Well Priming

[Rob111]

You can do all of that, but bottom line is your foot valve isn't holding. could be dirt build up or wore out. everything you add to system is another to have issues with.
rob111

 

[Qapla]

It is highly probable that, since this well uses a jet pump, it is a 2" well.

If that is the case, it would make the change to a submersible not possible without putting in a new well. If you decide or need a new well, I would recommend a 4" over a 3" - the 3" pumps are usually quite a bit more expensive than 4"

 

[Egon]

Might be easiest to move the pump inside and out of well pit.

 

[Zerk]

Yep, it another example of not thinking about maintenance when installing a system. Everything should be easily accessible. Well pits are....well...the pits! In most cases what is installed in the pit should have, and can be installed in the house basement if there is one or a service room on the first floor.

I think they put the room next to the house so they well could be drilled. Also you would not want it in the basement if you ever had to pull up the pipe. It was a pretty smart idea, but they should have put a door on.

It may have been a matter of darn, I am tired of swinging this sledge hammer big enough for now.


Is there a hatch at the top where you can lower a ladder, if the room is big enough?

 

[Zerk]

Might be easiest to move the pump inside and out of well pit.

That is how my house was. The pump was in the basement, next to the wall, and the well under the porch stairs that lifted up. It was 1920s school house and may not have had water or the porch was an add on. The porch connected the garage, so it may have not been there originally.

He may have had fears of the basement freezing. Though most don't. Maybe if it was a huge old farmhouse, where heating was so-so. My great grandparents would put the fire out at night, after they had a chimney fire.

I would not replace a good pump, but I would have a plan or look at next time. But how many things in our life should we be preparing for, but don't get around to?

 

[Zerk]

I hve done lots of things, that the next owner may think I am crazy for. I did for some reason, out of the norm, that I though was brillant. Who knows maybe in all the junk some where there was a tube and funnel. Maybe he planned on sending the kids in. Darn freeloaders.

I have some elobrate electrical schemes that someone is going to say WTF was this guy doing.

 

[dickfoster]

I had a jt pump when I was younger, but didn't know much about wells then.

It is creating suction like a 2 pipe system, but can over come 26'?

I think the limit is one atmosphere or one bar and is why they had to pump mines in lifts of 30' or so.

 

[Zerk]

I think the limit is one atmosphere or one bar and is why they had to pump mines in lifts of 30' or so.

I realize that, it is around 26 feet. You can double that with a 2nd pipe. two pipes go down to a Y and create a venture. This is how shallow wells are done with pump near ground level. Mine is dug down 4 feet, to stay warmer. I also only have one pipe system, and I am limited to 26 feet.

With the jet pump it sounds like you may be able to over come 26x2 limit. even though I had one 15 years ago, I am not overly familiar with it. It was newer and it worked.

 

[dickfoster]

I realize that, it is around 26 feet. You can double that with a 2nd pipe. two pipes go down to a Y and create a venture. This is how shallow wells are done with pump near ground level. Mine is dug down 4 feet, to stay warmer. I also only have one pipe system, and I am limited to 26 feet.

With the jet pump it sounds like you may be able to over come 26x2 limit. even though I had one 15 years ago, I am not overly familiar with it. It was newer and it worked.

Yep that's two lifts. Overall a submersible pump is better all around as they are protected from the cold, are self priming and you can lift as far as your pumps horsepower allows.

I have a two horse hanging at 300' and I think my next door neighbor had to go three or four as he went all the way down to 800' or about 780 with the pump. He could have hung it at only 350' or 400' because I watched them drill that well and the only water the driller got was around 325 and above, from 400' or so down on down it was all shale and not another drop. At that he only got about 3.5GPM. The rig was done at 800' so going deeper would have meant a bigger drilling rig. At 400' they went from a 6" to a 4" drill so there really isn't that much water down that hole. Just wasted energy to pump it to my way of thinking plus he had to hang it on steel pipe with the heavier pump and all that pipe. At around 300' you can hang them on poly pipe which is much cheaper and it's a whole lot easier to pull the pump later on. I learned a lot watching them drill that well.

