Well Pump Planing???

[TheGoose]

It's not a cap, it's a well seal. And it is not very easy to change that elbow without the proper tools. I'm very puzzled why anybody would put a 1x3/4" elbow out of the top of your well. Very unusual.

The pump drop pipe is hung on the bottom of your elbow, so you would have to lift up the pump column, use a pipe vise to hold it up while you change out the elbow.

What threw me off is that if your well casing is 6" it changes the visuals for all the fittings.

Basically what you need to do is wait until your current pump is bad or you have the funds and call out a pro. You're probably going to need something like a 1.5HP 18 GPM pump, which will pump about 25-30 GPM depending on the water level in the well.

Good luck and post up what you find.

 

[TheGoose]

DO NOT DO THIS. You could lose the pipe, wire, and pump down the well if you attempt to loosen this seal. It is physically holding up the pipe.

Looking at the reducing T again, I think it's 1.25x1. If the brass tank T is 1" then you would have to have another bushing to go back up to 1", and I don't see one in your pics unless I missed it.

That should be possible as the other piping should hold if anything slips. Would not hurt to tie the piping to one side to help prevent slip.

Note: Not really seeing the on site situation may lead to erroneous/dumb comments on my part.

 

[Egon]

I'm kinda curious as to how one pulls the tubing without removing the Seal/Cap??

Just from the looks of it one half should hold up the tubing as long as everything is held against the other half.

Usually hardware stores will have the fittings required to make the required changes.

A couple of pipe wrenches, some thread dope, pipe vice or piece of rope or chain and a tripod is about all that is needed. Course you gota make sure the wrenches are being used in a right hand fashion and not left-handed or it gets hard to break the connections.:thumbsup:

 

[dieselscout80]

I would like to know the answer to this question.

Does it hurt to tee off before the pressure switch?

Egon,

I thought it would work that way by taking off half the well seal I could change the elbow.

I however wanted here from someone who has done it before since if I screw up it means no water for the house and maybe a $1500 bill.

 

[TheGoose]

No, it does not hurt to tee off as long as there is no check valve between where you T and where the pressure switch is.

The well seal sits on top of the casing, the pump drop pipe sits on top of the well seal. You have to lift up the drop pipe, release the pressure off the well seal, and then you can remove the well seal. As long as you are supporting the drop pipe, the well seal can be removed. If you try to mess with it while it's holding up the weight of the drop pipe, the drop pipe can fall into the well.

Hope this answers your questions.

 

[zonta223]

Option # 2
Install a cistern/storage tank for irrigation only. Say 3000 gallons.
Have it fill during the night and have a stand alone pump for irrigation.
This option allows for the current pump to be used for the house and irrigation tank.
The tank will fill in 5 hours @ 10 GPM.
The best part of the #2 option is pump life. Pumps last longer if they do not cycle on/off.

I am sure there are many variations to these options.
Purchase the best you can afford. It will repay you times over..Dave

This is the way I would do it but would use the storage tank for the house.
For me having the only pump that supplies water to my home 200 feet underground is a bad idea. What happens if the pump goes bad........instantly no water. With say a 5000 gal storage tank at least the house has water while you try and get the well pump fixed. With this system if the pressure pump from the tank to the house fails a quick trip to the hardware store gets you a new pump....back online same day. And a normal surface water pressure pump is way cheaper to repair/replace than a deep water well pump. If you want you can also use the rainwater run off from your house/barns/shed to top the tank for free
You can use water directly from the well to irrigate pasture etc without affecting the household water pressure.
Because the well pump is not constantly turning on and off it should last a lot longer.
Don't know if your electricity supply company sells you cheaper power for overnight/early morning use like ours does..if that is the case topping the tank up at night would save you money.
I would fit a float switch that activates if the level in the tank drops below what is "normal" usage... this would signal you that the well pump is not filling the tank for some reason.

Just my thoughts.

regards

 

[Egon]

The pressure switch should be able to go almost any where as long as it can sense the pump output pressure real time.

If you replace the elbow do it with a tee or a cross. Makes it easier to pick up the tubing. Use nipples on the tee that will extend to beyond the casing.

If you really get energetic you could redo all the well head piping into a neat arangement.

 

[TheGoose]

More pumps, more plumbing, more switches, more wiring...more headache.

I'm seeing the avg. life of submersible pumps about 15 years. 7 on the low side, 20-30 on the high side. All that extra head-ache for something that, at the worst happens every 7 years, and perhaps every 20 years, if sized and installed properly. No thanks.

You can do everything you want to do with just one properly sized pump and tank. And there are ways to keep the pump from cycling while you are irrigating.

This is the way I would do it but would use the storage tank for the house.
For me having the only pump that supplies water to my home 200 feet underground is a bad idea. What happens if the pump goes bad........instantly no water. With say a 5000 gal storage tank at least the house has water while you try and get the well pump fixed. With this system if the pressure pump from the tank to the house fails a quick trip to the hardware store gets you a new pump....back online same day. And a normal surface water pressure pump is way cheaper to repair/replace than a deep water well pump. If you want you can also use the rainwater run off from your house/barns/shed to top the tank for free
You can use water directly from the well to irrigate pasture etc without affecting the household water pressure.
Because the well pump is not constantly turning on and off it should last a lot longer.
Don't know if your electricity supply company sells you cheaper power for overnight/early morning use like ours does..if that is the case topping the tank up at night would save you money.
I would fit a float switch that activates if the level in the tank drops below what is "normal" usage... this would signal you that the well pump is not filling the tank for some reason.

Just my thoughts.

regards

 

[justwater]

More pumps, more plumbing, more switches, more wiring...more headache.

You can do everything you want to do with just one properly sized pump and tank. And there are ways to keep the pump from cycling while you are irrigating.

i understand how some may think otherwise, but i agree with this. in my experience, most homeowners with holding/storage tanks rarely even know the well pump is out until their storage tank runs dry.. then usually end up with 2 pump problems. anyone with a well that produces 50 gpm has no need for storage... jmo

to me, this looks like a 1x3/4" reducing 90 on top of the well seal... which seems goofy, but ive seen crazier setups.

one no-brainer way to know exactly what you are currently working with is to cut the pipe between the well head and the tank so that the pump can run full flow. (temporarily) install a T with a gauge, then a cutoff valve. let the pump run wide open, then cut the flow back with the valve to whatever pressure on the gauge you are looking for. measure with a bucket to figure gpm. then you will absolutely know how much water your current setup produces at whatever psi.. at the well head. if its something you can work with, great.. if not, then you can think about other options.

if you are just dead set on running 35-40gpm under pressure then you might as well replace everything and break out the cash. but many people irrigate late at night, and a pond shouldnt take much water to bring up and maintain.

saw this and wanted to throw in my .02
good luck

 

[kolmstead]

The reducing elbow is goofy, and the whole setup is marginal. Looks like plumbing has been added w/o unions, and the wiring is completely unprotected. There should be a check valve just off the wellhead, and a pressure relief valve.

If the pump's only down 100 feet or so and drop tube is 1", it wouldn't take much of a hoist to lift the pipe and change the fitting. You MUST be able to grab the pipe securely while removing that elbow, though! You definitely won't be able to remove half the well seal until you get the drop tube lifted. The seal goes down into the casing about an inch. It has to come up before it can move sideways.

-Karl