Catalogue Pump Renovation of a Paragon Pump Catalogue Pump

A contact in South Yorkshire bought a sensibly-priced 2½" Paragon pump via eBay which turned out to be fine externally but on examination was found to have no inlet valve, no plunger, a rusted-through operating rod, and a badly pitted internal surface to the barrel. Despite the challenge, he set about restoring the pump to full working order.

paragon before renovation

Spares turned out to be impossible to find, so the new owner went about making the parts himself. He went to great lengths to ensure that the plunger remained vertical in the barrel, and the resulting home-made assembly is shown below, ready for the leather clack to be fitted.

paragon pump plunger
The solution to the problem of the badly pitted barrel was first to remove all the loose rust from the internal surface, using a round file. Next a layer of J-B "cold weld" epoxy was applied with a stick and, once set hard, smoothed off with the round file. This process was repeated in order to get the necessary smooth surface. The downpipe, flange and inlet valve were all constructed, and there remained just one more small problem - no water source. So - what else to do but dig a well? This was duly done and the very smart result can be seen below. The total cost of the project was £75 - I never cease to be amazed at the ingenuity of folk.

paragon completed

|Back|Home|