Simple Water Pump?

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Here is an innovative, simple water pump solution for sustainable living folks.

Recorded in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, Mike Adams demonstrates the Brumby Pump (http://www.brumbypumps.com/) ... an amazing water pump that has no moving parts and uses nothing but compressed air to pump enormous quantities of water out of wells.

This video shows Adams using a low-cost 2-horsepower air compressor running on a common 110-volt electrical line to pump startling quantities of water from a 20-meter well.  The water is used to irrigate garden crops, many of which are donated to low-income families in the local community.

Adams chose the Brumby Pump due to the high cost of purchasing traditional electric well pumps as well as the mechanical simplicity of compressed air.

"I wanted a simple, low-cost pump that would last at least ten years without needing repairs or maintenance," Adams said. "Traditional electric pumps simply can't achieve that, and it's difficult to find parts for them in rural Ecuador."

The video shows Adams connecting the air hose to the pump, lowering it into the well, turning it on and producing enormous flows of water and air out of the return hose. In his set up, this water is pumped to a surface holding take, from which a second pump pushes the water through irrigation sprinklers.

"This configuration is incredibly easy to maintain because there are no motors or moving parts down in the well," Adams explained.

"Everything is right on the surface, where it's easy to reach and easy to maintain." Adams also says the air compressor could easily be driven by solar power, making this irrigation solution suitable for remote areas in developing countries.

Adams has no financial stake in the Brumby Pump, nor do I, and he purchased it from the manufacturer in Australia just like any other customer.