Hi All,
I just drilled a 200 foot well, and I need an easy to follow description of how to set the pump. My driller said he'd tell me what to do, but he's out drilling more wells and I don't think he has time to talk me 'the dummy' through the steps. Here's what I know and what I need to know. I'm going to put a submersible pump in at about 190 feet. I'll have to splice in the electrical cord and add the drop pipe and a safety rope. What I don't know is what horse power pump do I need? I think I'm getting about 8 gpm but I might be getting better. The well fills to 114 feet. I think I need a control box. I'm not sure about a tank. And what kind of spigot do I use? If someone would just write a part list, I could probably figure it all out. As of now, I only need to pump a few gallons in a watering tank for livestock, but I'm probably going to build a 700 square foot cabin and use the well as the water supply for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I have a 1 1/4 h.p. submersible Gould in a 500' deep well.
It has been in use for 17 years and have never had any problems with it. I am sure it has pumped millions of gallons of water. Gould pumps
If you have a "Graingers" catalog, it should have all the parts you need and some pump curves.
As a minimum, you'll need the following (starting at the pump):
Pump w/ control box), check valve, torque arrestor, pitless adaptor (or sanitary well seal), cable guards, gate valve, pressure gauge, pressure switch, diaphragm tank.
Again, look in a Grainger catalog, it has a schematic you can follow.
<font color="blue"> Anybody know about how much materials will cost total? </font color>
A BUNCH! Actually, it shouldn't be too bad if you buy it yourself. The well drillers mark it up a lot. All together probably $3000 - $3500 including the tank.
Are you putting the tank indoors or in a shelter? You don't want to worry about freezing.
How are you lowering the pump and pipe into the hole? It gets heavy pretty fast as you add pipe lengths (20 ft. lengths?). You can do it with a 30' tripod and a small winch. A couple of hundred feet isn't too bad. My pump sits at 450', lots of wire and lots of pipe.
Check into lightning protection for the pump and controls. Nearby lightning ground strikes can cause problems.
Make sure you size the pump to a little less than the recovery rate.
You may also want a hydrant at the well head.
The pumps will come in different price/quality ranges. If purchasing one of the better know quality pumps the supplier will be able to give all the advice you need.
Thanks gsganger and egon.
I'm planning on building a pulley over the well and using it to lower the pump, drop pipe and electric wiring down the casing. I'll probably build a well house away from the actual well head. I plan to build a gazebo over the well head and I'll set the control box there, but I'd like to build a well house in another location. Thanks for all the help. This things starting to make sense to me.
<font color="blue"> " I'm planning on building a pulley over the well and using it to lower the pump, drop pipe and electric wiring down the casing." </font color>
This is the way I've seen it done:
Two things you need to make - First, make a plate (That will rest on the well hole) with a notch that is barely larger then the pipe OD, but will not allow the pipe coupling to pass through, you'll use this to rest your pipe coupling on as you lower your pipe into into the well. Second, Take a pipe nipple (that is sized to thread into your couplings) and weld an eye hook onto it (or into it), you'll use this for lifting and lowering your pipe.
Thread a pipe coupling on one end of each pipe length. Thread the first section of pipe onto the pump, thread the lifting eye into the coupling on the other end and lift the pipe and pump. Begin lowering into the hole, as soon as the pump clears the well opening, slide the notched plate around the pipe and over the hole (This plate is your safety device should your lifting cable break, it won't allow the coupling to pass and everything drop down the hole.) Continue lowering until the coupling rests on the plate, remove the lifting eye and thread into the coupling on the next pipe length. Lift the next pipe section into place and thread it into the previous section's coupling, slide the notched plate to the side and begin lowering, slide the plate back into place once the coupling clears the hole.
My pump is about 10 years old and I'm sure must be getting to end-of-life. The well drillers charge a small fortune, so I've been giving some thought to doing it myself when the time comes. However, mine's 450 feet deep. That's an awful lot to handle.
If you build a gazebo, make sure you can still pull the pipe up at a later date.
The piping used in my well is the black plastic type.. not metal.. there are also spacers attached along the length of the pipe to keep it centered in the caseing. My pump stopped working one day.. when the well guys pulled it all out.. there was a 1 ft length of exposed electrical wire.. from the pump turning on & off.. and rubbing against the caseing. The well guys said one reason was my tank was too small.. causing the pump to turn on frequently. They used a tripod w/ 3 tires coming together to pull the piping out.
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