Thanks Bill of FFA Camp Oswegatchie

Bill Waite from FFA Camp Oswegatchie just e-mailed me to say he'd forwarded my blog site to over 1000 people. Hats off to Bill. I will put in a plug for the camp...it isn't just for FFA kids. If you and your business need a FANTASTIC place to hold a multi-day meeting with reasonable overnight accommodations and a kitchen for hire (they'll cook or let you cook) this is the place for you. Plenty of things to do including high and low ropes (confidence & cooperation building), hiking,
winter sports, summer sports and tons more. The camp has updated a lot of its facilities including the bathroom facilities (more like a palace to wash up in!).

We're going there over the first weekend in February with the FFA kids from South Jefferson School. I've been the weekend cook for this event for more than a decade!

My Pumps: I did a lot of drill press work today and have the first 6 kits of this batch well under way (pun intended). I will be shipping several of them by the end of the week. I also got the stainless steel parts ordered from my local supplier for the stainless and brass version. I'm getting the feedback that the stainless and brass version might actually sell better....even though it is $200 more expensive. While I was at my plumbing supply store I looked into commercial versions of this style pump...Holy Cow! Just the upper works were over $700 in a 10 year old catalog (Baker Plumbing Supply Company) the lower portion (cylinder pump) was even more!
Maybe I'm not charging enough? Stalwart pumps are close to $600 and Bison pumps are over $1500.

I hope to publish some pictures on this blogsite of the pump and show you how it works...not all of the secrets though. I just have to figure out how to do that.

I'm writing an article on water supply systems at the request of Richard Freudenberger (one of the head editors of Back Home Magazine) for Back Home. The article will discuss water supply systems for the Homesteader and give a detailed description of how to build your own deep well hand pump.

Have a great day and remember to e-mail me with your questions and observations at:
jsjuczak@gisco.net