[ No headline ]

To the real state editor: Invented in the 1800's, hydraulic rams were in common use in rural areas of the US before rural electrification made electric pumps more popular.

It uses no gas, oil, or electricity to pump water. It is powered by the momentum of falling water flowing down the drivepipe to the ram which forces a small amount of water uphill. For each gallon of water the ram pumps uphill, 10 , 20, or more gallons may run downhill. The ram works continuously, day and night, pumping water slowly but steadily to a storage tank which then gravity feeds to the place of use.

Hydraulic rams are still being manufactured by a number of companies, including a few on the East Coast. They are:

Rife Hydraulic Engine Manufacturing Company 132 Main Street Andover, NJ 07821

D&P Manufacturing (Water Wonder Ram) Route 5, Box 97 Forest City, NC 28043

Akins Manufacturing, Inc. (Foster Water Ram) 312 North Hightower Street Thomaston, GA 30286

Plans for building homemade hydraulic rams are also available from a number of sources.

An excellent booklet on the hydraulic ram is "A Manual on the Hydraulic Ram for Pumping Water" by S.B. Watt, Intermediate Technology Publications, revised and reprinted 1977, and available from International Scholarly Book Services, 2130 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove, Ore. 97116.

Publications from Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), 3706 Rhode Island Avenue, Mount Rainier, Md. 20822 also contain information on hydraulic rams. Larry Wilson Laurie Graham Energy Conservation Service Clifford, Pa. 18413