Old bicycle pump gets second wind

We finally got a chance to test out Ron’s latest invention.    This past winter Ron tinkered with an old bicyle pump and a few miscellaneous parts in the basement to create the pond siphon primer.   I don’t think we’ll get rich on this invention, but  the handmade vacuum pump pulls water from the pond with a few upward strokes of the pump handle.   And yes, it worked so slick that even I could operate it!  Once the pipe is full, we open the gate valve at the exit end and voila — the siphoning starts automatically.   Sure beats the old bucket brigade.  

    

Home made vacuum pump does the trick