{"product_id":"systems-ram-pump","title":"The Ram Pump Field Guide: Lift water uphill, day and night, with no power and two moving parts · Alt Ordo Systems Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003eA hydraulic ram takes a big flow of water falling a few feet and turns it into a small flow climbing many times higher. Water runs down a rigid drive pipe and out of an open waste valve until it is moving fast enough to slam the valve shut. The sudden stop makes a pressure spike, water hammer, that pushes a slug of water past a one-way valve into an air chamber and up the hill. Then the valve drops open and it starts again, roughly once a second, for years. It has two moving parts and needs no electricity, fuel or panels. The trade is that most of the water flows back to the creek, and a ram can only run where water falls to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis guide helps you measure your creek's fall and flow, work out how much water a ram will lift to your tank, then build, install and tune a 1¼ in ram from hardware-store fittings that pumps day and night with no power at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat's inside.\u003c\/strong\u003e 27 pages in 9 chapters (At a glance, Where it works, How it works, Size it, Parts and cost, Build it, Run it, Rules and permits, How it connects), then the sources and a notes page. 12 numbered figures drawn for this guide, including a fit map of every US county. You also get a worked example with a fill-in worksheet, 15 numbered steps, a year-round calendar, and a troubleshooting table.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThree builds, costed line by line\u003c\/strong\u003e (typical US prices, October 2026):\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBare-bones: $860–$1,175\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStandard: $2,233–$2,669\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComfortable: $3,088–$4,101\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSourced and fact-checked.\u003c\/strong\u003e Facts and figures are cited to the 20 sources listed at the back, and the whole guide was fact-checked before release. General guidance, not engineering advice: your county and a qualified pro have the last word on your site.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePairs with\u003c\/strong\u003e other Alt Ordo Systems Guides: Safe drinking water; Water storage and off-grid plumbing; Roof rainwater catchment; Wells and hand pumps; The off-grid vegetable garden. For your county's permits and rules, see our county and state guides.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInstant PDF download.\u003c\/strong\u003e After checkout you get a download link by email. Letter-size pages, made to read on screen or print at home.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alt Ordo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48373638889643,"sku":"AO26-SYS-48","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/4718\/4299\/files\/AO26-SYS-48.jpg?v=1792843518","url":"https:\/\/shop.altordo.com\/products\/systems-ram-pump","provider":"Alt Ordo: Build Freedom","version":"1.0","type":"link"}