Well Pump Woes

[Unclebuck257]

I had to replace our well pump about three months ago now, after replacing it previously about 4 years ago. Our well is at 356 feet. I first time I replaced it, I replaced the original 1 hp pump, that lasted only about 3 years, with a 1 1/2 hp pump, and it lasted 4 years. This time, I went back with a 1 1/2 hp pump again, but the manufacturer offers a full 5 yr warranty for only $50.00, so I jumped on it.

That 1 1/2hp pump cost $849.00 by itself and then the rest of the total $1250 cost was for pulling the PVC pipe etc. I think they charged $1.00/foot to pull the pipe.

The water here is full of red iron and minerals so the pump that was just replaced looked terrible when it was brought out of the well, and was caked with minerals.

That's why we have a good water purification system too!

The folks that did this work for me also told me that there is a flow regulator that you can buy for about $85.00 that controls the water flow and limits the times the pump itself goes on and off. With your sprinkler system, that may be what you need.

 

[midlf]

I don't know whether to feel lucky or nervous. Our house was built in '72 (we got it 2 years ago) and we are still using the original pump and pressure tank. I do not know how deep the well is or at what level the water is at, that may have something to do with it. We have hard water and need a softener but no iron.

 

[Egon]

Alan:

There are pressure regulators that you could use.

If using a valve for control try a globe valve as it is easier to adjust. A gate vale has almost 100% flow at 20% open.

A site that shows some regulators just for ideas.

web page

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Alan L.]

Uncle Buck, you aren't that far from me. As far as I know I don't have any iron, but I do have intermittent turbidity problems.

We don't really have any kind of irrigation system. I ran water lines around the property last summer and installed 6 faucets. We just have varous hoses and sprinklers for the garden, trees, flowers, etc. that we have planted around the property, and we usually run 2 or 3 sprinklers at once. Plus I have a gate-valve outlet to my pond so I can run water directly in there if I want to.

I have the pressure tank set for 48-68 and have lots of pressure all over the property.

I am going to look into one of those pressure control valves some of you have talked about. Something like that might help increase the life of my new pump.

I can get a 5-year warranty for $50 on my new pump too, from Berkely. However the driller pointed out that in order to take advantage of the warranty, they have to pull the pump (and the labor is not covered) and then Berkely has to certify that it is bad before replacing it. In other words, you are without water for several days if you wait for their replacement.

 

[Highbeam]

"I am going to look into one of those pressure control valves some of you have talked about. Something like that might help increase the life of my new pump."

I have seen a flow control device on a well. The well driller does a drawdown test to figure out the flow rate the well can make. Then you buy the corresponding handy dandy resrictor with the GPM embossed on the side. It looks like a simple orifice. The well pump is a simple centrifugal pump so limiting the flow rate with a restriction will simply make the pump slip. This setup can be used to limit the on/off cycles of an oversized pump but it also limits the flow rate of the system. A variable speed pump controller actually slows or speeds the pump itself to maintain a constant pressure in the system. This reduces the variation in pressure between hi and low settings on the pressure switch and should greatly reduce on/off cycles of the pump. The variable speed controllers are expensive though.

I guess I am fortunate to have a well less than 100' deep so I can use a spool of HDPE water line and hand lift the pump out of the well myself. 100$ for the 1" pipe, and 250$ for a pump. I am just amazed at the high prices posted here.

 

[mikim]

Just received the report last night from my driller. Well depth is 488' .... static level is 88' ...so I have 400' of water - they put the pump at 200' ... 55GPM on the jet out .....ph=8, iron=.5 , hardness= 11 He said these were pretty good numbers ...???? no clue ... can anyone verify for me? Anyone have a good idea of how much or what type filtering I should use?

 

[Unclebuck257]

Alan,

Everyone of my neighbors in this area has a real problem with a lot of iron in their water. You're probably just far enough away from here that you don't have that problem. That makes you very lucky too because that pump of mine that was replced a few months ago was caked, literally caked to the point it wouldn't/couldn't run with all that red iron sediment!! It was definitely a nasty sight. All our PVC pipes are caked inside with it too, if they don't come off our water conditioning system.

In a situation like we've had recently with the severe drought, I too run a line directly off the well to one of my stock tanks. That causes my pump to run off and on constantly!

 

[GaryQWA]

Check out the performance of a Cycle Stop Valve. They allow the pump to run constantly instead of on/off constantly which kills pump motors.

The guys with the iron problems in the well... you may have IRB (iron related bacteria). There is special chlorination equipment to prevent the encrusted pumps and rust build up inside the drop pipe etc.. Chlorination can cause rusty water. You wouldn't want a lot of chlorine with galvanized drop pipe though. You can swap the galvanized with sch 80 PVC though.

The big box store submersible pumps... they are nowhere near the quality of the pumps sold by pump guys, well drillers and such.

To learn about sizing submersible pumps etc., see here

To learnmore about head and pressure etc. see here

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[MartyAnderson]

Alan

That looks like Frank & JT from Moser's Drilling in that picture. They just finished a new irrigation/pond filling well for me in Gordonville that included a 5HP 50 GPM Sta-Rite Pump with deluxe control box. Line item price for my pump was $2572.

Based on Moser's recommendation, I also had them install a 2" cycle stop valve which keeps the pump running when using as little as 5 GPM through a garden hose.

Marty