The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1920-01-16
Various Kinds of Wells.

Wells are spoken of as shallow or deep, dug,
bored, driven, or drilled, and in the case Of tubu-
lar wells, as nonhowing, flowing, CT artesian.
Persons interested in the various types Of wells
and their construction, advantages, disadvantages,
etc, will find the subject treated in Farmers Bull
letin No. 941.
Wherever possible, the farmhouse should be
fitted with some sort Of running water system,
simple or elaborate according to the investment
the owner is able to make. For such systems
water may be raised by natural flow, hydraulic
rams, pumps, air lifts, or air-displacement pumps.
Hydraulic rams are the most economical water
lifting devices. Since rams Of various sizes and
makes perform differently, it usually is necessary
to accept che mechanical details determined by
the manufacturer. The minimum, never more
than the average, flow Of the spring should de-
termine the size of the ram. Otherwise, the one
selected may be too large for the dry-weather
flow. Small flows may be determined by noting
the time required to fill a vessel of known ca
pacty. Larger flows may be determined by weir
measurements.
When the water supply is far from the ram
site, it is usual TO pipe the flow to an open tank
or reservoir located so as to secure the desired
length and fall of drive pipe. Sometimes the
flow of a spring is too small to actuate a ram that
is sufficient for domestic requirements. In such
instances and where a nearby brook can be
damned to obtain the necessary power head, the
recoil of the ram may be employed to admit the
LII olIi Will " pbibpNN w "a "a Va AS
brook water to the pipe drive.
Motion of water produces friction, which IN
creases with the length and rOughnesS Of the
pipe and the rapidity of the waters movement.
Hence, wherever much water Is to be delivered
through a long pipe the power or head necessary
to overcome friction should be determined. The
bulletin mentioned before FARMERS Bulletin No.
941) contains a table which shows the friction
head that is. the number Of feet to be added to
the vertical height for each 100 feet of iron pipe
(not new to overcome friction when ~discharg-
ing given quantities of water.
Selection Of Pump.
In the selection Of a pump one should derer-
mine the kind of well to be used, its inside d.
ameter, depth to the bottom, the depth cased,
depth to the water level, both when the pump Is
at rest and IN operation, and the maximum
Weld. The maximum quantity Of water required
per day should be calculated also. One should
also determine the distance from the we'll to the
proposed location Of the pump and the vertical
height between these points; likewise the dis
lance from the pump to the reservoir or tank and
the vertical height between these points. The
kind Of power to be employed should be settled
upon also-hand power, windmill, gasoline Oc oil
engines, or electric mOtors-and the method of
transmitting the power.
Farm pumps usually. are Of the suction. lift.
force, deep-well type or some combination of
these. Suction and lift pumps do not raise wa
ter above the pump nor discharge it under press
ure. Suction pumps require the cylinder TO be
above the water level Of the supply. If a per-
feet vacuum could be created within the cylinder
water could be raised vertically by suction $3.50
feet at sea level. However, the actual suction
lift is usually not more than twothirds of the
theoretical lift. Methods of making tight joints
are described in the bulletin referred to.
Horizontal suction pipes may extend long dis
tances, providing the friction loss plus the ver-
tical height from the water level to pump valve
does not exceed the limiting suction lift. Where