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To repair a house pump.

When a pump is found to be out of order, the first thing to be looked at is the lower box, as it is useless to attempt to diagnose the trouble until the lower box will hold water. First see that the face is perfectly true. If it is uneven, or pitted, bring it down first with a coarse file, smoothing it up afterwards with a fine file. As a rule, use a firm piece of leather, although occasionally when it is difficult to get a good joint, a piece of leather that is somewhat spongey may be used to advantage.

If this box is as it should be, it will hold water, even though there is trouble with the pipe below. Next draw water with the pump. If the water goes out of the pipe, a trouble shown by the fact that a number of strokes are necessary to make water flow from the spout, there is a leak somewhere on the suction pipe. Next, if the pipe is iron, scrape off some common soap, and make a soap joint around each joint in the pipe, where there is any possibility of a leak. As soon as a joint is thus covered, start up the pump, and place the ear to the pipe. If a hissing or gurgling sound is heard, it is evident that the leak has not been located. Continue thus to soap one joint after another, testing each one as above. The moment that all sound in the pipe ceases, it may be known that the leak has been covered. If the pipe is lead, sound will be more distinct as the leak is approached. A good plan also, is to clasp the joint with the hand, noting whether the hissing sound continues or ceases. When the iron pipe is used, it is much more difficult to locate a leak than with lead pipe, as the iron telephones the sound through the pipe for long distances, the sound appearing nearly as distinct at one point as another. The pump and pipe must always be charged to produce the hissing sound, which is caused by the rushing in of air through the leak, to fill the vacuum formed by the dropping of the water in the pipe.

If the pump and pipe hold water, but only a small stream can be thrown from the spout, the trouble is then shown to be in the upper box, which does not fit tight enough. This may be due to wear or from the use of too thin leather. If the handle works hard, and flies up after it is brought down, then a stoppage should be looked for, such as a frozen pipe, or it may be that water cannot be drawn from the well with the pump at this height. In leathering the lower box of a copper pump, after taking out the copper tacks which hold the leather, drive in wooden pegs to fill the holes. It is often found difficult to take the upper pump box apart, in the case of a iron pump. If it is heated to a cherry red and put in a vise, it can be easily unsrewed.

This was taken from the book "Questions and Answers on the Practice and Theory of Sanitary Plumbing, Volume III, Practical Wrinkles" which was published in 1919.

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