2nd Year Electro – Mechanical Technology

Treadle Pump
The treadle pump is an elegant foot operated human powered water lifting device which by using suction force,
lifts water from rivers, swamps, reservoirs and shallow wells (hand dug) over a depth ranging from 0-8 meters to the
ground surface where it is intended to be used by farmers for irrigation, livestock, domestic and other purposes.

Figure 1: The Treadle pump in Operation Activated by Human Feet.

The pump comprises two cylinders and pistons positioned side by side and a rope, which passes over a pulley
that joins the two pistons together so that when one piston is being pushed down, the other is coming up. Each piston
is connected to a wooden treadle. The operator stands upright on the treadles and presses them down alternately in a
steady motion similar to pressing the pedals on a bicycle.
Advantages Disadvantages
 Simple and inexpensive construction  Limited to wells of less than 7 metres in depth
 Less intensive operation (foot operated)
 Maintenance uses local skills and materials
 High water delivery (up to 100 litres/min at
4 metres depth)

It can be operated by one person, or two people if they stand facing each other on the treadles. Two people
increase the output of the pump and the operators will not tire as quickly.
The pump is supplied with 5 m of 50 mm diameter rigid suction hose and 25 m of 50 mm diameter "layflat"
delivery hose.
The suction hose connects the pump to the water source. The delivery hose is laid out to convey the water to the
highest part of the field from where it is channeled to flow by gravity to irrigate the crops.
The pump works by creating a vacuum in the cylinder of the piston that is being raised. This sucks water into the
pump through the intake pipe. On the down stroke of the piston, the water is discharged through the discharge pipe.
The amount of water pumped will depend on:
 The strength, weight and stamina of the operator
 The distance of the water below the pump intake
 The height the water is raised from the pump to the end of the delivery pipe
 The duration of pumping
These numbers will differ in each situation but on average, the pump will deliver about 1 litre/second (l/s) when
operated by a single adult. The volume of water pumped will then depend on the length of time the pump is operating.
An operator cannot pump continuously all day. Rather, the operator may pump for 20 or 30 minutes, rest, and then
pump again.
If the total daily pumping time is 5 hours and the average rate of flow is 1 liter, the volume of water pumped in
one day of irrigation will be approximately 18,000 liters, equivalent to 900 buckets of water.

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The area that can be irrigated is determined by the amount of water that can be pumped and the water
requirement of the crop at the time of peak demand. If the farmer is willing to pump about 5 hours every day, and the
water source is adequate, 18,000 litres per day is available.

How treadle pumps work

HOW THEY WORK
A treadle pump comprises a cylinder fitted with a piston and some means of pushing the piston up and down
(Figure 2). A pipe connects the pump to the water source and at the end of this pipe is a non-return valve that allows
water to enter the pipe and stops it from flowing back into the source. The piston and the cylinder must have a very
close fit, so that when the piston is raised, it creates a vacuum in the cylinder and water is sucked into the pump.
When the piston is pushed down, the water is pushed through a small valve in the piston to fill up the space above it.
When the piston is raised again, it lifts this water until it pours out over the rim of the cylinder and into an irrigation
channel or tank. At the same time, more water is drawn into the space below the piston. The downward stroke of the
piston once again pushes water through the small valve into the space above the piston and the process is repeated.

Figure 2: Treadle pump operating principles

This is a very simple principle that has been used for centuries for lifting water from streams and wells. The
amount that can be lifted in this way is usually small, however, because pumps that use this idea are normally hand
operated and the effort required to lift water is considerable. This has generally restricted their use to domestic
purposes and for watering animals.
This idea has now been skilfully adapted for use in irrigation, where much greater volumes of water are needed.
The most important innovation has been to change the driving power from arms and hands to feet and legs. These
have much more powerful muscles and so are capable of lifting much more water. Two cylinders are used instead of
one. They are positioned side by side and a chain or rope, which passes over a pulley or a rocker bar, connects the two
pistons so that when one piston is being pushed down, the other one is coming up. Each piston is connected to a
treadle. The operator stands on the treadles and presses them up and down in a rhythmic motion – like pressing the
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pedals on a bicycle. Some have also described it as similar to walking. This rhythmic method of driving the pump has
gained wide acceptance among farmers and seems to be preferable to any mechanism that requires only one foot or
arms and hands.
This pump has become known as the suction pump and it is used to draw water up from a well or river and
discharge it into a canal for irrigation. However, since its advent another form of treadle pump has been developed
which is commonly known as the pressure pump. This operates on exactly the same principle as the suction pump but
the delivery end has been modified so that water can be fed into a pipe rather than an open channel. Instead of water
flowing over the top of the cylinders into a channel, the upward movement of the pistons pushes water through a
second valve into a delivery pipe. This valve closes on the downward stroke to stop the flow from reversing. In this
way, it is possible to maintain a pressure in the delivery pipe that can be used to drive sprinklers or drippers or deliver
water to a header tank. Hence the name pressure pump.
These are not the ideal names, because they imply that the two pumps are different, when in reality they both
work on the same suction principle. However, these are the names that have been generally accepted and so in
accordance with common use they are used throughout this manual.

