In this episode of Morgs Brew, we will be modifying the Ultimate DIY Ram Pump pressure system. The ram pump journey started as a simple video my dad shared with me as a way to easily get water to some old trees. This idea evolved into something much bigger and the journey we have shared has been well worth any grey hairs earned.
In this episode, I detail the valve fails I have gone through in my DIY ram pump. I have tried several versions and multiple sites using an array of valves along the way. To skip through to a specific section, click on the time codes below or enjoy the edited and join in on the journey
In this video, I will go through my DIY ram pump setup which I have been working on since 2016 and all the components in my design. I started off playing around with 25 mm bought fittings and PVC but now operate a complete DIY Ram Pump. It took me about a month to get the first version working and I had very little help in troubleshooting various issues around optimization. I have come a long way since those first attempts and now we operate a complete DIY system that has much better reliability. I have been helped along the way in the fabrication of this Ram Pump by the guys at MacQuip (https://www.macquip.co.za/).
Last year I set out to build a Ram Pump on my farm. I had never seen one working (except my sister's high school science project model) and there were no people in the area who could help me. I trawled YouTube for help and found various iterations of pumps which allowed me to make mine. However, I often found the videos lacked some of the critical information about the pump.
After fighting with brass valve and discovering the wear gives them a life span of only 2-3 months I decided to have a crack at making my own. The swing check has been replaced with a 4" set of fittings with almost 1kg of lead weight inside and a piece of car tire as a seal. The spring check brass valve to the pressure tank was shearing the bottom guide and after replacing it 3 times I have used a similar approach to making one. Inside is the brass valve seal drilled out and a piece of S/S thread bar put in its place. I welded a guide inside the connection only on one side and used a smaller piece of car tire for its seal. The drive head is at 6.5m and it charges to 9.2 bars.
This is a quick and dirty introduction to the Ram Pump site and its 'current' components. The journey of a Ram Pump has been tough but I finally have something working the way I had hoped it would. It has been an expensive learning curve as no two sites are identical and the theory is sometimes hard to tweak when understanding and practical experience is limiting. I have loads more clips that are not in a video format yet but could be someday.
This is a quick and dirty introduction to the Ram Pump site and its 'current' components. The journey of a Ram Pump has been tough but I finally have something working the way I had hoped it would. It has been an expensive learning curve as no two sites are identical and the theory is sometimes hard to tweak when understanding and practical experience is limiting. I have loads more clips that are not in a video format yet but could be someday.