Metal DS Vs Back geared

[Kansas Rust Buzzard]

I am really looking for a mill to restore for my house water pumping. I am wanting an older mill but one that is steel, my average winds are 14.5 mph with no obstructions and almost once a week it blows 25 so I got as good of wind as I could ask for. Since my water is around 275 where the house will be, I am looking at a 12ft back geared mill but, would a 14 ft direct stroke be even close to the 12 ft bg with those winds? My only experience with pumping Direct stroke is wood Pipe Raymonds and on a 200ft well they do pretty good at 12 ft so with the efficiency gain of metal cupped blades, would a 14ft Direct metal pump of 275? I have no idea but it looks possible to me. I have always used 2 inch cylinders at 200 ft on the 12 ft PR, so it might have to get a bit smaller to work, maybe not, anyone have real life experience? Charts are not always that honest on these things. Thanks

[windybob]

Geared mills are MUCH smoother than DS mills. I was watching an Monitor L working one day, and I decided they are too jerky. AND....you certainly don't want those things running too fast. I'm sure they would tear up a lot of things. Geared mills have more power for lifting also. Water that deep deserves a geared mill me guesses.

[Kansas Rust Buzzard]

I know what you mean about a Model L, they never govern smooth like the original Model A, I got an A Monitor in 12ft and its amazingly better. I think the L was just a cheaper made mill with more profit, the U-joints instead of the rods were sure better. We have put some large Eclipse wood mills on 250 ft wells and were happy but I just don't know how much more power you get the cupped metal blades? I studied this years ago with Pipe Raymonds and it appears that on a shallow well, less than 200ft, a 10ft PR would do close to what an 8ft Aermotor would do in a good wind, in a great wind the PR could do a bit more and in a slight wind the PR didn't do anything but the Aermotor would pump. In the deeper wells the size difference made the ratio get wider in size. I didn't have an Aermotor larger than 12ft to compare but at the rate the wood mills went down in working power compared to what the Aermotor was rated at on paper, I would say it would take a 22 ft wood mill to equal a 16ft Aermotor. Maybe a bigger wood mill than that? Now when you look at results of early power mills, the ones that had metal sails would greatly out perform their wood competitors so was this simply because of the more efficient design of the metal blades being cupped instead of flat? That is what I am thinking so since two power mills of the same size with the metal doing 20% more work I would assume that ratio could be applied to a metal direct stroke pumping mill verses a wood direct stroke?

[mtblah]

Bernoulli's principle .
Sailboats sails and airplane wings work on the same principle .