Well pump

[czechsonofagun]

I need to tap in the water pipe right after the well pump. (the pump is in the crawl space, sits on a top of a pressure tank and has two black plastic pipes going into it). As far as I can tell, there is not ventil I could close, which means I have to shut off the pump.

Now the questions are:

1. Do I need to drain the tank before I can do the plumbing?

2. When the tank is empty, is there a need for priming before the pump can be turned on again?

3. Any danger I can overlook or any maintenance I could perform with the pump off?

Pardon my dumb questions, I never done this before and dont want to run in anything I could prevent.

 

[jimg]

My case is slightly diff than yours but I think it mostly applies. I changed out my holding tank so, yes, I did drain it. However, if theres no valve between the tank and house plumbing youll need to relieve the pressure on it which means draining the tank. I also drained the house plumbing at the same time. Once the tank was in I needed to pressurize the tank bladder (b/c it was a new tank) and that was it. You might want to check the bladder pressure to make sure its to spec. I turned the pump on which filled the tank which pressurized the house plumbing which pushed the air and water out of the open faucets upstairs. Also youll want to stick around for a bit and make sure all your new plumbing (and any old stuff you disturbed) is still water tight.

BTW when I put in my new tank I also added a ball valve & drain on the output side (house plumbing side) so I could work on it w/o having to drain the tank.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Thanks Jim, I am planning to do that - i.e. add the cut off valve. I have actually two - before and after the whole house filter (Virginia has red dirt and we have to filter down to 5 microns) - but this tap in is for the farmer's hydrant and I want to take it from before the filter.

 

[jimg]

One more thing...the system I replaced had a bunch of brass or bronze parts (like the manifold) which turned out to be very brittle. Not sure if thats b/c of the water or what. Thankfully I replaced most of it as part of the tank replacement. However there were parts I reused and I had to be REALLY careful w/ them. Not sure if youll run into this situation but just be aware that old parts depending on material could require gentle handling.

 

[Jimbrown]

Is it like this? If it does not have it I would add the drain and cutoff valves. Be sure you splice in on the correct side of the check valve.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Almost, but it has two pipes going down to the well - I learned since the original post that it is a jet pump for deep wells.

 

[jimg]

Thats what I had...a deep well pump. My setup was a bit diff than the one in the pic. The biggest diff was the T manifold attaching the tank, water supply in/out, check valve and pressure switch. That was one of the brass/bronze bits I changed out b/c the check valve was integrated (and failing). Anyway, it was a pretty easy job and I took my time w/ it. After that I changed the well pump and hired that out. The old pump was very corroded (but still working OK). It was the original and well over 25yrs old.

 

[Jimbrown]

Well i have never seen a deep well jet pump. They are usually only good for about 100ft. Of course a deep well in Arizona is really a deep well. I have three over 300ft. And neighbors that go 600ft.