Old-fashioned water pump

General Questions
#1

The house I’m buyung was built in 1934. There’s a concrete basin sitting up on a tree stump. Rectangular in cross-section, its top and back and top and bottom form right angles, while its front tapers down to a narrower bottom. It’s full of dirt and there are plants growing in it.

Unnoticed by my friend, who has lived there for two years, there is a small concrete square next to the tree stump. I noticed it when I was up there in September. It has a metal pipe about 12mm in diameter set into the middle of it, and which is flush with the concrete pad. I’m guessing that it’s a well, and that there used to be a pump there. (This would make sense, considering the age ot the house.)

If it is indeed an old well, and if there is water down there, I thought it would be neat to get one of those old-fashioned water pumps. Are they still made? If so, where do you get them?

#2

Google “pitcher pump” and you will probably get more information than you really want. Yes, they are still made and are available from several sources.

#3

Thanks, Kreekurmudgeon. Is there anothre name for the long ones? The “pitcher pumps” I looked at looked like “counter top” size. Do you know what the ones that are about a meter high are called?

#4

http://www.deanbennett.com/handpumps.htm

it’s a start

#5

You might consider testing the water. If it’s a deep well, chances are the water is good. If it’s a shallow well, it might carry contaminents. Plus, have it tested, if you are wanting to use it for domestic water, to see if you can pump enought gpm for your household.

#6

The pumps you are refering to aredeep well pumps for pumping past about 30 feet.

#7

Thanks, Extraneous. That’s a good start. And herman_and_bill, that looks like a good term for them.

Definitely. First, I’ll need to see if there’s water down there at all. The house is up a hill; maybe about 50 feet ASL. The back yard has a small stream that runs through it, although it’s often dry in the summer. Down the hill his Drayton Harbor, which is a broad mudflat when the tide is out. Being so close to the ocean, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the water (if any) were brackish. The house is served by the town supply, so it wouldn’t be for domestic use. I just thought it would be neat to have a functioning pump since the well seems to be there. If the water is potable, then that’s a bonus.