Construction plans for a hydraulic ram pump

Realization of a hydraulic ram (experimental but perfectly functional) by theUniversity of Orleans

A hydraulic ram is a pump that uses the energy of the water to lift a certain amount of water much higher than the height of the original stream.

It is a self-powered pump that pumps approximately 30% of the water that passes through it "free".

hydraulic ram scheme

assembly diagram, click to enlarge

The principle is simple and a ram is easily achievable through commercial plumbing parts.

More: hydraulic ram, the ecological pumping

Here is the presentation of a ram test bench produced by a professor from the University of Orleans. You can chat with him on our forum devoted to the manufacture of a hydraulic ram.

Overview and performance

A tank with a capacity of 10 liters is placed at the outlet of the lift column (5.20 m).

The measured time to fill the tank is 6 minutes, this measure does not take into account the system boot time.

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results:

- Volume remaining in the "drop" tank: 72 liters
- Volume recovered 10 liters
- Lost volume 35 liters
- Efficiency: 10/35 = 28%

For an operating time of 1 100 liters time we recovered ...

hydraulic ram ball

hydraulic ram tank

Details on the implementation of the valve and the ram

Only one piece is to modify the brass strainer. We add a threaded rod with a dual function: guide to the oscillation of the valve and adjustment of the automatic reopening time of the valve according to the mass that is applied to it (80 grams in the assembly presented here). This mass will obviously be specific to each assembly (pressure / flow, etc.)

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parts of a hydraulic ram
Parts of a ram

realization of the valve
Realization of the ram valve: a slightly modified brass strainer.

Photos general assembly

hydraulic ram operation
assembled hydraulic ram and running

More:
- Presentation of the hydraulic ram principle
- Video of a ram in operation
- Follow-up of the study and realization of a hydraulic ram on forums

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