Using free energy to keep the water flowing

"My partner and I moved to a small farm from New Zealand’s big smoke, Auckland, four years ago. Since then, we’ve come to understand the farmer’s plight – doing more with less. One such venture was constructing a waterwheel and piston pump to replace the worn-out petrol-powered pump down by the river, which supplied water to our stock tanks. We needed to pump approximately 2000 litres per day, 20 metres high.

"I first considered a hydraulic ram pump or a Wirtz wheel, but the calculations seemed dubious for our setup. So, I set out to craft a simple waterwheel-driven piston pump, with only an instinct for how such a thing might function. Surprisingly, the hare-brained prototype worked. The waterwheel is comprised of wood with metal fins. An iron wheel at the end of the axle drives a simple Scotch yoke mechanism, which pushes the piston. I didn’t want to buy expensive check valves for the pump, so I crafted my own out of rubber bouncy balls and PVC couplings. Works like a charm!

Thanks for that Nick. For more about how they're working with the New Zealand land, take a look at Nick's blog: https://backtotheland.co.nz/