At the end of the day, you have to decide what is best for your household when it comes to ensuring access to water. There are a lot of options available, and they each have their own unique benefits, as well as challenges. Most of the time, it’s best to weigh those pros and cons and then arrive at a conclusion for your unique circumstances.
One of the first things to consider is whether or not solar is even an option. If your well is located inside a structure - like a well house - or is in a heavily wooded area, then solar might not be a good fit right out of the gate. Obviously, a low-voltage brushless DC electric submersible pump that consumes solar energy seems like a great alternative to a standard high-voltage deep well pump. However, sunlight is a key ingredient, and if that simply isn’t in the cards, then you need to keep looking at alternatives. The good news about a Flojak backup well pump is that YOU provide the energy. And while yes, sunlight is important for most humans who do not happen to be troglodytes, you can easily pump your Flojak Rigid manual pump or your Flojak Ready manual water pump in wooded areas or inside a structure where a solar pump may just not be practical or useful. If you are in fact a troglodyte, and do in fact have a water well inside of your subterranean domicile, then a Flojak Ready or Rigid might be just the thing for you.
The other factor to consider is the size of your well. If you have a large well casing, say 6” or larger, then chances might be good you’ll have enough room for a solar pump. However, that isn’t always the case - you’ll need to also inspect your well for any existing obstructions that might accompany your existing deep well pump setup. Anything in your well that constricts the spatial access to less than about 3” will likely eliminate your ability to install a DC submersible solar pump without some major - and perhaps costly - rearranging. A Flojak backup hand well pump can consume as little as ⅞” of an inch of space, making it the ideal solution for a tight fit.
If you have a casing that is less than 6”, you may find yourself in an even tougher uphill battle in the pursuit of a solar pump backup. The pump section of most of the readily available systems are around 2-3” in diameter, requiring a lot more space inside your well than may be available. A Flojak Rigid backup manual well pump or a Flojak Ready manual backup well pump are anywhere from ⅞” to 2” in diameter, thus offering the ability to fit into more scenarios than most solar backup well pump systems.
The other - and perhaps most important - factor to consider is the reliability of your access to water. From a 10,000 perspective you may have a desire to solve for a lot of variables that could threaten your access to water. Maybe the most obvious consideration is that a deep well brushless DC solar pump relies on encased electronics submerged in water to function indefinitely. It also relies on clear, sunny skies with at least some degree of consistency. Albeit I haven’t encountered every variety of weather related emergency, I have never experienced a severe storm and sunny skies simultaneously. The chance of an overcast outlook or even completely sunless weather is not uncommon. A Flojak manual well pump, however, can easily be operated in the darkest of conditions and provide water anyway.
Even though most quality DC brushless solar pumps do indeed function fairly flawlessly, when your welfare is on the line in an emergency situation, sometimes a basic, simple, trustworthy mechanical solution like a manual Flojak well pump is the wiser choice. Again - everyone is responsible for using their own intellect to arrive at the ideal situation for themselves. And let’s face it, those circumstances are all quite different.
At the end of the day, most emergency situations that arise and actually do threaten your ability to access water are rare. When they do arise, however, having the peace of mind in a simple format like a Flojak Rigid or Flojak Rapid can be a game changer.