SOME BASIC HYDRAULICS

Many professionals without an engineering background often do not have a good understanding of basic
hydraulics and pumping. This section is designed to clarify some of the important issues such as pressure, head and
discharge and what is meant by such terms as suction lift and delivery head.

Pressure and head

Pressure is defined as a force acting uniformly over an area. It is normally measured in kilo-Newtons per square
metre (KN/m2). In some European countries, kilograms force per square centimetre (kgf/cm 2) is still used. Another
common unit is the bar. One bar is the equivalent of atmospheric pressure and is equal to 1kgf/cm 2. Many non-
engineering professionals find kilo-Newtons confusing and much prefer to work in kilograms force (kgf), as it can be
easily related to the common understanding of kilograms as a measure of weight. This is the unit of measurement used
throughout the manual.
Pressure is often referred to as a head of water. To understand this, imagine a long vertical tube, in which the
pressure is to be measured, connected to a pipe. Water will rise up the tube, because of the water pressure in the pipe.
The height to which it will rise is a measure of the pressure. This is called the head and is another way in which
pressure is expressed. It has the advantage of allowing changes in land topography that can affect pumping pressure to
be taken easily into account when working out pressure requirements. It must, however, be linked to the fluid in the
pipe, as different fluids would rise to different heights because of their different densities. So the correct term to use is
head of water. The relationship between pressure and head is a simple one:

As an example, a pressure of 3 bar or (3 kgf/cm 2) would result in water rising to a height of 30 m in the tube.
Atmospheric pressure, which is important for pumping water, is equal to 10 m head of water. The reasons for its
importance are discussed in the next section.

Suction lift
For operating convenience, pumps are usually located above the water source and a short length of pipe is used to
draw water into the pump. This is called the suction pipe. The difference in height between the water surface and the
pump is called the suction lift. The idea of suction lift and its limitations is one that is not well understood, so a word
of explanation is perhaps appropriate here.
Pumps do not actually suck water, as is often imagined. A pump takes water from the source in much the same
way as you would suck up water through a drinking straw. In fact you do not actually suck up the water; you suck out
the air from the straw and create a vacuum. Atmospheric pressure does the rest, pushing down on the water surface
and forcing water up the straw to fill the vacuum. Atmospheric pressure thus provides the driving force but puts a
limit on how high water can be lifted in this way. It does not depend on the ability of the person sucking. At sea level,
atmospheric pressure is approximately 10 m head of water, so in theory it can push water up to 10 m. But if you were
relying on a straw 10 m long for your water needs, you would die of thirst! A 7 m straw would improve your chances
of survival and 3 m would be even better. In other words the shorter the straw, the easier it becomes to get water.
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This principle applies to all pumps, including motorized pumps and treadle pumps. Ideally, it should be possible
to lift water by suction up to 10 m. In practice, a sensible limit is 7 m, because of friction losses in the suction pipe
and the effort required to create a vacuum under these conditions. Even at this level, there will be difficulties in
keeping out air from leaky pipe joints and seals to maintain the vacuum. The lower the suction lift, the easier it will be
to operate the pump.
The question of how to lift water from a borehole deeper than 7 m often arises. Clearly, in this situation, water
can not be lifted by any pump operating at ground level. The only way to deal with this problem is to lower the pump
into the ground, so that it is less than 7 m above the water surface. This can be done either by using a submersible
pump – in which case the pump is below the water level, so there is no suction – or excavating down and placing the
pump on a shelf within 7 m of the water surface.
For pumps operating at high altitudes, where atmospheric pressure is less than at sea level, the practical limit will
be lower than 7 m.