 

[buickanddeere]

I thought about that but realized it would take quite a cold spell to freeze 5000 gallons of water. Then again you can always insulate it or stick it underground if that's handy. My neighbor across the road built a storage barn around his with room for his tractor and other stuff. Many places locally must have tanks if their well pumps less than 3 GPM or so. It's code so you can't sell a house around here without it. My well does better and I didn't need a tank but I wanted one for the reasons stated.
Needless to say I'm happy to see some rain. Something you folks in Minnesota never have to worry about.
I've never heard of a pump setup like that. Just the old time hand pumps that needed priming and today's submersed pumps that hang in the well and in the water.

My above ground pool will freeze solid within the first week of winter weather .

 

[Zerk]

My above ground pool will freeze solid within the first week of winter weather .

Solid, or can you ice fish?

 

[Egon]

Another poster in this thread has given some operational limits on deep well jet pump.

Diagram.
[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=jet+pump+operation&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk7cvQzcDLAhVDmoMKHXtIABAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=681#imgrc=b4BIQuO-gWlEFM%3A[/video]

 

[dickfoster]

My above ground pool will freeze solid within the first week of winter weather .

That's what you get for living up there. It doesn't get that cold for very long around here. It's rare to see 20 above and it only bounces down there occasionally at night. I don't think I've even see sub freezing temps for a whole day at a time around here. Not yet anyway. If it gets to be a problem with my tanks, I'll squirt them with closed cell foam then spray paint to camouflage. Maybe even take a note from my neighbors book and build a shed around them. My wife has named them tweedle dum and tweedle dee.

 

[dickfoster]

Another poster in this thread has given some operational limits on deep well jet pump.

Diagram.
[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=jet+pump+operation&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk7cvQzcDLAhVDmoMKHXtIABAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=681#imgrc=b4BIQuO-gWlEFM%3A[/video]

Bernoulli's principle. They used the same kind of venturi pumps on airplanes to create suction to run gyroscopic instruments back in the old days. Today they are mostly electric gyros. The old venturi pumps don't work very well at altitude and unless you're moving, you have no vacuum to run your gyro.

 

[Zerk]

That's what you get for living up there. It doesn't get that cold for very long around here. It's rare to see 20 above and it only bounces down there occasionally at night. I don't think I've even see sub freezing temps for a whole day at a time around here. Not yet anyway. If it gets to be a problem with my tanks, I'll squirt them with closed cell foam then spray paint to camouflage. Maybe even take a note from my neighbors book and build a shed around them. My wife has named them tweedle dum and tweedle dee.

Yes but you have to live in CA, the land of fruits and nuts. No thanks.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I think they put the room next to the house so they well could be drilled. Also you would not want it in the basement if you ever had to pull up the pipe. It was a pretty smart idea, but they should have put a door on.

It may have been a matter of darn, I am tired of swinging this sledge hammer big enough for now.


Is there a hatch at the top where you can lower a ladder, if the room is big enough?

There is a hatch. Everything is up against the shared wall. The be sty thing for me to do is excavate around the well hole, and make the well hole bigger容xcept then the well hole will block a garage door access. As I said, the placement of everything doesn't suggest much planning.

I'm looking to purchase a different home or build a new home and so I'm not interested in spending any money on this lake home.

 

[Zerk]

As said just making the basement hatch bigger would be hard. Could start just by knocking a few blocks out. Though easy for me to say, I am not the one swinging the hammer.

 

[STx]

I realize that, it is around 26 feet. You can double that with a 2nd pipe. two pipes go down to a Y and create a venture. This is how shallow wells are done with pump near ground level. Mine is dug down 4 feet, to stay warmer. I also only have one pipe system, and I am limited to 26 feet.

With the jet pump it sounds like you may be able to over come 26x2 limit. even though I had one 15 years ago, I am not overly familiar with it. It was newer and it worked.

What's going on here is different than that, he's not pulling the water up, he's pushing it. The pump up top pushes water down and grabs more via the Venturi effect which also gets pushed back up the well by the water being pushed down. It's a cumbersome and inefficient way to do this but, it does work.

I didn't read the full article but the diagram here is accurate so I'm guessing the information is as well - Two Line Jet Pumps for Water Wells: Installation & Repair - What is a two-line jet pump? What do the two pipes do? How does a jet pump work?

 

[dickfoster]

Yes but you have to live in CA, the land of fruits and nuts. No thanks.

Well I wanted to move back to the USA but the wife was having none of it. I had my eye on Arizona. Sedona looks nice, not so hot. Not much in the way of freezing temps there either, nor mosquitoes for that matter. Plus the taxes are much saner and a lot of people are packing heat so crime is low. LOL