Wells and hand pumps: Hand pumps and solar well pumps · Alt Ordo Systems Guide
A well taps groundwater: water held in the pores and cracks of soil and rock below the water table. A pump lifts it to you. Off-grid, the pump is the hard part, because an ordinary well pump wants 240 V and a big surge to start. This guide covers the three off-grid answers: a pitcher pump on a shallow well, a deep-well hand pump that needs no power at all, and a solar submersible that fills a tank while the sun shines. Most homesteads end up with two of them in the same well.
This guide helps you read a well log, choose between a pitcher pump, a deep-well hand pump and a solar submersible, size the pump and the tank with real numbers, and keep your well water safe to drink, with or without power.
What's inside. 18 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. 8 numbered figures drawn for this guide. You also get a worked example with a fill-in worksheet, 10 numbered steps, a year-round calendar, and a troubleshooting table.
Three builds, costed line by line (typical US prices, October 2026):
- Bare-bones: $620–$2,090
- Standard: $6,340–$11,650
- Comfortable: $11,640–$23,040
Sourced and fact-checked. Facts and figures are cited to the 24 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.
Pairs with other Alt Ordo Systems Guides: Roof rainwater catchment; Safe drinking water; Off-grid solar; Finding off-grid land. For your county's permits and rules, see our county and state guides.
Instant PDF download. After checkout you get a download link by email. Letter-size pages, made to read on screen or print at home.