Mom-and-pop service stations are running into a problem as gasoline marches toward $4 a gallon: Thousands of old-fashioned pumps can't register more than $3.99 on their spinning mechanical dials.

Simply put, a manual pump is a human-powered means of bringing well water to the surface. Rather than relying on a motor to move the piston within the pipe, water is moved by old-fashioned arm power.