A pulser pump is a
gas lift
Gas lift or bubble pumps use the artificial lift technique of raising a fluid such as water or oil by introducing bubbles of compressed air, water vapor or other vaporous bubbles into the outlet tube. This has the effect of reducing the hydrostati ...
device that uses gravity to pump water to a higher elevation. It has no moving parts.
Operation
A pulser pump makes use of water that flows through pipes and an air chamber from an upper reservoir to a lower reservoir. The intake is a
trompe
A trompe is a water-powered air compressor, commonly used before the advent of the electric-powered compressor. A trompe is somewhat like an airlift pump working in reverse.
Trompes were used to provide compressed air for bloomery furnaces i ...
, which uses water flow to pump air to a separation chamber; air trapped in the chamber then drives an
airlift pump
An airlift pump is a pump that has low suction and moderate discharge of liquid and entrained solids. The pump injects compressed air at the bottom of the discharge pipe which is immersed in the liquid. The compressed air mixes with the liquid c ...
. The top of the pipe that connects the upper reservoir to the air chamber is positioned just below the water surface. As the water drops down the pipe, air is sucked down with it. The air forms a "bubble" near the roof of the air chamber. A narrow riser pipe extends from the air chamber up to the higher elevation to which the water will be pumped.
Initially the water level will be near the roof of the air chamber. As air accumulates, pressure builds, which will push water up into the riser pipe. At some point the "air bubble" will extend below the bottom of the riser pipe, which will allow some of the air to escape through the riser, pushing the water that is already in the pipe up with it. As the air escapes, the water level in the air chamber will rise again. The alternating pressure build up and escape causes a pulsing effect, hence the name: pulser pump.
The maximum air pressure that can accumulate depends on the height of the water column between the air chamber and the lower reservoir. The deeper the air chamber is positioned, the higher the elevation to which the water can be pumped. The depth of the air chamber position is limited by the depth to which the flowing water can pull the air from the surface of the upper reservoir down to the chamber. This depth partially depends on the speed of the water, which in turn depends on the difference in height between the upper and lower reservoir.
History
Brian White, stonemason by profession, claims to have invented the pulser pump in 1987. He put the idea in the public domain.
However, Charles H. Taylor invented the
hydraulic air compressor before the year 1910 while living in Montreal.
The working principle of the hydraulic air compressor and the pulser pump is exactly the same. But the purpose of the compressor is to generate compressed air. Expelling the water up to 30 meter high serves to prevent potentially damaging
over-pressure. The primary purpose of the pulser pump is to use the air pressure to expel the water to a higher elevation.
See also
*
Hydraulic ram
A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer ef ...
*
Airlift pump
An airlift pump is a pump that has low suction and moderate discharge of liquid and entrained solids. The pump injects compressed air at the bottom of the discharge pipe which is immersed in the liquid. The compressed air mixes with the liquid c ...
References
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External links
The Pulser Pump*
Appropedia: Pulser pump
Worlds simplest water pumpVideo
Pumps