The Question and Answer Board

[Bob Zumbrunnen]

Ram water pumps are definitely fascinating. However, they're not a good solution for producing electricity because what you gain in head height, you lose (and then some -- a LOT) in volume. But if all you're trying to do is raise a small amount of water and don't care how much water is "wasted" in doing so, ram pumps can't be beat. I've toyed with the idea of putting them at the big lake someday to trickle water into the ponds that're a good 50 feet or so uphill from it.

There was somewhere in Missouri (I think Warrensburg) where we once rode the train to and back and at the station they had lots of old locomotives (I was in gearhead heaven!) and also had a functioning ram pump.

I think my family was happier thinking of it as "magic" prior to my explaining how/why it worked.