I just got looking around for a old-fashioned type piston pump for well-water. Used to be very common when hooked to springs and shallow wells. I've removed and thrown out many over the years. Homart (Sears), Southern, Myers, Beatty, National, Mcdougall, Otaco, Duro, GSW, Royal, Fairbanks-Morse, etc.
Like many types of old-technology, some people have discovered these pumps are much more durable than many new types. Granted, they are low flow, low suction, etc. But, in some apps. they work very well.
Seems they've gotten very popular in off-grid homes using solar power. Easy to hook a 1/4 horse, 12 volt DC motor to. Also very easy to maintain - and fix - like many old tractors are.
Very tolerant also to grit in the water. When they goe bad ,usually all they need is a set of $3 leather piston-cups.
Anyway, ends up now I want one - and am kind of ticked off at myself about all I've scrapped over the years. Just found out that new pumps in the USA are over $1000 and sometimes over $2000.
So, now I'm looking for old salvaged pumps I can fix up - if cheap. Got lucky and found one in my barn, under a pile of old tractor parts. Brand is "Eveready" sold by Sears in the 1950s. Just found a place in Canada that carries all the repair parts and have them on order.
Anybody have any old pumps in their barns they want to sell cheap? I'd like to find a few that still have good parts availability - mostly the brand names I mentioned above.
By the way, I went through something similar a few years ago trying to find a telephone that would work in an unheated barn at below-zero temps. Modern phones with gell-pad buttons freeze-up and will not work. So, I called several places to research. Found out that now . . . "heavy duty" phones are used for cold temps e.g. public phone booths and unheated buildings. These "HD" phones are very expensive and use contact-button switches instead of gell. I then found out that all the first consumer-type push-button phones also used the same. They "click" when you push on a button. After some searching, I found two early pushbutton "Princess" phones at yard-sales for $2 each. Work great and $2 is cheap for what is now a "heavy duty" severe-service phone in today's market.
And on a third note- found out something similar with cheap AC "silent" wall switches that cost around fifty cents each. They will NOT work on DC current. So, if you need what they now call a "heavy duty" DC rated wall switch - guess what? You pay $4-$5 for an old-fashioned switch that "clicks" when you use it. Another item I've scrapped for years.
Even just discovered the same with household-type AC circuit breakers. The only ones that were rated more HD for DC use - were Square D type "QO." These are normally stocked at Home Depot but seem to have been just discontinued.
Like many types of old-technology, some people have discovered these pumps are much more durable than many new types. Granted, they are low flow, low suction, etc. But, in some apps. they work very well.
Seems they've gotten very popular in off-grid homes using solar power. Easy to hook a 1/4 horse, 12 volt DC motor to. Also very easy to maintain - and fix - like many old tractors are.
Very tolerant also to grit in the water. When they goe bad ,usually all they need is a set of $3 leather piston-cups.
Anyway, ends up now I want one - and am kind of ticked off at myself about all I've scrapped over the years. Just found out that new pumps in the USA are over $1000 and sometimes over $2000.
So, now I'm looking for old salvaged pumps I can fix up - if cheap. Got lucky and found one in my barn, under a pile of old tractor parts. Brand is "Eveready" sold by Sears in the 1950s. Just found a place in Canada that carries all the repair parts and have them on order.
Anybody have any old pumps in their barns they want to sell cheap? I'd like to find a few that still have good parts availability - mostly the brand names I mentioned above.
By the way, I went through something similar a few years ago trying to find a telephone that would work in an unheated barn at below-zero temps. Modern phones with gell-pad buttons freeze-up and will not work. So, I called several places to research. Found out that now . . . "heavy duty" phones are used for cold temps e.g. public phone booths and unheated buildings. These "HD" phones are very expensive and use contact-button switches instead of gell. I then found out that all the first consumer-type push-button phones also used the same. They "click" when you push on a button. After some searching, I found two early pushbutton "Princess" phones at yard-sales for $2 each. Work great and $2 is cheap for what is now a "heavy duty" severe-service phone in today's market.
And on a third note- found out something similar with cheap AC "silent" wall switches that cost around fifty cents each. They will NOT work on DC current. So, if you need what they now call a "heavy duty" DC rated wall switch - guess what? You pay $4-$5 for an old-fashioned switch that "clicks" when you use it. Another item I've scrapped for years.
Even just discovered the same with household-type AC circuit breakers. The only ones that were rated more HD for DC use - were Square D type "QO." These are normally stocked at Home Depot but seem to have been just discontinued.
