Reciprocating bladder pump, and methods of constructing and utilizing

Abstract

A two-stage combination reciprocating and bladder pump wherein a hollow piston is disposed for reciprocating movement within a main pump body, and a bladder pump is housed in the piston. The piston pump and bladder pump are thus coaxially arranged, with the bladder pump mounted within the piston pump and operably cooperating therewith. A reciprocating tube is attached to the piston to permit operation thereof from above ground, and also serves as a conduit for alternately supplying pressurized air and atmospheric venting to the bladder pump. A rigid support pipe supports the main pump body, and has the reciprocating tube extending coaxially therethrough. A fluid discharge tube is in turn coaxially arranged within the reciprocating tube, thus defining a triaxial tubular arrangement. The fluid discharge tube provides communication between a fluid chamber of the piston pump and a fluid chamber of the bladder pump, and also functions as a conduit for discharging fluid to the exterior of the main pump body. The piston pump operates to discharge fluid at a relatively high speed for purging operation, while the bladder pump is selectively actuated to discharge fluid at a relatively low speed for representative water sampling.