Design of a hand water pump using a quick-return crank mechanism

Abstract

The detailed design procedure for a quick-return mechanism hand water pump is presented. The system designed is basically a modification to reciprocating lift pumps also known as India mark III. The modified pump is operated by the up and down reciprocating movement of the handle. The major problems associated with the India mark III pump were the high level of fatigue of the operator, and low pump capacity. These problems motivated the design and fabrication of a manually operated hand pump that employs a quick-return mechanism and a gear drive in the power train to ease the operation and at the same time increase the pump’s capacity. Results obtained show that the quick-return mechanism has a capacity of 15.2 litres/min which will require an effort of 102.7 N, whereas the conventional lever lift mechanism has a capacity of 10.65 litres/min and requires an effort of 127 N.