Windpump
A windpump is a wind-powered device used to lift water. They’ve been around since at least the 9th century in areas now known as Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, and spread across the Muslim world, later reaching China and India. In Europe they were used to drain land for farming and building, especially in the Netherlands and East Anglia.
One notable improvement came from Simon Stevin in the 16th century. He worked on better ways to control floodwaters and suggested making the wheels turn more slowly with improved gear teeth. These ideas made windpumps much more efficient, and he received a patent in 1586. In Murcia, Spain, eight- to ten-bladed windpumps were used to lift water for irrigation. The drive ran down through the tower to a big wheel called a noria, which lifted water with wooden or clay buckets.
Windpumps traveled with people to the New World. On U.S. farms, especially on the Great Plains, they pumped water from wells for cattle. In California they were part of compact domestic water systems with a hand-dug well, a redwood tower, and a redwood tank. Daniel Halladay created the self-regulating farm windpump in 1854. Over time steel blades and towers replaced wood, and by 1930 there were about 600,000 windpumps in use, providing a large amount of pumping power.
In Australia and some other places, very large windpumps crank the pump directly from the rotor. To handle strong winds, extra gearing helps prevent the pump rods from buckling. In rural America the multi-bladed windmill on a lattice tower became a familiar sight, turning slowly with great torque and helping to drain land or pump water. A gear at the top turns the rotor’s motion into downward strokes that drive the pump cylinder.
As energy costs rose and pumping technology improved, interest in windpumps grew again. The Netherlands is famous for windpumps that drain land, especially since much of the country lies below sea level. In the Broads and Fens of East Anglia, windpumps drained land, though many have been replaced by diesel or electric pumps. Some original windpumps still stand, and a few have been restored.
Today windpumps are still used in Southern Africa, Australia, and parts of the United States. South Africa and Namibia have thousands of windpumps that provide water for people and livestock. Kenya benefited from windpump technology in the late 1970s through projects that produced the Kijito windpumps, now used across East Africa. In some places windpumps work with rope pumps for simple, inexpensive irrigation.
To work well, a windpump’s rotor must match the pump. A high-solid rotor is good with piston-type pumps, while a low-solid rotor suits centrifugal and similar pumps. If a windpump is used to generate electricity, a rotor designed for lower speed is helpful. Multi-bladed windpumps are built worldwide, and in the United States and Canada they’re often called weathercocks because they turn with the wind and show its direction.
Historically, the Butler brand brought several improvements in the late 1800s and early 1900s. A 16-foot windpump can lift about 1,600 gallons per hour to 100 feet in a 15–20 mph wind, but it needs a strong wind to start. Today there are still tens of thousands of windpumps in use, valued for remote locations where electric power isn’t available. They typically convert only a small portion of the wind’s energy, because the pump’s fixed stroke doesn’t always match the wind’s changing power.
Researchers have tried newer designs, such as variable-stroke windpumps, fluttering windpumps, and systems that combine wind with vertical-axis turbines and drip irrigation for higher efficiency. Some of these concepts have progressed to commercial prototypes, offering the potential for two to three times higher efficiency in the right setup. Traditional windpumps, however, remain a simple and rugged way to move water where electricity isn’t easy to reach.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:05 (CET).