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Ram Operating Requirements

Operating requirements of the Fleming Hydro-Ram are few and simple, but essential and must be known.
  1. Amount of water needed per day.
  2. Amount of flow from the source.
  3. Fall or vertical drop from a water source to the ram installation.
  4. Lift or vertical height to discharge.
  5. Distance from the water source to the ram installation.
  6. Distance water has to be delivered.

A. HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU NEED?

The following table lists amounts of water needed per day for a variety of home and farm uses. Figures represent requirements for MAXIMUM consumption during hot summer weather.
AVERAGE WATER REQUIREMENTS FOR GENERAL SERVICE AROUND THE HOME AND FARM
Each person per day, for all purposes 50 gal.
Each horse, dry cow or beef animal 12 gal.
Each Milking cow 35 gal.
Each hog per day 4 gal.
Each sheep per day 2 gal.
Each 100 chickens per day 4 gal.
AVERAGE AMOUNT OF WATER REQUIRED BY VARIOUS HOME AND YARD FIXTURES
Drinking fountain, continously flowing 50 to 100 gal. per day.
Each shower bath Up to 60 gal.
To fill bathtub 30 gal.
To flush toilet 6 gal.
To fill lavatory 2 gal.
Dish Washing Machine - per load 3 gal.
Automatic Washer - per load Up to 50 gal.

B. DETERMINING AMOUNT OF FLOW

Amount of flow your source offers can be measured fairly accurately by allowing water to run into a bucket of known volume (e.g. a five-gallon bucket) while timing the rate of fill accurately to the nearest second. It may be necessary to build a small dam in the creek or spring to make it easier to catch water to fill the bucket. Keep in mind the rate of flow from the source may be less during drier times of the year.

A one-inch Fleming Hydro-Ram needs a flow of 2-3 gallons per minute, while a two-inch Fleming Hydro-Ram requires 3-5 gallons per minute.

C. DETERMINING VERTICAL FALL

Having an adequate fall for the water from the source to the ram site is a very critical requirement. One of the easiest methods for calculating fall is to use a carpenter\'s level fastened securely to the top of a stick. (See diagram)


Starting at a proposed ram installation site, place the stick and level on the ground and observe where the line of sight hits the ground in front. Continue in this manner (remember to keep the device level at all times) until you reach the level of the water source. Multiply the height of the stick by the number of times it was moved from the ram site to water source to obtain total water fall.

 

D. DETERMINING VERTICAL LIFT

Vertical lift - total height to which water must be pumped from the ram site - can be determined by the same method used to calculate vertical fall.

It has been determined that under certain conditions the Fleming Hydro-Ram can pump water about ten times higher than the total fall of the water source.

For example, if the source has a fall of at least 5 feet, and there is adequate water flow to run the pump, the Fleming Hydro-Ram should lift a minimum volume of water at least 50 feet.

E. & F. DETERMINING HORIZONTAL DISTANCES

Horizontal distances - lengths of drive and delivery pipe - may be determined by first calculating the average length of one normal step. This can be done by dividing into 100 the number of steps you take in walking 100 feet. The result is an average distance in feet per step. Multiply this figure by the steps taken between ram and source as well as ram and delivery point to estimate lengths of pipe needed for the system.


With a rapidly falling stream...or from a dam...it may be possible to get a good "fall" from the source to the pump with only a minimal pipe run. But in every case there must be a length of hard rigid pipe so as to create a hammering effect.