Dying of thirst!”
Well, you just might. It sounds so simple. H20 – two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. This substance also known as water, is one of the most essential elements to health and is so important that your body actually has a specific drought management system in place to prevent dehydration and ensure your survival. Water might be almost everywhere, but one must never take it for granted.
Water makes up more than two thirds of human body weight, and without water, we would die in a few days. A mere 2% drop in our body’s water supply can trigger signs of dehydration: fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing. Mild dehydration is also one of the most common causes of daytime fatigue. An estimated seventy-five percent of Americans have mild, chronic dehydration. Pretty scary statistic for a developed country where water is readily available through the tap or bottle water.
This week, Morning Star Fishermen developed an innovative way to pump water. The system uses a bicycle to elevate water into different tanks to create a constant flow of water. The bike system can be used in emergency situations or when there is an electrical outage.
MSF is constantly developing new techniques in order to become more efficient and train their students. This bicycle pump could be used in developing countries where electricity is scarce. This system could also be used during emergency situations where water needs to be pumped by hand. Typically the pumps that are used at Morning Star Fishermen pump 1,800 gallons an hour. The bike pump is producing over 2,400 gallons an hour.
As the video shows, the rope and washer pump powered by the bicycle is a very simple technology. The rope circles through the pipe and comes out the top. Every ten to twelve inches a plastic piston is tied onto the rope and the water is lifted up through the pipe by the pistons. Gravity then does its part and pulls the water through the outflow pipe back into the tanks.
Our commitment and path of sustainability continues with this people powered pump. The bike pump enables and opens the doors to opportunities where electricity is unavailable. Where communities can pump water out of wells and supply water by man power. We would like to utilize it to pump water and circulate water through, but not limited to aquaponic and irrigation systems, and wells. This will create a more sustainable system for developing nations.
The original idea and purpose was to build a backup pump to use in Togo, Africa. This simple pump will allow the community to rely less on electricity and gas to run their system. All the pieces of this bike pump design can be resourced in developing countries.
The bicycle pump at Morning Star Fishermen has been modified to fit our systems tank but versions have been used throughout the world.
