well pump questions, jet vs submersable

[heehaw]

looks like you have good advice from everyone: my two cents worth..i put a 115v submersible in a 30ft well a couple years ago: no more problems with having to prime the pump, an, since the well is right beside the bedroom, no pump noise: plus the submersible uses a lot less electricity per gallon of usable water.
heehaw

 

[aczlan]

I have the same concerns, and we have a marginal septic so I really wouldn't
want to open up to this high pressure/high volume scenario where people
would waste water also. The concern with 115 i guess would be the amperage,
would it draw more than the current pump is drawing? and with this well only at 45' down would the lifespan of a 115V really be that much less than 220?
If amperage would be similar to existing jet pump, then I'd probably be fine
running backup generator if need be. We don't run much heavy draw on the
generator, fridges, water pump, the microwave is the killer! Home heating is done with hand fired coal stove, so don't need genny for heat really.
Gary, you out there????

a 220v pump will be easier on the generator as it will be drawing (for example) 6A@110V from one side and 6A@110V from the other side of the 220V line. Whereas an equivalent 120V pump will draw 12A@110V from one side of the 220V from the generator, causing it be unequally loaded (which can break things if done too often), also a 220v motor will (generally, from what I have heard) run smoother and longer than a 110V one, this is because the two 110V legs balance each other out.

Aaron Z

 

[Dutch445]

here is a pic of my transfer switches:

and of my current pump setup:

i understand the theory of the 220 vs the 115 volt pumps,
but wiring into this generator switch doesn't look all that
"easy" to do.

 

[tommu56]

Dutch
submersible would be your best bet if you have 6" casing that is about 1 gallon a foot of storage

You can try a pump test measure water level static pump at an open flow in to a bucket or drum to get gpm and measure drop in water level.
Is there a 220 volt outlet on generator?
I think so because of how the transfer panel is set up.

You could pump on demand unplug house plug in pump and pump and switch back.

How big is the gen can it run house and pump at the same time? (always the $64.00 question).

tom

 

[Dutch445]

the genny is 5500 , and i'm sure it has 220 someplace,
but the way this house was wired, i bring the genny outside
to the garage, slide it inside the open garage door, and plug
it into the receptacle in the garage, and then the power wire
comes underground to the house and into that transfer box.
really nice setup, keeps it out of the weather and nobody dies
from fumes! (detached garage)

so, i'll have to look at this more, see what amps
existing jet is pulling etc..

 

[studor]

My bet is that you currently have a 1/2 hp on that jet pump and you are probably looking at a 1/2 hp submersible. Amperage draw should be roughly the same. As I remember it (and I could be wrong but someone will tell me ) the choice between 220 and 115 is usually made due to wire size and amperage draw on startup. For example if you have a 14 gauge wire 15 amp circuit on your pump and it draws fifteen amps on startup you will be close to maxing out the draw on the circuit which is not good for the motor or the circuit. If you rewired it to 220 the startup amps would be 7.5, well within the capability of the circuit and easier on the startup windings of the motor. Since your distance to the well is not overly long, you can avoid the problem by going with thicker wire and leaving it 115 (my other bet is the amperage draw is not that high) The pump manufacturer provides a table of wire size for required distance on their web sites and in instructions with the pump.
Of course the other thing you could do is go 220 and wire it into a plug run from the main box and then buy a long enough cord to run from the generator to the pump plug and use the manual connect/disconnect method -- how often does your power go out?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Thanks for the ideas. Egon, I can't say what the recovery really is. I was
told that the 1/2hp 7gpm pump would be good for us (according to the well drilling
representative I spoke with).As far as the well recharging, my thoughts are that it does recover
fairly well, as we really don't have a lot of casing capacity to use anyway.
I would imagine that recovery would be better the further you go down
the well?

thanks for the ideas

dutch

Yes, the bottom of the well will deliver water faster than points further up in the well that are nearer the the level of the water table. The reason is that as you pump the water down in the casing the head from the outside to inside increases, driving water into the casing faster. Your submersible, situated further down, will therefore deliver more water continuously w/o running dry than you can from a water pickup point located higher in the well.

7gpm is good delivery. We have a 10gpm in our well and sometimes it does pump it all the way down and suck air. You will see tiny air bubbles in the water when this happens. This is not the same as running dry. The pump is still pumping water even tho the well is not replenishing it as fast as the pump can pump. The water will still cool the pump and no damage will occur unless the situation is prolonged. If you notice a sudden loss of pressure during heavy water use you can be sure youre sucking some air and pretty soon you will get get some milky looking water coming out that clarifies immediately as the bubbles rise out. It wont take long to learn how to gauge your usage to minimize this. Sometimes you wont notice anything except a little milky water later after a minor slurp.
larry

 

[Egon]

I've been told the object is to have the pump sized to less than the recharge rate so pump is always pumping water.

 

[dex3361]

I have a 45' well with a 240V 1/2 HP submersable pump (Red Jacket brand) it is the 2 wire type without a capacitor box. I also have the a lightning arrestors installed at the switch and the pressure switch is the type that shuts off the pump if the pressure continues to drop below the kick on set point (it has been in service for 21 years).

I also run my house off of a 240V 4500 Watt gen. that is hooked up in my detached garage. I like this setup for the saftey factor. From the looks of the transfer switch an electrician could possibly rearrange the circuts and fit your 240V well pump circut in. It would depend on what the other circuts are feeding and the wire sizes.

 

[Dutch445]

took a look at the pump tonight,
it's a gould, and it's dual voltage.
currently wired into 115, the label
says it's draw is 8.6 amps, with a
max load of 10.8
obviously the 230v ratings are 1/2
the 115.

i'll have to investigate sub pumps more,
i'm leaning towards a good 115v,
1/2hp, 7gpm.......