water pumping windmill

[EarthMother]

We are in Missouri. I don't see windmills for stock watertanks here like I knew in Oklahoma and Texas. I know the first good aquafier is at 200 ft. Will an old style windmill pull water successfully from a depth of 200 feet? Has anyone installed one?

[walls0stone]

we are seeing many of them in Pa. I contacted the Arrowmoater...they have some very smart sales reps.

[bookwormom]

that is an interesting question. Our well is 175' and we have to think of a way to get water without power from the grid.

[EarthMother]

Yes, sometimes it is good to be old and to have been raised poor. Then if you still have a mind it can help you out with memories of long ago. Okay, mybe not so-o-o old. ::)

[AlchemyAcres]

We are in Missouri. I don't see windmills for stock watertanks here like I knew in Oklahoma and Texas. I know the first good aquafier is at 200 ft. Will an old style windmill pull water successfully from a depth of 200 feet? Has anyone installed one?

How much water do you need to pump?
Mechanical windmills are often not the most cost effective way to pump water.

~Martin

[EarthMother]

Hey Martin, I just need to bring up water for some livestock. I also want back-up in case we ever do have to live w/o power. our reg. well has an eletric pump and is three hundred ft. deep. The guy who drilled it said since we have a big family he didn't think there was fast enough flow at 200' so went on to 300. What are the alternatives? I'm not againt the idea of a rope and bail, as long as I'm not the one pulling on the working end of the rope. :D

[ChoochCharlie]

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ainsworth90.html

Good stuff

[EarthMother]

Thanks Charlie. I had read that article when I first started this quest. However at the time I didn't know enough about a windmill to "get" a lot of the info. I appreciate you sending me back to it. Now I understand more and may get to the point to where I can make an informed decision. ;)

[AlchemyAcres]

The biggest inconvenience is probably going to be pulling you current pump in order to make room for another pump or bail (not a fun job with a pump that deep)
You may be able to slide a small bail down the well beside the delivery pipe.
Maybe a generator would serve you best in an emergency.
You could continue to use your current pump.
It's likely the most cost effective and easiest solution.

~Martin

[EarthMother]

we are looking to have a seperate well dug if possible. One around the area we expect to have the sheep we are planning on getting in another month. We are planning on a field rotation system as has been suggested here to keep parasites to a minimum. We have 6-8 acres to do this with. about 1/2 is rocks and weeds. The other 1/2 is a nice meadow. This is why we want a windmill. The well will be out where there is no electric power.

[AlchemyAcres]

With a new mechanical mill you're looking at a minimum of $5,000 plus labor.
A few sheep won't require a lot of water.
If I were you I'd look into a DC Nemo pump and a solar panel.

http://www.nemosolar.com/dcsubmersiblepumps/


~Martin

[kawalekm]

Hi EM
We have a deep well at 475' and we use a gas generator to make the 240V power required to run our well. If you want to install a holding tank like we have, you can walk over to the well to pump when low, then drain the holding tank while the generator's off.

Alternatively, there are solar systems in the 200 watt range that can pump about 500-700 gallons per day from that depth. Check out
www.etaengineering.com/waterpumping/well_kits.shtml
www.solarwellpumps.com/solar.htm

Both companies describe how much water you can pump from a certain depth, with a certain amount of power.

Like Martin said, the generator will be your cheapest alternative. What I would do is place the holding tank out there with the generator (inside an inclosure) and pump the tank full occasionally. What we do is put a gallon or two of gas in the generator, start it up, start pumping water, and walk away. The generator will shut itself off when it runs out of gas and you can walk back at your leisure to reset everything.
Michael

[EarthMother]

Thanks, Guys. I checked out the 3 sites. The reason I'm leaning toward solar is: what happens if I can't get fuel for a generator? You know shtf.

I went home over the weekend and Brother gave me Dad's recipe for grain alcohol from the great depression, except he forgot how much yeast to use with 30 gal. water, sweetner and fruit or corn. I guess I will need to research that now. Can I run a generator on 190 proof? brother said I would have run it more than once to take out all the water. Thanks for your willingness to help me with info. Mary

[kawalekm]

Hi Mary
Your brother is sort of right, but the number of passes depends on what kind of distilling collumn you have. With a simple copper coil type condenser you'd get about 30% ethanol on your first distillery run, maybe 50% on the second, and 75% on the third. Most hard liquors are distilled this way.

To get high grade fuel ethanol you need what is called a "reflux collumn", which extracts a much greater percentage of water. Once the ethanol is condensed, it is normally run through a dehydrating collumn to remove the last of the water. You can't mix ethanol in gasoline untill you've removed all the water.

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? Get the solar system!

[EarthMother]

I called the man who did our first well. He said with the price of diesel That a complete finished well of 200' would run me about $3500.00. The last one was $1600 for 300' about 5 years ago. He suggested running pipe from our existing well to the field. If I'm going to do that why not just run 500' or so of good hose? I still want a separate well that can be used without power. The solar is looking like the least trouble and most practical. I would still like a windmill sitting in my pasture pumping water into a stock tank. I guess I can dream. Like Daddy always said.. spit in one hand and wish in the other see which gets full fastest.

[bgarrett]

I have my grandfathers Chicago Aermotor windmill from 1930 and welcome any suggestions as to how it could be put to use.
I dont have and dont need a well---I am using a creek for water.
I want to restore the windmill and erect it and watch it spin but thats not enough.
It needs to function and pay its way.
I know its not suitable to make electricity.
Maybe it could operate a crankshaft which operates a pump in the creek?