This is a spiral water pump. With an operation as simple as that of a waterwheel, it is capable of extracting water from the river and filling a pool without the need for any electric pump.
source.image: Milan Vitéz
The water pump wheel will lift water 2 to 8 times higher than the diameter of the wheel. Basically, the more loops you have in the wheel the higher and farther you can ‘pump’ the water. However, the more loops in the wheel makes the wheel heaver and harder to turn, so one needs a larger or faster running creek to do the work.
With its low torque requirements, the pump is particularly suited to be mounted on and driven by a paddle wheel in a current of two feet per second or greater. This easily built, low maintenance spiral pump can be used to provide water without the need for fuel wherever there is a flowing stream or river.
Advertisement
First invented in 1746, has been recreated and tested at Windfarm Museum using lightweight and inexpensive modern materials. A 6 foot diameter wheel with 160 feet of 1-1/4 inch inside diameter flexible polyethylene pipe is able to pump 3,900 gallons of water per day to a 40 foot head with a peripheral speed of 3 feet per second.
