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[[Image:PrincipleHydraulicRam.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Principle of a Hydraulic Ram pump.]]
[[Image:HydraulicRamChildren.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Children standing around a hydraulic ram pump. Photo: [httphttps://www.ashden.org/mediawinners/international_photos/2007 aid-foundation-aidfi AID Foundation, Phillippines.]]]
A hydraulic ram pump is a water pump powered by water with a height difference. In areas where natural flows exist with a height difference of the water over a small distance, hydraulic ram pumps can be used to transport water to higher grounds without using electricity or fuel. The hydraulic ram uses the water hammer effect to develop pressure that allows a portion of the input water that powers the pump to be lifted to a point higher than where the water originally started. Apart from the kinetic energy of the water, no other source of power is needed.
The hydraulic ram pump was invented in 1772 and widely used in the 19th century, but was side-tracked by the advent of the coal-powered steam engine and later by diesel powered pumps. In recent years the hydraulic ram pump has seen a renewed interest, because it is powered by sustainable energy, and can be produced locally.
===Suitable conditions===
A hydraulic ram pump is powered by a body of water flowing downhill with a height difference. A general rule of thumb is that the water can be pumped 30 times as high as the available drive head (the height difference of the water driving the pump). So a head of 1 m can be used to pump up water to ~30m, while a 7 m head can pump water up to 210 m.
===Construction, operations and maintenance===
[[Image:PrincipleHydraulicRam2.png|thumb|right|200px|Components of a hydraulic ram pump:<br>
1. Inlet — drive pipe<br>
Some common operational problems are intrusion of air into the drive pipe, blockage of the intake or valves with debris, knocking due to having too little air in the pressure vessel, freezing in winter and bursting of the delivery pipe if its output is blocked or not pressure relieved.
==Costs== ==Field experiences===[httphttps://wwwhumasolhydramthesis.ashdenawardswordpress.orgcom/2015/03/01/winnerscase-study-ram-pump-implementation-in-the-philippines/aidfoundation This article] describes the impact the introduction of the hydraulic ram has had in the Philippines.
====Akvo RSR Projects====
The following project(s) utilize a hydraulic ram pump.
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{|style="border: 2px solid #e0e0e0; width: 20%; text-align: justify; background-color: #e9f5fd;" cellpadding="2"
|- style="vertical-align: top"
|[[Image:akvorsr logo_lite.png|center|60px|link=http://akvo.org/products/rsr/]]
|- style="vertical-align: bottom"
|[[Image:project 788.jpg |thumb|center|140px|<font size="2"><center>[http://rsr.akvo.org/project/788/ RSR Project 788]<br>MWA-LAP: <br>Nicaragua</center></font>|link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/788/ ]]
|}
===Manuals, videos, and links==={|style="font-size: 125115%"
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|{{#ev:vimeo|8454559|200|auto|<center>Pumps - EMAS <br>hydraulic ram, 16min.</center>}}
* [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/research/dtu/pubs/tr/lift/ Several in-depth articles on the function and construction of hydraulic rams, including detailed drawings of a low-cost and tested design. Development Technology Unit (DTU), University of Warwick, UK]
* [http://www.clemson.edu/irrig/Equip/ram.htm Low cost self-made pump], Clemson University.
* [http://www.judyofthewoods.net/diy/ram_pump.html Another low-tech pump design], Judy of the Woods.
* [[Solution_of_the_week_12|Akvo solution of the week 12]]
===Acknowledgements===
* This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_ram Hydraulic Ram]