Total pumping head

Total pumping head is another term that needs careful use. It is the sum of the suction lift and the delivery head
and is more important for the pressure pump. The delivery head is the pressure created on the delivery side of the
pump; it is measured from the pump to the point of water delivery. So if the suction lift is 4 m and the pump then
delivers a 7 m head to some sprinklers or hose pipe, the pumping head would be 11 m. This represents the total height
through which the water must be lifted from source to delivery point. If 11 m were the maximum that a pump could
deliver, any change in the suction lift would affect the delivery head. For example, if the suction lift increased to 6 m,
then the delivery head would reduce to 5 m, resulting in the same total pumping head of 11 m. Just quoting delivery
heads without any reference to suction lift does not provide enough information about what a pump can do in terms of
pressure.
In many pumping installations, the total pumping head would include any losses in head resulting from friction
in the suction pipes and losses as the water flows through filters and valves. Flow through treadle pumps is low, so for
simplicity these effects have been ignored.
Remember: Total pumping head is the suction lift plus the delivery head.

THE BASIC COMPONENTS

Although there are different designs of treadle pump available, there are several components which they all have
in common (Figure 3).

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Figure 3: The basic components of a treadle pump

Pump cylinders
The use of two pump cylinders provides a nearly continuous flow of water. Although this is not so important for
gravity irrigation, it can be an advantage for pressurized irrigation, where the build up of pressure is important to
create a spraying action. Cylinders are normally between 75 mm and 150 mm in diameter. A common diameter is 100
mm.
Materials used include steel plate bent into a cylinder, PVC pipe, concrete and bamboo. The choice of material is
strongly influenced by local availability and cost. Steel is a good choice if there are sufficient skills and machinery
available to bend it into the right shape. Bamboo has been used where it is plentiful. It has the advantage that it can be
maintained at farm level, but it does have a short working life. It is not suitable for pressure pumps.

Pistons
Pistons move up and down in the cylinders when the operator presses down on the treadles. Steel rods connect
the pistons to the treadles. The pistons can be made of steel, wood or plastic, with leather or rubber cups or rings to
form the seal with the cylinders. The seals must also stand up to the rigors of continually moving up and down against
the cylinder wall.

Pump manifold
The manifold is a steel box in a pressure pump that connects the inlet and outlet pipes to the pump cylinders. It
comprises two parts: the inlet side, which allows water into the cylinders, and the outlet side, which allows water to
exit from the cylinders into a delivery pipe. The suction pump only has an inlet manifold, as water spills over the top
of the cylinders via a spout and discharges into a channel.

Non-return valves
Non-return valves allow water to flow one way and stop it from flowing back to the source. Treadle pumps can
have several non-return valves. One can be located at the entrance of the suction pipe to stop it from draining every
time pumping stops. Interestingly, very few pumps use this valve, which means that the pump must be re-primed
every time pumping begins. A second valve is located at the top of the suction pipe in the inlet manifold to stop
reverse flow during pumping. Pressure pumps have a third non-return valve in the outlet manifold, to stop reverse
flow once the water has been pressurized.

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Treadles
The operator stands on the treadles and pushes them up and down to work the pump. They can be about 1 metre
long, hinged at one end and supported at the other by a rope or chain running over a pulley. They are connected to the
piston rods so that the movement of the treadles is transferred to the pistons. Treadles can be made from steel, wood
or bamboo. Treadles need to be strong enough to take the forces applied by the weight of the operator.

Pulley wheel or rocking bar

The pulley wheel and rope connect the two treadles and enable the operator to work the treadles up and down in
a reciprocating movement. The pulley is usually made of wood soaked in oil to preserve it and to lubricate the
movement. An alternative to the pulley is a rocking bar, which is pivoted in the middle

Frame
The components of the treadle pump are mounted on a frame, which keeps all the parts together and provides
support for the operator. Some pump frames are made from wood and are very portable. This can be important when
security is a problem and pumps cannot be left in the field overnight. However, some designs use sturdy metal frames
which can stand up to the rigours of continual use; one design is encased in concrete which makes it difficult to move
and hence difficult to steal.

Pump Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the science of matching people with machines – in this case matching operators with treadle
pumps. In this way, the pump component sizes and dimensions are chosen to get the best out of the human power
input and ensure that the pumps are comfortable to operate.

