Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn

   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #1  

tjse9006

Bronze Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
76
Location
WV
Tractor
JD 4044M, 825I
The house is on city water but I have an old hand dug well near the back of my property I would like to use for the barn and the horses. I will be building the barn in a couple of months and getting the horses this summer. I would like to have a system to water the horses and provide enough pressure to use in the wash room. The well is about 1000 feet from the house. The plan is to put a frost free hydrant at the well then another one about 200 feet from the well and the last one at the barn which is about 400 feet from the well. I have looked at solar and running electricity but both seem cost prohibitive. Any ideas?
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #2  
Can you have the electric company run another tie in from another property closer to the planned barn spot?
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #3  
All flat or do you have elevation changes? Is the barn going to have electricity?
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #4  
These work for me. I have 4 in the fields and one more going up when it warms. A 330 gallon IBC tank in the barn makes a great head pressure tank. Such a long run from your well may cause fatigue problems in your underground water lines because of surge (mass of water flowing then stops abruptly when the hydrant is shut off). Yes, you can add a surge protector air chamber, but these soon get depleted of air in my experience.

You can get a used windmill, tower and pump for $1500 around here. New ones are twice this cost. Attach to your existing shallow well or drive a new one by hand. These are vintage Heller-Aller Bakers and Flint & Walling brands (parts available on-line). New Aermotors are for sale all over the country from many dealers. I actually have three more on display stub towers that would pump water.

My name is Bill and I'm a windmill hoarder...
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #5  
You want power at the barn right?, So once there, go ahead and run a trench to the well & put a 220v pump in it. In the end this will be the cheapest way.

I put a solar panel and pump on a pond feeding water from a nearby creek. The system cost about $1200 and I installed it myself. Solar pumps in this price range have a low flow rate(mine is 2.5gpm) so for a system for your application will require a more expensive pump, or a elevated cistern at the Barn that the solar pump can fill. Then you can gravity feed water at the barn.
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #6  
10/3 with ground direct burial copper will run a 240v. 1/2 hp centrifugal jet pump at 1000 feet. It will only pull a little over 5 amps. To avoid water hammer, put the pressure tank at the barn. If the pump short cycles, put a second, smaller pressure tank at the well. 5 gallons would be plenty. If you want electricity at the barn, run a separate 240v. line to a breaker panel there.
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #7  
Run direct bury aluminum wire.. Cheaper than copper. This is what I used for power at my property. I ran 90 ft .. I used PEX for the water lines also about 90ft
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #8  
Before I did anything I would check the quality of the water in the old well.

MarkV
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn #9  
I agree with "Bill the wind mill hoarder" no electric required.
 
   / Best/most cost effective way to get water to horses and barn
  • Thread Starter
#10  
The property is mostly flat but I do have a small creek to cross about 100 feet form the well. I will get the water checked before proceeding. Its kind of ironic we are talking about this as 300,000 people don't have potable water in WV and I'm one of them. I thought about running the lines and buy a gas powered pump and just turn it on when I need it. Or get an electric pump and take the generator back when I need it. what do you guys think?
 
 
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