SETTING A BAKER HAND PUMP ON A WELL WITH A CYLINDER IN THE WELL BELOW THE HAND PUMP

The Baker hand pump has 3 stroke length settings. The 5" stroke which allows you to lift water from a deeper depth, but gives you the least amount of water per stroke. The 7-1/2" stroke is the most common setting. The 10" stroke can be used for a shallower well to get more water per stroke. There are times that the handle of the hand pump may come up by itself. This is usually because you are using the hand pump with a real deep well and the water weight and the rod weight are causing the plunger to go down to the bottom of the stroke.

Before you install the pump cylinder in the well, Take the top off from the cylinder, using 2 pipe wrenches, one on the cap and one right next to the cap, NEVER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BARREL OF THE CYLINDER. Pull the plunger and rod out of the cylinder and make certain the bottom of the plunger is tight. This is what keeps your leathers on the plunger. This should be hand tight, plus about a quarter turn tighter. Before placing the plunger back into the cylinder, coat the outside of the leathers with Vaseline. This will slow down the swelling of the leathers, and prevent them from becoming anchored in the cylinder, to where you could not pump. Placing the leather cups in the cylinder and into the well, without coating them, allows them to set in the water and swell too tight. Because you are using a hand pump, there will be lots of time where it is just setting.

You will need some tools to do your installation. You will need a Ranchers Pipe Holder #8871 to hold the pipe at the top of the well while installing galvanized steel pipe and steel rod into the well. This securely holds your galvanized steel pipe at the head of the well, so you can get the next pipe and rod connected. You will need a #12JK1 pipe elevator that will go around the 1-1/4" galvanized steel pipe at the top coupling of the pipe, and will be attached to your lifting mechanism, whether a block and tackle, a chain fall, or a winch. We suggest that since your steel pipe and rod are all 21' lengths, that you build a tripod to support your lifting unit above the well. Take 4 pieces of 2" x  21' long galvanized steel pipe. Cut 1 of the pipes into 3 seven foot long pieces, and have the ends rethreaded. Thread the 7' lengths onto the 21' lengths, and you will have three 28' legs. Place a 2" galvanized steel tee on the top of each leg, and run a chain through the tees and padlock it. Now you have a secure tripod that will get you up to where you can lift or lower 21' long pipe and rod into the well. The top of your tripod is a great place to hang your lifting mechanism from. Many of our customers also buy a 5' length of 1-1/4" galvanized steel pipe and a 7/16" x 5' galvanized steel rod, to use for the connection into the bottom of the hand pump, since there is about 2' of recess into the bottom of the hand pump to the rod and pipe connection. It makes it easier than holding the hand pump up on a 21' pipe to set it.

Most hand pumps are installed in wells that have steel casing at the top. This is usually going to be 4", 5", or 6" steel pipe. We offer a sealed pump flange #64MP, 65MP, or 66MP that installs onto the top of your steel casing, and provides a secure point to bolt the hand pump to the well top. If you have PVC pipe at the top of your well, you will not be able to use the sealed pump flange. You will need to build a wood mounting platform around the well top, and bolt your hand pump down to the wood platform. You can seal against the wood with a silicone caulk to prevent surface water from getting into the well and contaminating your drinking water.

Your Baker hand pump will have a 1-1/4" female iron pipe thread in the bottom of the hand pump. This is where you will connect the galvanized pipe that will be going down into the well to your well cylinder pump. Inside the 1-1/4" galvanized steel pipe, will be 7/16" galvanized steel pump rod connected from the plunger rod in the cylinder pump, to the rod connection on the flat bar of the hand pump. You will need a #720716716 7/16" female x female rod coupling for connecting the steel rod to the cylinder plunger rod. Where the flat bar sticks up from the top of the hand pump, you will connect to the rod in the well. The bottom of the flat bar has a round area going through a packing to prevent water from coming out the top of the hand pump. The flat bar has holes to connect the handle to, that determine your stroke length. If you use rod and pipe that are all the same length, it makes it easier to set up the system. You may need to adjust the pipe or the rod length for proper adjustment.

After you get the pipe and rod into the well, you will need to set the stroke in the cylinder, you need to push down on the plunger rod until it hits the bottom check in your cylinder. This is the point we will not want to hit when lifting the handle on the hand pump which pushes the rod down the well. Now lift the handle up all the way and pull the plunger up about 1" off the bottom of the cylinder, and mark the flat bar to indicate your stroke bottom.. This will be where you should connect your hand pump connection to the rod. This may require you to adjust the length of the rod, by cutting off the needed amount and rethreading the rod with 7/16" National Course Rod Thread. Once you have properly set the rod length so the plunger can not hit the bottom when the handle is clear up, and can not hit the top of the cylinder when the handle is clear down, you have your hand pump stroke adjusted properly.

Your Baker hand pump should give you many years of service. When you start getting less water than normal, you will probably need to pull your pipe and rod out of the well to service the plunger leathers in the cylinder. You can call Dean Bennett Supply at 800-621-4291 to reorder cup leathers for your hand pump cylinder.

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