Piston/cylinder diameter
Pistons and cylinder diameters range between 75- 150 mm, with 100 mm being a common choice. Piston
diameter puts an upper limit on the pressure that can be achieved (see Discharge ).

Stroke length
There are two stroke lengths to consider the foot stroke length and the piston stroke length. The foot stroke
length is the vertical distance between the feet when one foot is raised and the other is at its lowest point. If the stroke
is too short, the leg muscles tire quickly; if it is too long, the leg muscles are straining. Bicycles are one of the best
known ways of using human leg power. The distance between bicycle pedals is approximately 340 mm, which would
be a long stroke for a treadle pump and the pumping speed (cadence) would be slow. The stroke is governed by what
is a comfortable speed to operate the pump. A stroke length of 100-350 mm is a typical range but it depends on how
the pump will be used. Given a choice, an operator would normally choose a short stroke length for high heads and a
longer stroke for low heads.
The piston stroke length is the vertical distance through which the piston moves during pumping. On some
pumps this is the same as the foot stroke length but this is not always the case (see Mechanical advantage).

Piston stroke volume

This is the volume of water lifted during each stroke of the pump. It can be calculated by multiplying the area of
the piston by the piston stroke length.

Cadence
This is the frequency in which the treadles move up and down. A cadence up to 60 cycles per minute is a
comfortable speed for most operators. This determines the pump discharge, which can be calculated by multiplying
the piston stroke volume by the cadence. It is important to make sure the units are all the same to get an accurate
result in litres/ second. Pump cadence is variable, as it depends on the individual operator. Pump discharge will vary
as a result of this.

Foot force
The total pumping head is created by the force on the piston from the operator pushing down on the treadle. For
comfortable pumping, this downward force should not exceed 50 percent of the operator’s weight and not more than
70 percent for short periods. For the pump to be suitable for men, women and children and for a range of pumping

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heads, it should be designed for a foot force of 15-50 kgf (150-500N). The piston force must also overcome the
friction in the cylinders and in the pipes.

Mechanical advantage
On many pumps, it is possible for operators to move their position along the treadles, so that they can change the
force needed on the pistons while maintaining a steady and comfortable foot force. This movement also means that
the pump can accommodate operators of different weights, each able to find a suitable and comfortable pumping
position. This is an important aspect of pumping: it can be much less tiring when operators can change their position,
rather than trying to produce a particular force at a fixed position on the treadles.
In mechanical terms, this positioning of an operator relative to the piston is based on the lever principle. When an
operator is standing on the treadles immediately above the pistons, the pushing force is directly transferred to the
pistons. An operator’s downward force of 30 kgf (300 N) thus transfers directly a force of 30 kgf to the piston (Figure
4-1). If the operator moves away from this position and increases the distance from the pivot point of the treadles, a
greater force can be applied to the pistons. For example, if the distance from the pivot point to the piston is 1 m and
the distance of the operator from the pivot is 1.2 m, a downward force of 30 kgf would increase to a force of 36 kgf on
the piston (Figure 4-2). The converse is also true. If the operator moves to reduce the distance to the pivot point to 0.8
m, the downward force on the piston also reduces to 24 kgf (Figure 4-3). This ratio of the distance of the operator and
the piston from the pivot point is known as the mechanical advantage. In the first case it has a value of 1.2 and in the
second 0.8.

Figure 4: Using mechanical advantage

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 2nd Year Electro – Mechanical Technology

Figure 5: Effects of mechanical advantage on foot and piston stroke length

Although mechanical advantage is described above in terms of the position of an operator, it has a direct bearing
on the movement of the operator, in terms of foot stroke length and piston stroke length (Figure 5). A mechanical
advantage of 1 means that the foot stroke length is equal to the piston stroke length. If the mechanical advantage is
increased to 3, the piston stroke would be only one third of the foot stroke length. As the stroke length of the operator
is limited to approximately 350 mm, the piston stroke length would be one third of this, i.e. 115 mm.
In practical terms, this means that a light operator, such as a child, could operate a pump by standing as far away
as possible from the pivot, to take advantage of the extra leverage. A heavy or strong operator could move closer to
the pivot for a comfortable pumping position. It also means that greater pumping pressures can be achieved because
of the greater forces but this is at the expense of volume lifted per stroke, because of the reduced piston stroke length.
Suggested mechanical advantage ranges between 0.5 to 4. However, there is a practical upper limit to this
advantage, as the pump might overturn if the operator stands at the extreme end of the treadles.

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