Solar Submersible Well Pump With Hand Pump Backup: One Well, Two Ways to Get Water

I get this question a lot from folks shopping for a solar submersible well pump: "Can I run a solar pump for everyday water and still have a hand pump as backup, without drilling a second well or switching valves every time?"

The answer is yes. Here is how it works, and why it matters.

The problem with solar alone

A solar submersible pump is a great way to get water off the grid. The sun runs the pump, and you get automated water with no electric bill. But a solar pump is still a pump. Panels get covered in snow. A controller can fail. A branch can come down on your array in a storm. When the sun is not cooperating or a part needs service, you want a way to get water that does not depend on any of that.

The usual answer is to keep a backup. The trouble is that most setups make you choose. Either you run the solar pump, or you run the backup, and switching between them means messing with valves or pulling a pump. That is a hassle on a good day and a real problem on a bad one.

One well, both pumps, no switching

The Simple Pump answer is the Inline Manual-Solar Well Pump System. It puts two completely separate pumps in the same well:

• A WORKHORSE Narrow Series solar submersible does the daily pumping, powered by your panels.
• A Simple Pump hand pump shares the same drop pipe, ready whenever you reach for the lever.

What ties them together is a part we designed and build in-house: the Inline Dual-Pump Valve Assembly. When the solar submersible is running, the valve closes off the hand-pump side and sends that water up the pipe. When you work the Simple Pump lever, the valve opens to your hand pump. It happens on its own, based on which pump is moving water. There is no switch to flip and no plumbing to change.

So you are not picking solar or manual. You have both, at the same time, in one well.

Why this beats the alternatives

Versus solar only: you keep water access when the sun, the panels, or the controller are out of the picture. Your backup is muscle, and muscle does not run out of fuel.

Versus a separate hand pump in a second well: drilling a second well is expensive and not always possible. This shares the well you already have.

Versus a generator-backed electric pump: no fuel to store, no engine to maintain, no noise. For modest household water needs, the solar submersible may cover your daily use on its own, with the hand pump as the always-ready fallback.

Does it fit my well?

The Inline Dual-Pump Valve Assembly is built for approved WORKHORSE Narrow Series pairings, and it is compatible with Simple Pump cylinders going back to 1999. Whether it fits depends on your casing size, your static water level, and the submersible you choose. That is exactly the kind of thing we size for you rather than guess at, so reach out for fit guidance before you buy.

The valve assembly carries a 15-year Simple Pump warranty. The WORKHORSE submersible carries its own 3-year WORKHORSE warranty. The Inline Manual-Solar system is dealer-installed, so a qualified installer handles the configuration for your well.

Want to dig deeper?

If you like the engineering side, these go further:

• How the Simple Pump Inline Dual-Pump Valve Assembly works
• 5 reasons the Inline Manual-Solar system beats the alternatives
• Why we became a WORKHORSE Pumps distributor

The short version

You do not have to choose between solar convenience and a backup you can count on. Run the solar submersible every day, keep the hand pump for the days the sun does not show up, and let the valve handle the rest.

Questions on whether this fits your well? Call us at (877) 492-8711 or request a quote and we will help you size it.