Community Management Potential of the India Mark III hand pump

The India Mark III Hand Pumps are sturdy and robust pumps, with conventional action lever, that can be installed in shallow to medium-deep wells. The pump is designed for heavy-duty use and can serve village communities of up to 300 people. The configuration of this pump is very similar to the India Mark II, except the down-hole components, which were slightly changed and modified to make the hand pump more suited to village level operation and maintenance, with simpler tools and lesser cost of maintenance. The most decisive modification was the open top cylinder that allows for the removal of the plunger and foot valve without the extraction of cylinder and rising main.

The pump can be installed in a borehole or a dug well. Maximum recommended lift for the India Mark III is 30 m. Apart from the standard 63.5 mm configuration, there exists a version with Ø50 mm cylinder size for lifts of up to 50 m. The pump head, handle, water tank, pump stand and pump rods are made of galvanized steel, rising main of galvanized GI pipe, pump cylinder of cast iron / brass, plunger and foot valve of brass. This pump is not corrosion resistant and this limits its use to areas with suitable water conditions (pH value<6.5). It delivers a maximum stroke length of 125mm and the water discharge ranges from 0.8 to 1.8 cubic meters per hour, depending on the head dimensions, which range from 30m to 10m. The Cylinders are available in Ø50 mm and Ø62.5 mm. All the above ground components of the pump can be locally manufactured, however, the other components require a high degree of quality control check while importing, to ensure a reliable operation. The cylinder can be installed and repaired using simple tools, which allows for hassle free repairs by trained locals, including women.

The India Mark III hand pumps manufactured at Aakash International offer optimum quality through excellent craftsmanship and stringent adherence to industry standards. The raw materials required to build these products are acquired from trusted industry vendors, and are integrated with advanced working mechanisms. Apart from that, strict quality control methods are followed during the manufacturing of these products, which ensures that only the best quality reaches the customers, at modest and affordable prices. Additionally, the pump is available in two variations- 50mm OTC and 65mm OTC, which differ in the dimensions of the riser pipes. Both these variations can be installed in a borehole of up to 45m. Also,comprehensive and detailed user manuals along with tool kits are provided along with the product to ensure hassle free and easy installation, besides smooth repairs.

India Mark II Hand pump-The Backbone of community water supply

The India Mark IIHand Pump, a conventional lever action pump, is one of the largest selling hand pumps across the world. The government of India, along with the continuous and considerable efforts of non-governmental, industrial and multilateral organisations in the 1970s developed this mechanically efficient hand pump. The above ground mechanism comprises of pump head, handle, water tank and stand assemblies, and the below-ground mechanism comprises of riser pipes, connecting rods and cylinder assembly. The pump is designed for heavy-duty use and is capable of serving communities of up to 300 people.

This pump consists of a pump head, pump stand and a handle made of galvanized steel. The down hole components consist of a brass lined cast iron cylinder with a foot valve and a plunger of brass. Since this pump is not corrosion resistant and requires special skills and tools for maintenance along with installation, it is not considered to be a VLOM (village level operation and management of maintenance) pump. Thus it cannot be used in areas with aggressive water conditions. The above ground body of the pump is made of welded steel plates and is hot dip galvanized for corrosion resistance. The handle bar is designed to reduce the pumping effort of the user to a minimum, since the weight of the connecting rods is counter balanced. The cylinder has a highly polished brass liner, which ensures a long life of the nitrile rubber pump bucket.  The pump requires a circular operating space of 2m diameter and the operating depth ranged from 25-90m, and gives a water output of 900 liters per hour at 40 strokes per minute. The speed might vary, reaching a maximum of 125 strokes per minute but the ideal speed remains 40 strokes per minute. The riser pipes are 32m in diameter and GI, SS, UPVC pipe variants are available.

The mark II pumps manufactured by Aakash International possess features that differentiate them from other variants available in the market. The pumping head, handle, pump stand, rising main and rods are made of galvanized steel which makes them corrosion resistant, while the pump cylinder caste and foot valve are made of brass. Also, the Indian Bureau of Standards has been adhered to while manufacturing of this product to ensure the provision of maximum quality to the customers.

Under the hand pump project of the UNDP/World Bank,   extensive trials were conducted on twelve different deep well hand pumps from all over the world, including France, Holland, Canada, Sweden, South Africa U.K., U.S.A. and India. The parameter for testing included ease of manufacture and use and installation, mechanical and volumetric efficiency, frequency of breakdowns and maintenance needed, user-friendliness and acceptability, and resistance to corrosion. Mark II emerged as the best hand pump of all through these tests, which makes it the most widely used hand pump around the world. The sturdy nature of this hand pump requires adherence to standards of quality control to eliminate broken down pumps that are not in use due to use of sub standard parts during manufacturing. At Aakash International, it is made sure that the standards provided by the Indian Bureau of Standards is adhered to, which ensures that only the best quality is provided to customers.