Pump suggestions for low yield well.

[Zoomschwortz]

I need suggestions for excellent quality pumps for a low yield well.

There are no County records that the well exists, so, going off hand written notes on the wall of a 12' tall pump house, there were some repairs done in 1966 and it mentions a 1,710 gallon tank that is no longer on the property.

My well depth (from memory, 3 decades ago) is somewhere in the 50'-60' range with 6" steel case.
Current 1HP pump (replacement for a failed Sears 1 HP) was installed over 20 years ago and as of yesterday, from a faucet at the well head, it pumped 5 gallons every 68 seconds well ran dry and pump shut off @ 13 minutes 20 seconds @ this rate.

Pressure tank holds 6.5 gal @ 60 psi and goes from 40psi to 60psi in 48 seconds, well is drained in 11 cycles.

Static water level varies drastically. In 1994, I had static water level 25' below ground and 1 month later, 6' below ground level.
 
The water will be pumped up 8' above ground to fill 3,000 gal tank.
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I will be installing a 3,000 gallon, above ground tank, running low volume submersible in well & 20-25 GPM (Submersible???) pump for tank to CSV to house & outdoor faucets.
I have a mutli-tank filter system (before the 3,000 gal tank) that that requires 1-22 GPM and 28-80 PSI to function.

This Tuesday I will have more accurate information on the well and it's flow rates when a well and pump company tests the well, but, at this point, I would be very happy if the well could support a continuous 3 GPM, but guessing it will be somewhere closer to 1-2 GPM.

At this point, I feel that this 22 year old, 1HP, 5 GPM pump is over kill for my well.
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Is there a good quality pump for my well that could run non stop for many hours a day at 2-3 GPM while staying in the 28-80 psi range?

For the 3,000 gallon above ground tank, should I use a Jet pump or go with submersible for 20-25 GPM to the house & any pump in particular that you would recommend?

Thank you for your time and consideration
Ken

[Cary Austin]

What is more important than a good pump is a Cycle Sensor to shut the pump off before it is damaged from running dry.  That being said I still like the pumps with Stainless Steel impellers like in a Grundfos instead of plastic, especially on a low yield well.

[Zoomschwortz]

Thank you, I will look for one with a stainless impeller and order a Cycle Sensor when I order the CSV.

Off hand, do you know a model number for a well pump that is less than 5 GPM?

For my 3,000 gallon tank to my house, The shower head is 10'-12' higher than the ground that the tank will be sitting on. I am wanting 25 GPM for house and outside watering. Water from tank will be going through the CSV.

Do you have a recommended type pump (In tank or External) and model number?

Thanks again
ken

[Zoomschwortz]

I just re-read your article "Choking the flow from a pump makes it work easier".

In the article it says that reducing the flow on a centrifugal makes the pump work easier.

Does this have the same effect on a fixed displacement pump?

I am guessing that the pump in my well is fixed displacement (I really don't know for sure) , but, if I can reduce the volume of water coming from my pump with a ball valve to match the volume that my well produces and not hurt my pump, this would be good.

If this only works with centrifugal pumps, then I need to make sure what type of pump I now have.

[Cary Austin]

Nearly all submersible and jet pumps are centrifugal.  It would be rare as hen's teeth to have a positive displacement pump.  Some of the newer solar pumps are positive displacement, but that is all.  Yes your pump will work easier when the CSV reduces the flow rate.

For 25 GPM at 50-60 PSI you would want something like a Grundfos 25S10-7 in submersible or a J15S Goulds jet pump.

For the well pump at 50-60' filling a cistern, 1/2HP is about as small as you can get.  Use a 10S05-9 Grundfos and add a 5 GPM Dole valve.

[Zoomschwortz]

Thank you for your help.
I'll look for these pumps.

I live near the Cascades and temps in the teens and single digits are very common here, so the idea of using a submersible in the 3,000 gal tank is appealing to me. I am thinking that a submersible pump in the tank will be easier to keep from freezing.

