Water supply line to house with well pressure tank Qs

[kenmac]

Being a plumber and a Pex freek. I suggest Pex. If you have to come out of the ground, all you do is get some PVC and run the PEX through it to protect the PEX. Pex is tuff stuff. size of the pipe will depend on how far the run is and water pressure. Water pressure depends on pump and has nothing to do with pipe size. Someone mentioned installing tape in the trench line. Don't use the tape. I have problems finding tape with my locater I use locate wire

 

[charlz]

They don't have to (and probably don't) go completely bad, even one that is just 'dribbling' will drain your pressure tanks back and cause your pump to cycle even when you are not using water. Redundancy doesn't cost that much compared to early pump failure.

 

[PILOON]

I have made more than a few installations using experts to help calculate things.(GPM's friction etc)
What I'd do;
use 1" poly B from pump to house buried in sand
check valve at well head and just B4 tank. This will assure that U won't have 'cycling' even if there is a minor leak somewhere.Call it insurance.
3/4 hp submerged pump. (spec 220VAC) 1/2 is probably adequate but 3/4 won't have to work as hard)
NOT trench in roadway as frost goes deeper in areas not snow covered. If U do need to run in snow cleared areas either go deeper or lay 12" wide foam (blue or pink) over top of the pipe. Back fill with sand at least 5-6 inches.
Be sure to use ONLY brass couplings on the plastic line and at pump. (A single steel fitting even galvanised in the system will rust/rot so badly that water flow can be completely blocked within 10 yrs or less depending an water and soil conditions.)
While clamps used are stainless the screws that close clamps are generally not at rust away with time so I always install 2 on each end (like 4 at a joint) (Ihave had 3 failures at pumps due to this, and no fun retrieving a pump 300 ft deep with 300 ft of pipe loaded with water.)

Good luck.

Had a system that leaked somewhere under ground with a 300 ft well and pump cycled every 15 mins. with disastrous burbling and splashing every time a tap was opened or a toilet flushed not to mention the stress on the pump. A check valve between the line and downstream from the pressure switch provided a solution and saved changing out the buried line.

 

[turnkey4099]

Great info, thank you for your help! I haven't had a pump installed yet, had to save some money after drilling 320' deep. Driller said he was getting about 10-15gpm.

I guess I should get the pump installed to spec the pipe diamater before running the plumbing?

Wondering if I even need a pressure tank at the bottom, could I just use just the 1 that's already there (bladder type)?

Thanks!
J

If you already have a tank at the bottom you might as well use it -adds more storage and pump cycles less.

I see you said you have a "small" pressure tank up top - Dunno what you mean by "small" but if it stands less than 5' high you really need more storage to keep the pump from cycling often. It is the start up portion of pump cycles that causes the most damage.

Harry K

 

[Xfaxman]

Great info, thank you for your help! I haven't had a pump installed yet, had to save some money after drilling 320' deep. Driller said he was getting about 10-15gpm.

I guess I should get the pump installed to spec the pipe diamater before running the plumbing?

Wondering if I even need a pressure tank at the bottom, could I just use just the 1 that's already there (bladder type)?

Thanks!
J

If you haven't installed your tanks yet, you might want to check on the setup that I have.

No pressure tank to worry about freezing, it is in the 6" well casing. In-Well Technologies - Who We Are

It uses a Cycle Stop Valve. Cycle Stop Valves, Inc.

My Pump Monitor Light thread: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/271589-water-well-pump-monitor.html

 

[C4Ranch]

Xfaxman, that's a slick system. I've not heard of an in the case tank, great idea!

The only thing that makes me wonder is if anything goes wrong with the tank or valve below the tank, I'd have to call service out with a rig capable of pulling the entire 320' system? Don't see how I could service it myself if needed?

 

[Xfaxman]

Xfaxman, that's a slick system. I've not heard of an in the case tank, great idea!

The only thing that makes me wonder is if anything goes wrong with the tank or valve below the tank, I'd have to call service out with a rig capable of pulling the entire 320' system? Don't see how I could service it myself if needed?

I think the money saved by not heating a well house over the years would help offset the service call.

My system was installed 8 years ago, and I can get to the pressure switch.

 

[nikdfish]

Just a word about pressure tanks, from my perspective, the bigger the better for pump life. It has longer runtimes but fewer starts and stops. You will also see less fluctuation in delivered flow and pressure. We had to replace a waterlogged bladder pressure body recently (it had the pump short cycling for quite a while) & went from a 30 gallon equivilant to a 90 gallon equivilant. Not that expensive & a noticable improvement if your location accomodates the increased height. Odds are you also see more reserve capacity available during a power outage.

Nick