Talk to me about submersible water pumps

[FarmboyBill]

I have a drilled well around 300ft from the house, and setting on a rise of say 50ft higher than the level of ground at the house. It is 280ft deep. It is 6in dia. What type pump do I need? I was wanting to run underground electrical line to it. Should it be 110 or 220? Can I run it along with the water pipe. I can get 100ft rolls of pipe for a good price, but they only have a roll of each size from 1/2in to 1 1/4in, and cant get anymore. Could I start with a hundred feet of one size and go down to another size. I understand that a pump pulling from that depth puts out around 10gal a min, so would pipe sizeing be a big issue? Would doing that increase the pressure?

[Bentley]

Probably a 1.5 hp submersible. ONLY use 220 Volts AC. I would not run it in the same ditch with the water pipe. If you need to make leak repairs in the future, it will be difficult with a wire in the same ditch. You'll never be able to dig up the pipe without cutting the wire. I would recommend running the electrical in plastic conduit.

For the water line, I would run the larger pipe all the way. Pipe sizing will have a huge impact on GPM due to pressure drop over the longer distances. Larger pipe helps make up for it.
You can also add a volume tank close to the house. You certainly do not want to undersize the pipe. Much cheaper to do these kind of jobs only once.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-S...049899&sr=8-15

[plumbob]

bentley is correct. however a 1 hp pump will be adequet. i would recommend finding a outlet to purchase a roll of pipe long enough without reducing pipe size. also do not buy pipe less than 160 # psi. good luck.. plum bob

[fishhead]

I would get a 300' roll of 1 1/4" or 1 1/2". That way you don't have to worry about joints leaking or coming apart. The 50' drop will give you quite a bit of pressure even without the pump.

The black poly pipe kinks really easily. When I would get a new roll I would put it in the sun and cut the tape holding the roll tight.

Then sort of unroll it slightly in place with the roll lying flat on the ground. Let it sit some more and keep doing that until the roll is about 8'-10' in diameter. I would then slowly unroll it beside the trench very carefully and slowly.

[Cyngbaeld]

I have a 1/4 mile run of 3/4' poly and haven't seen a pressure reduction.
Keep checking around. You can probably find a supplier that can get you the larger roll so you don't have to mess with joints and size reduction.

[FarmboyBill]

Fishead, I dont understand how im going to unroll a 300ft roll of 1 1/2 down to 8 or 10in dia?

[Gianni]

Run your Electric in the same trench safely by either putting it in PVC conduit or burying your water line under frost depth, then filling to 18" and running the Elec line all on one side of the trench.

Google ( pumps and tanks forum ) or ( Terry Love Plumbing ) . Ask your questions there & you'll likely get some professional answers .

[fishhead]

That's 8-10 feet. The important thing is to let the pipe relax before you attempt to straighten it out to put in the ditch.

[Oldcountryboy]

1 H.P. submergable pump, 1 inch poly pipe or what ever size that will fit the pump, enough pull rope to lower pump with, 4 wire #10 well cable of appropiate lenth to drop down in casing, approximately 6 expandable well boots to keep pipe from slapping the inside well casing, and plenty of electrical tape(2 or 3 rolls).

To get from house to well: Will there be a well house at the drilled well location? If so, run a 1 1/2 inch electrical pvc pipe with 100 amp URD cable from your pole meter to the well house and install a 100 amp/6 space panel box inside the well house(you will need a main breaker and ground rod installed). Then drop out of the panel box with #12 nm cable to your pressure switch.

[mountainlaurel]

Your pump size will depend on what the static water height is in the well. If your well is full, a 3/4 hp pump is the correct size. Sleeve all of you electric wire in conduit, including the wire in the well to avoid rubs.
I recommend 1-1/4" to 1" 160 psi. If you are using short sections and joining them, use brass couplings but I don't recommend sectioning pipe together. It's cheaper in the long run to have less joints.
Some people recommend torque arrestors in the well to protect the wire, this doesn't work very well. Sleeving the wire is much better.
If you install too large of a pump, you're wear out the thrust bearing at the top of the pump from start ups. If you need large amounts of water like for a dairy, you can go up to a 1.5 hp but you will have premature failure from using a larger pump. There is not enough head pressure against the pump to make it operate correctly.
I do this for a living

[artificer]

Another suggestions is to never use plastic fittings underground. If your pitless adapter doesn't have an integral hose barb, use an adapter made of red brass. This is especially important for the pump to hose fitting. They make special fittings for the pump that have a ring to attach a safety rope to. Some pumps already have an attach point, but if yours doesn't, the fitting will give you a pace to tie your rope to.

I would add my vote to the 160psi pipe as well. Since it can be difficult to inset the fittings, I put the pipe end in hot water to soften it. Quickly inset the fitting, and let it cool. Much easier.

Order a 300' roll of pipe. You want to minimize the joints, since thats where the pipe tends to leak.

Michael

[agmantoo]

FarmBoyBill

What is the static water level of the well?

How many people will be served by the well?

How deep is the casing?

How many GPM did the driller say he got?

Do you have any non typical water requirements?

A 2 wire Goulds stainless 220 volt pump and a large Flexcon bladder tank and all stainless steel or brass fittings down the well and 160 PSI + strength piping. I will add to this post once you answer my questions. I will have to calculate the pump requirements and will get you a model number afterward.

[FarmboyBill]

170ft. Likely just me, but who knows. I do intend to water a doz or so beef cows through 1/2 of winter, along with raising a doz or 2 bottle calves, along with, in the spring summer fall, haveing a couple hundred chickens at times, and likely a hundred rabbits, along with a 90 X 100 mkt garden to water.
Caseing is 180ft. If the driller said how many gpm it was, Ive long since forgotten. I drilled this well around 10yrs ago.

NOW, Are you advocating a above ground pump and pressure tank?

[FarmboyBill]

Those cows and calves, ill have to sell when grass comes out, so I wouldnt be watering them past spring.

[agmantoo]

My recommendation will be for a submersible pump. You will get all the water it pumps and you will have a more reliable system that will not lose its prime.
Can you look on the casing and tell me if the driller attached a data plate giving the information of the GPM. It is important. I want to match the pump to where it cannot pump more than the well can sustain. I expect a properly installed system to be trouble free for many years.

[FarmboyBill]

There is no plate on the pipe/caseing

[agmantoo]

FarmBoyBill

Can you get a fishing line, plastic float and a sinker and drop the float and sinker after attaching same to the line down the casing until the float comes to rest on the water? If so do that and measure the length of the line from the float the the top of the casing.

[FarmboyBill]

At 170ft or so, Im not sure Ill be able to feel when a float hits the surface. If its a float, it wont hit the water hard enough for me to hear it.

[agmantoo]

FarmBoyBill

I did not see your 170 Ft reply above. Sorry! If that is the water level then forget the float/string/sinker verification.