Treadle Pump Operation with Rotary Motion

Abstract

Many scientific and nonscientific agencies are engaged in developing low-cost devices for small and marginal level farmers for irrigation. One such device built is treadle pump which is currently being used in many countries around the world. There has been a consistent demand from the farmers for a better design of this pump so as to reduce the manual effort with improved reliability. This paper focuses on an improved design of a treadle pump. The treadle pump is a foot operated twin cylinder reciprocating pump, presently being used in large numbers by small/marginal farmers (Fig. 1). It is a pollution free source of pumping water (up to 10 m theoretically). In our present design, existing reciprocating driving mechanism of treadle pump is replaced by rotary motion mechanism in which power can be given through bicycle crank. Replacement of existing reciprocating mechanism makes it feasible to be driven by a low power motor which could be run by battery/solar energy.