Treadle pumps
Practical Action
commonly used material is 1.5” plastic pipe. Under hard sub surface conditions GI (galvanized
iron) pipes may be required. Bamboo tube-wells are also used occasionally.
Materials required for a Treadle Pump Installation
For a typical installation of treadle pump using hand-sludge drilling methods the following
materials are required.
S No
Description
Quantity / Unit
Remarks
A: Commercial Materials
1
Pump head Set
1 Set
(Pump head, Piston,
Axle Rod and Plunger
pin)
2
1.5” Dia. HDPE or
40 - 80 ft
Depends on the depth
PVC Pipe
of aquifer
3
4
5
6
7
8
B: Local Materials
1
2
3
4
6
7
1.5” Dia. GI Pipe
Filter net
Plastic ropes
½” shoe nails
Thread tape
Solvent cement
Bamboo / Wood
Anchor Plank
¼” size gravel
Brick or flat stone
Rope (1cm dia)
Water
2 - 4 ft
6 x 3 ft
20 ft
100 gm
1 Roll
100 ml
2 pcs
1 ft x 1 ft
2 ft3
2 pcs
10 ft
500 –1000 Litres
For PVC pipe case
If wood is used: 4 pc
7 ft long log (3” x 4”)
For gravel pack
References and Further Reading
• Case studies: the impact of treadle pumps in Nepal
• Videos: the story of Phool Kumari
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1l2jcGEoSo
• Treadle Pumps Transform Rural Life in Nepal Terai Appropriate Technology, Vol. 31, No
4, Dec 2004, Research Information Ltd, UK, 2004, ISBN: 0305 0920
• Treadle Pumps – The Cambodian Experience Breen, M., Waterlines Vol. 14 No 4, April
1996, ISBN 0262 8104(ed)
• Treadle Pumps for Irrigation in Africa Knowledge Sybthesis Report No 1 - October 2000,
Kay M, Brabben T., Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - International Programme
for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage, Italy, 2000, ISBN 1607-6613
• Creating Markets with the Poor: Selling Treadle Pumps In India IIED Gatekeeper Series
No 107, van Steenbergen F W, International Institute for Environment and Development
(IIED), UK, 2003, ISBN 1357-9258
• How to Make and Use the Treadle Irrigation Pump by Carl Bielenberg and Hugh Allen,
ISBN 9781853393129
• http://www.studio-international.co.uk/studio-images/design_for_change/bamboo_b.asp
• http://www.akvo.org/wiki/index.php/Treadle_pump
• http://treadle.pump.googlepages.com/buildyourowntreadlepump
• http://www.w-3-w.ch/english.html Wasser für die Dritte Welt - Water for the Third World
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