The pump works by using the energy of a large amount of water falling a small height to lift a small amount of that water to a much greater height. In this way, water from a spring or stream in a valley can be pumped to a village or irrigation scheme on the hillside. Wherever a fall of water can be obtained, the ram pump can be used as a comparatively cheap, simple and reliable means of raising water to considerable heights. The diagram in Fig. 1 shows all the main components of a hydraulic ram pump system.
Water is diverted from a flowing river or taken from intake structure of a spring.
A drive tank is usually built between the ram pump and the intake to insure constant flow of water to the ram pump. The ram pump lifts part of the water coming through the drive pipe to a higher level at the delivery tank. A pump house is built to protect the ram pump and fittings from theft or accidental damage. Although hydraulic ram pumps come in a variety of shapes and sizes, they all have the same basic components as shown in Fig. 2 . The main parts of a ram pump are Hydram body, Waste value snifter valve, delivery valve, air chamber and relief valve.