Using creek water in the house.

[lug nut]

I am planning a project that will involve pumping creek water about 150' to our house to use in our 2 water source heat pumps.

The creek is spring-fed and has not run dry, even in the drought we are experiencing. It appears to flow enough water to supply our 2 units.

My plan is to divert the creek into a small pond, where I will bury a plastic 55 gallon drum which will house the pump for the system.

My questions are: will this idea work? What type of pump would work best? What would be the best way to keep debris out of the pump?

 

[Podunkadunk]

To quote someone famous (I don't remember who though)...maybe it was Ben Franklin...?

"Necessity is the father of ingenuity!" I think if you set your mind to it and it's your only option...you can make it work through a little trial and error

Podunk

 

[GaryM]

Water source heat pumps I've seen use a loop or coil placed in a pond or stream. Sounds like you need to pump the water through your units rather than just supply a heat sink. Is that correct?

 

[sandman2234]

There are both kinds, as some use the water over and over going into a heat sink submerged and others that just pull the water out, use the heat/cooling effect from it and send it back to the creek/well. I would think that lug nut is talking about using and discarding the water.
I would think that Patrick_g would be a good person to jump into this discussion, as he is very knowledgable about it.
If the creek continously flows, why do you need to spend the time and money to dig a pond for the pump to be mounted in? Seems a filtered pick up tube would work submerged into the creek itself?
David from jax

 

[SnowRidge]

I have used both AC and DC March magnetic drive submersible pumps with a great deal of success. Here is a link to their web site:

March Pump Home Page

Most submersible pumps are cooled by the fluid surrounding them, so it is not a good idea to run them in the air. This is especially true of the DC variety, in my experience.

Get the largest strainer you can afford. Marine supply houses are one source of strainers.

 

[GaryM]

OK. As you say, if the creek runs all the time I'd consider maybe sinking a concrete box that would be filled by the creek. Maybe suspend the pump some off the bottom so any sediment could drop down there and not be an issue.

 

[WayneB]

Not knowing the depth of the creek it is difficult to say, but it might be possible to drive a well point into the creek bed. I would drive it at least five to ten feet deep and then connect a pump to it. This permits the creek water to travel through the soil filtering the water. Also recommend that you install some disinfecting system like a UV purifying system to kill any bacteria that might be in the water. Plan on having the water tested from time to time to make sure it is okay to use.

We have this at our mountain camp where we have a well point driven fifteen feet deep and then using a jet pump we push the water 185 feet up a hill to the camp. We have been using this for about seven years now without a problem. I have installed filters up at the camp and also a UV lamp system.

 

[lug nut]

The creek water would only be used to supply the heat pumps. I was planning on a making small pond because the creek is rather shallow. The water would be pumped up to the house, then returned to the creek.

 

[shaley]

I like the concrete sump idea. You're going to need about 30 psi available at the unit to push the water through the heat exchangers. A shallow well pump would work. 2 GPM per Ton. The biggest constraint in open loop heatpumps is the water quality. Scale and gunk can really kill a system. I'm not trying to dissuade you, just want you to do your homework.

 

[heehaw]

sounds like a good idea: but something to think about: a relative put in a system like this about 15 years ago: except using a well: and pumping a lot shorter distance: we all thought it was working great, and saving him all sorts of money: then a couple years ago, the system had to be replaced, and he put in a high eff standard heat pump system: and his electric bill dropped: it seems running the pump to supply the water to the system was costing more than any of us calculated: the pump in a closed loop geothermal system is really small and uses very little power, especially compared to a "water pump". if the creek is big enough, consider laying a closed loop pipe in the water and using it that way.
heehaw