. They consist of a water pump that is powered by a solar panel so that you can pump water faster and more efficiently than using hand pumps.
Solar-powered water pumps are also better suited for deeper wells because solar-powered water pumps can be designed to go as deep as 300 feet while hand pumps are only really suited for a maximum of 100 feet.
This solar-powered water pump can be installed in minutes without the need for power, a water line, or even electricity.
If you have a way to store your solar power then solar power works when you need it to. This will involve a power inverter and a solar battery bank. This means that the solar panel will provide energy even on cloudy days and at night so that you’ll always have access to clean drinking water.
If you do not have this type of setup, you can only use the solar-powered water pump during the daytime with optimal solar exposure.
Our recommendation is the ECO-WORTHY Solar Well Pump Kit on Amazon.
3. Wind-Powered Water Pumps
Wind-powered pumps run when there is a wind which means they can provide near-constant access to fresh drinking water even during long stretches of cloudy weather or overcast skies. Because solar water pumps are solar-powered, they can run only when it’s sunny and the sun is up which means solar-powered water pumps must be used in conjunction with a power inverter and battery bank if you want 24/7 access to water from your well.
There are a few options for storing or sourcing water during a power outage. One option is to use wind power, as it can pump enough water without electricity to be practical in most areas. Another option is to buy an Aermotor Windmill from the company which has made them since 1888. These mills can provide independence from resource-intensive methods of getting water.
Because the water comes directly from a well and you’re drawing it out of your well as opposed to a lake or stream, there is no need for filtration unless you have contaminated water in your well. Filters are most useful if you’re using the output of wind power systems on lakes and streams but wind power works very well for pumping water out of wells.
Keep in mind that a windmill can’t run without wind which might leave you without water on calm days.
4. Well Bucket
A fourth method is to make a well bucket, they are simple and inexpensive to make. You can use a bucket with a rope tied to it and a pulley or bucket hoist attached. You have to go down the well bucket first, then you pull up the bucket of water.
The bucket will be heavy when it is full of water so getting out of the bucket and lifting the bucket high enough for it to release over your head is a challenge.
Post-Hurricane Irene, we spent two nights without power and one of those nights we boiled water on our wood stove for bathing then hauled it back up to the bathroom bucket by bucket.
During the storm we were able to use a generator for power but once that stopped there was no electricity in our area until after the fourth day.
On night three, I thought I was really clever and dug out an old bucket ladder from my previous well bucket so we would have something to haul water with this time around, but of course, the bucket was so corroded I couldn’t even get it up and down.
We learned some valuable lessons over the course of those few days. The most important was to always be prepared.
Can I get water from my well if the power goes out?
In the event your power going out, you will be able to get the remaining water out of your well storage tank. Your well pump will not work without power which means you will not be able to pump any additional water into your well storage tank. Once the power is restored you will be able to get fresh water again.
How Long Will A Well Work Without Power?
In the event of a power outage, your well will only work as long as there is water in the water storage tank. You can continue to use the water for as long as it lasts but the well pump will not be able to work without power so when the water runs out, you will not be able to get more water without a backup solution to pump water out of the well. In most cases under regular water use, your well will be empty within a day.
How do you pull water out of a well?
There are several ways to pull water out of a well depending on the type of well you are using. The old style of wells uses a rope and bucket system to bring water up out of the well whereas new wells use pumps to pull the water out of the well. Pumps can be operated by electricity, supplied generator, windmill, or even by hand with the right pump.
In Conclusion
Having ways to get water from your well in power outages is essential if you live in an area where there may be long power outages as they can last days or weeks before power is restored to an area.
Having a plan in place to get water from your well is an absolute must and I hope that this article has given you something to think about.
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