Run off River (ROR) Pump

Run off River Pump

The term "Run off River" means operated by running water. This project requires a continuous flow of water to work and does not require electricity or any other kind of energy forms. The history of ROR Pump points in the mid 1800's when people used water wheel to draw water from river or well. The same principle is used in this project with some advanced modifications through engineering calculations so that to make it more efficient and sustainable. 

The ROR Pump basically consists of a water wheel or turbine and pump. This system is based on the KE of the flowing water and the pressure difference created in the cylinder. It follows the principle of conservation of energy. The principle of conservation of energy states “The energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but can be converted from one form to another form”. It also follows the Pascal’s Law of pressure. It states “The pressure applied to an in-compressible liquid kept in closed vessel transmits equally in all directions”.



When the flowing water strikes the rotor blades tangentially, it rotates the rotor in a vertical plane. The rotational speed of the wheel depends upon the velocity of the water striking the rotor. The motion is transferred with the help of the axle. The axle is connected to the wheel which in turns rotates the gears connected to it. The speed of the gears depends upon the size of the gears and the speed of the rotor. This system uses two sets of gears, one larger (secondary) and another being smaller (primary). The smaller one is connected to the axle. This system uses the gears with gear ratio 1:3 which increases the torque in the secondary gear, thus, increasing the power.


A sliding mechanism is connected to the larger gear laterally through pin support making it less frictional. A slider is mounted on this mechanism that slides up and down when the gear rotates. There are two reciprocating pumps connected to the sliding mechanism laterally whose joints can move through 180 degrees making it more efficient. The rotational motion of the gears produces the reciprocating motion in the connecting shaft which helps the piston of the pumps move from BDC to TDC as shown in the video below. This motion of the piston creates a low pressure zone in the cylinder which causes the suction of the water from a high pressure zone. The suction and the discharge are controlled by the set of valves inside the cylinder.

You can view the project in the video below which I have put in my YouTube Channel. Please SUBSCRIBE MY CHANNEL if you haven't already to support me.

This video shows a ROR Pump made by Prabin Dhakal, Bishal Pandey, Bibek Giri, Nabin Bhatta and Samita Rimal at Kathmandu University in 2016 as the second semester project of Mechanical Engineering (specialized in Hydro-power). The project in the video consists of a Cross Flow turbine with 24 number of blade profiles and two reciprocating water pumps. The turbine is connected to the shaft, which is then connected to primary gear (smaller gear) which is further connected to secondary gear (larger gear). The secondary gear is then connected to the crank shaft. The crank shaft mechanism converts the rotational motion into linear motion as required by the pumps. So, movement of the turbine makes the water to pump through the pipes.

This project is made in a very low budget and in a very small time of about 4 months. It is not a complex machine, so can be made easily with very less effort. Thus, this project can be installed in the rural areas by farmers for irrigation purpose where there is no electricity. This project can solve irrigation problems of many farmers in rural areas where there is no electricity and irrigation facility in spite of having flowing water/river nearby. This is a very good solution for many rural places.

The above shown ROR Pump is kept in Turbine Testing Lab (TTL) in Kathmandu University. So, you are always welcome to visit Turbine Testing Lab and you can know any details about ROR Pump or any other on going or completed projects kept in Turbine Testing Lab. Or what about giving a comment about any of your queries? You can always do that and don't forget to share the blog after reading because you don't want others to miss this article right? Don't forget to take a look at my YouTube channel https://goo.gl/mLN5WG and subscribe if you haven't. Give me suggestions about the topics I should make videos or should write articles about.