Their use was widespread. Rag pumps were used aboard large sailing ships to bring salt water up for various uses and they were also used in wells. Horses, a water wheel, or "tramping men" all might have supplied the power to turn the wheel.

Cloth bundles, usually just rags, are tied in knots at intervals on a rope or chain. The chain is then hung around a wheel and through a tube that goes below water level. The base of the tube is flanged to prevent the rag balls from catching.

When the wheel rotates water is drawn up a tube.

This pump is very similar to a Lift Disk Pump and Bucket Pump.

(This is a still representation and possibly also a low-resolution image of a pump which is fully animated in the CD-ROM version of this glossary.)