Folk Hydraulic Ram Pump

This site is under construction. My plan is to share what I have learned about the amazing ram pump. So far I've uploaded some pics and videos. From here I will continue to detail the process we have gone through over the past 8 years in the installation, modifications and operation of our Folk Ram Pump.


Introduction:
Use the energy of flowing water to move water just about anywhere. We have harnessed a spring on our property and have used a ram pump to pump a continuous flow of water between 1.5 - 4.5 gpm up a rise of over 200 ft with nearly 1000 LnFt of run (in 200psi 1" poly pipe). Amazing!! And it's been running now for over six years with virtually no problems. Our biggest issue has been wanting to continually improve the overall system.











A blog post discussing the modifications made to the original design of this pump.

http://rob-bloger.blogspot.com/2008/08/hacking-our-ram-pump.html
You can check it out for now.








Some of our best modification:

Our newest (summer 09) modification. First you'll notice the green 3" feed line (flex irrigation pipe) coming from the collection basin. This feeds the self-cleaning filter (a simple box with a screen for the best explanation see the video). This is sitting on top of one of our earlier improvements. Another Rubbermaid trash can. It is used to provide a back shock cushion between the drive line and the collection basin. It has been flexing with each pulse now for 4 yrs. The pulsating of this tank is what allows the self-cleaning filter to work. With each pulse in flows back through the screen and washes away any collected debris. Again, see the video.













Slice of tire sidewall makes the best washer for the constant bouncing of the flapper valve. Can't believe it took me nearly five years of cutting out pieces of various types of rubber gasket to figure this one out. Duhhh!
Haven't had to replace this one for several months now, and it's not showing any signs of wear.