Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

Can any one tell me what the standard 7/16 inch pump rod material was or still used?
Can rebar be threaded and used? 7/16 is an odd size so no one around here carries it.
As usual it seems you can never find stuff you need these days.So very frustating indeed.
Joe

Joe check and see if 3/4 will work if not do you have a way of turning it down. If not is 1/2 to small? I wouldn't use rebar anything it rubbed against it wear them.

Try 1/4 inch galvanized pipe with galvanized couplers. We have mistook it for 7/16 jetrod when picking it off the pipe rack before.

I will be installing a 2 1/2 x 18" 10" stroke Midland #444 pump cylinder
in a 70 foot well cased with 5 inch pipe. The pump rod is 7/16 x 13 TPI
Cost to get it here from Ontario was $630.00 CDN
I already have the 7/16 couplers so what I think I will do is buy 1/2 inch
rod and reduce the ends to 7/16 and using my bolt die thread it.
To me that seems the easiest solution. Rebar would have been nice but I agree
it would wear the drop pipe.

Joe

If your just wanting steel sucker rod, its a lot cheaper to make it from parts bought locally. I buy cold rolled steel and bushing material that just fits it, then cut off some grade 8 bolts to slide in and weld, then regular couplers to attach. You can buy bushing shaft with whatever size hole you want and just cut off little chunks, easy to weld and never fails. I use stripper well pump jacks on my 400 plus foot wells and the extra weight of bigger rod doesn't bother me so I always got bigger than needed so I don't have to mess with it.

I can buy the 1/2 inch rod from my local welding shop where I got all the rod for
the Monitor Ls I rebuilt. My welding skills are poor at best and reducing the ends is easy enough.
The drop pipe sections are all cut in half from 21 foot lenghts. Means I have to use 10 foot rods.
I will be installling all this by myself with the help of the owner some time with in the next month.

Joe i don't mean to change the subject but how did you make out with your power mill project did you find the rear end parts you needed.

Thanks for asking Dan,
I am travelling to Sasatchewan next Saturday to deliver the Dempster #14
rims I made for Mike Hage.He had emailed me a photo of his 1939 Ford truck
rear end which looks like what I have.It has the brake drum which what I need
before I can begin to restore the power mill.
It`s going to be along trip so hopefully it will be sucessful
Joe