Can You Use Well Water When the Power Is Out? (Explained)

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You can use well water when the power is out. There are lots of options you can choose from. For instance, a sleeve bucket, a hand pump, a generator, a wind-powered pump, and a solar pump. With any of these, you can get one that matches your preferences.

yellow petrol portable generator on wheels, close-up, alternator

Do Wells Use Electricity?

Wells does use electricity. Some residences draw their water from the wells and they use the electromechanical system to enable it to flow into the house. It, therefore, has a pump, and even though the pumps are different types, it all depends on how deep your well is.

They also have one common feature which is using electricity to function. This implies that residences with pumps rely on power to aid in the supply of water. And thus, if there isn’t electricity, you will not have water since your pump will stop working.

Moreover, you will not only lack water to drink, but you’ll also not have any you will use to do your laundry, cooking, and many more.

So, the only way to do away with this kind of situation is to consider having other alternative equipment that can help you in case of a power outage.

You can even opt for a large generator to help with the supply. Besides, a manual pump can also be of help. If you have a deep well, its casing is likely 4 inches.

Apart from the water, the things taking space in the casing are power plus the hose which transmits water above. Hence, there is sufficient room for a manual pump’s suction hose.

In case the well holds 2 inches casing alongside the surface-mounted pump, you will have to pull the function pipe. This will allow you to place a hose for your manual pump inside it.

Can You Use Well Water When the Power Is Out?

You can use your well when the power is out. Consider using other methods that do not involve electricity.

For instance, a hand pump mainly suits a shallow well of up to 25 feet. Though there are pumps for deep ones which go more than 25 feet.

You can also choose to work with wind or solar-powered pumps among others.

How Can I Use a Well Without Electricity?

You can use a well without electricity by acquiring one of the following equipment:

solar water pump - canva

A Solar Pump

Solar good pumps come in different types and amazing ones can pump from a variety of depths, six hundred inches or more.

If you have a shallow well and need to transmit water from the storage tank to the house, you can use a surface pump. On the other hand, if it’s a deeper one, you should go for the submersible solar pump.

It can push water from the storage tank over the hill and then gravity helps take the water into your house. This two-pronged technique is beneficial as you don’t fully depend on your solar pump. You can get a steady flow of water into your house despite issues to do with electricity or the weather.

Decent pumps can operate off the batteries and sunlight. This makes them a good choice for getting water during severe weather conditions and also when there is no power.

Sleeve bucket

If you don’t have enough cash to buy a hand pump or a generator, you can obtain a sleeve bucket. This is a good bucket, it is a slender metal or plastic sleeve. Hence, you can lower it down a modern well and on a cord’s length.

This kind of bucket does have a foot valve underneath and therefore letting it get filled with water and retain it when held up.

Ensure you have a cord that can get to the water level and clasp the free end at the top of your well. This helps prevent you from losing your line or sleeve bucket down the well.

Moreover, if you need to improvise the bucket, consider using a steel pipe with a length of two feet, a cap at a single end, and the cord tied to another. This much steel weighs sufficiently and can submerge in water. However, a slender container is likely to float over your well’s water.

Old water pump

Hand Pump

Using a hand pump is one of the easiest ways to draw water from your well when the power is out. Besides, it’s possible to have hand pumps alongside the electrical submersible ones. This makes it simple to switch from one to another.

These types of pumps are certainly useful in shallow wells. They can take water from twenty-five inches deep well or even less. And you won’t experience any extreme muscle fatigue.

If you need to draw water from 30 inches, you will need additional muscle power. This is the reason for some deep hand pumps being operated through a foot valve or connected to a windmill. You can easily install a shallow hand pump and it’s also quite economical.

However, it’s also worth spending extra bucks for a high-quality pump since it will help you when you have no alternative. Helpful hand pumps for deep wells do have a lifetime warranty. Furthermore, they need no priming and little maintenance.

This signifies you can erect them and even forget, not unless there is an emergency. One thing I love about this pump is that it needs nothing more than muscle power for it to work as required. With that said, you will have access to the water in all kinds of weather changes.

And in case you go for a solar pump, you will rely on the sun and for a generator, you’ll need fuel. This pump requires nothing and this makes it a more credible and sustainable technique.

A Generator

With the correct size of the generator, you can use your pump if there is no power. Take note that before you go shopping for a generator for the pump, you should be aware of the number of volts it works with. It can be either a hundred and ten or two hundred and twenty volts.

A majority of portable generators can only give 110 volts. Though many submersible pumps operate on 220 volts. This means you will have to opt for power generators to help supply that kind of power.

old windmill water pump in the field aerial photo

Wind-Powered Pumps

For many years, the wind has been employed as a source of power in farms. A current wind-powered pump is favorable for both deep and shallow wells. It needs slight or no maintenance.

Furthermore, it has a pumping ability of more than one thousand gallons daily. This pump relies on the weather just as a solar pump does. And if you have a wind-powered pump when the weather is calm, it won’t be of help to you.

Still, they can function even with lower wind speeds every day for a whole week. It’s only drawback is, it is an expensive option, and if you can afford it, it’ll be good for you. Its price goes for $2000+. And if you can only afford less than this amount, you will have to seek another alternative.

Marco
Marco
Meet Marco, a lifelong tinkerer and DIY enthusiast, developed a passion for plumbing after fixing a leaky faucet in his own home. Years later, he turned that passion into a thriving business, Amarco Plumbing, where he shares his knowledge and expertise with the community.