Can a submersible pump be mounted horizontally, 6" above the bottom of the tank or is it required to mount it vertically?
Horizontally would make it easy to hook up to the large bulkhead fitting, but, whether Horz or Vert, I need to figure out a way to keep the pump from moving around inside the tank.
Do you know if there is such a thing as in tank pump mounts?

Thanks again for your help
Ken

[Cary Austin]

Yeah you can lay a submersible on its side.  Keep it off the bottom and use a flow inducer or shroud to keep the motor cool.

[Zoomschwortz]

Thank you for the pictures Cary.
The horizontal mount with PVC pipe is much simpler than I had imagined and looks like it will work very well.

I am guessing that the PVC pipe should be filled with some type of ballast, such as wet sand or is that even necessary?

Looking at the pumps you suggested, do you recommend CSIR or RSIR motor?


For my well pump, due to power outages that can go on for days, I am considering going with a 120v pump for the well. I have a couple Honda EU2200i generators, one of which will easily power the well pump if needed and it is miserly on fuel consumption.   

For the tank pump I will be using 120v and for power outages, I will also plumb in a 5GPM/60PSI 12v RV water pump to keep water flowing in the house.

[Cary Austin]

1/2HP is the largest (only size) you can get in 115V.  The 10 GPM series would be best.  CSIR is easier to start, but won't make much difference.  Use the same 4" white PVC drain pipe to make the stand as the shroud.  Open ended they don't need ballast. 

[Zoomschwortz]

Cary, thank you for the the clarification on the PVC pump stand. I believe that it will fit my needs very well.

Scratch the 2 GPM below. I had to pick up a 1 micron filter this morning and the person that had checked my well yesterday said that after doing the calculations this morning, my well is yielding 1.25 GPM. He did add that this is a dry season and during winter and it will yield more GPM, but, that isn't much help to me in the summer.

Well Test is finished.
I should have a paper copy in a few days, but, my well is yielding a steady 2 GPM, well depth 60', water level a little over 20' below ground.
He did point out that we are still in the "dry" season and the GPM may increase during the wet season.

He says that my 22 year old pump is still good and does not require replacement, so, at this point, my only reason to replace the pump is to go with the generator friendly 115v.
Considering that my well is yielding 2 GPM, is the 10 GPM series pump still the best for me?

Well Health
Could I get your opinion on the following?
Some time ago, a person told me it is much better for the well if, while the pump cycle is running, I can keep the the water level fluctuation to a few feet, vs having the water level go up and down 30'-40'.

I can see his point in respects to water going up and down the casing being able to remove flakes of rust from the casing and thus filling the bottom of the well with rust flakes, but can you see any other problems that this could cause for me, considering that I have less than 40' of water in my casing?

Since the well is yielding 2 GPM and the pump can be running hours at a time (when I add the water tank) should I use a 2 GPM Dole valve and keep the water fairly steady or should I use a higher GPM Dole valve?

Thanks again
Ken

[Cary Austin]

40' of water in the well is storing 60 gallons for you to use a fast as needed.  So yes the 10 GPM pump is best, even if you use a 2 GPM Dole valve.  To utilize the 60 gallons stored in the well you will need to draw the level all the way down and let it fill back up over time.  The most efficient way is to let the pump produce 10 GPM for 6 minutes, then the Cycle Sensor will shut it off and you can set the restart timer for about 30 minutes.  However, if this causes rust or any other problems with the water, using a 2 GPM Dole valve and letting the pump run as long as needed to fill the cistern is your only other option.  but you will still need the Cycle Sensor in case it pumps the well dry over a long time.  60 gallons stored in the well is probably enough to run a house directly off the 10 GPM pump in the well and not need a cistern.  Or you can hook it up where you can get water directly from the well pump or the booster pump in the cistern if you like.  Always nice having a backup water supply.