Years ago I learned about the magical ability of a ram to transform a short
fall of water into lifting a small part it many times higher than its
source. An old farmer from the neighboring town, Mr. Buzzell, told me he
used to have one on his place...and he told me this story:
"When I was a boy on the farm here one of my daily chores was to
bring water up to the house and barn from the spring way down the hill.
We needed a lot of water, not only for the house, but for the cows in the
wintertime when they didn't leave the barn. It was a lot of work. One day I
learned about a machine that, without electricity or gas, would pump water
uphill. I tried to convince my father that we ought to get one, but for a
long time he would have none of it; "Why, to pump water up a hill without an
engine? That's impossible!" I was just a boy trying to avoid his chores!
Well eventually I somehow talked him into it and we made the 5 mile trip
with horse and wagon into town to pick it up along with 400 feet of lead
pipe. It was such a heavy load that the axle broke on the way home. But
finally we did get it all out to the farm and set up about 20 feet below the
spring. Next we buried the long lead pipe all the way to the house so it
wouldn't freeze.
Well that little ram pump gave a small but steady flow of water right to
mother's sink. Of course it ran all the time-even when we were asleep. Soon
we put a barrel for it to fill but it was still more water than we could use
in the house so we ran a little trough out to the barn and there was plenty
of water for all the cows too. That little machine ran for 30 years or more,
until we got electricity on the farm..." "What became of the ram after
that?" I asked. "Well I suppose it ended up in the metal pile behind the
barn over there." I went over to look and indeed it was all there and
nothing cracked. I offered farmer Buzzell five dollars for it and took it
home where it was affectionately restored it with new bolts and gaskets and
some nice dark red tractor paint. I have never actually used it, but put it
in my collection of antique machinery. From the great links published here
in the microhydro group it is wonderful to see that the ram is indeed alive
and well and still in production hardly changed from the hundred year old
one I acquired from farmer Buzzell here in Maine, USA.
Chris
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