solar rope pump

A close loop of a rope with attached pistons, equally spaced, is pulled through pipe, which is immersed in water at its lower end. The pistons entering the rising main pipe are transporting the water upwards until it reaches the top parts with the spout through which it can escape. Pulling the rope is done by turning the pulley wheel, placed at the top. The friction between the pulley-wheel (made of a cycle rim) and the rope pulls the pistons through the rising main pipe and lifts the water to the spout. The pulley-wheel is operated by a shaft connected to the motor, which is turned in the required direction. A guide near the bottom of the well makes sure that the rope with the pistons is entering the rising main smoothly and pistons are prevented from being hooked at the edge of the lower end of the riser pipe. Rope Pumps are mostly used for drawing water from dug-wells with depths between 0 to 20 m. However, this pump can also be installed on boreholes (0 to 40 m depth), provided an attachment for leading the rope into the borehole and a smaller guide that fits into the borehole casing is available. The simplicity of this low cost pump makes it possible that the users can understand how it works and are therefore able to maintain and repair it.