Small test prototype already working off solar

Ben Stitt and myself have now managed to run the pump (at a very small head, or height, of water) off of a solar panel here in Bristol. We have also run the rope pump off an electric motor for a range of heads and we are currently in the process of writing up our report on the predicted requirements of a full 10m head solar powered rope pump.

After going to Malawi, I plan to carry on the research on the solar powered rope pump along with three other different research partners here at Bristol, looking at improvements to the design and modelling the system more accurately.

On another note, four Zimbabwean technicians from PumpAid, a charity supplying the hand powered rope pump in South East Africa, are coming to Bristol. We plan to build a transparent model hand powered rope pump with us that will be used to demonstrate the design on World Water Day on the 22nd of March in Trafalgar Sq.

Cai