We left off on the last post talking about getting a well in for water on your homestead. I wanted to make this post about well pumps and tanks and also the advantage to a pitless adapter for your well and what a pitless adapter is for those that do not know what it is. Pumps for a well can be confusing as there are many out there and many different brands out there also. I will tell you what the well tank is for, as many people think I have a pump to pump water why do I need a tank?
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Let's start with the well tank! Do I need a big tank or just a small one? That depends on some factors, such as how gallons per minute your pump will pump out of the ground for you or how many gallons per minute your well will produce. We have a 42-gallon tank on our well, so that means we get 42 gallons of water per minute from our pump? No, we tested it out to about 7 or 8 gallons per minute. It is a little extra water in the tank so the pump does not run all the time and it does not wear the pump out so fast. We have our well pressure set at 60 PSI and the pump will shut off at that PSI then when the pressure in the tank falls to 30 PSI the pump will kick on and bring the pressure back to 60 PSI and it keeps going like that until the water is shut off. Most showers only use about 1.5 gallons per minute so it will run for a little bit before the pump kicks on and the pump will stop and kick on again when the pressure falls to 30 PSI. There is pressurized air in the top of the tank and a reservoir of water on the bottom. As the water pump fills the tank with water, it compresses the air in the top of the tank. When the pressure gets to around 60 PSI, a switch turns the pump off. Then, as the water is used, the compressed air in the tank pushes the water out of the tank. When the pressure drops to around 30PSI, the pump switches back on and the cycle repeats itself. All of this is controlled by a well pressure switch that is on your well system. When the tank pressure is reached the points open and shut off the pump and when they close it turns the pump on till it reaches a certain pressure in the tank.
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There are a couple different types of well pumps. You have a submersible pump, which is in the bottom of the casing of your well. There is also a jet pump which sits at the top of the well and uses a vacuum to pull the water from the ground into your tank. The jet pump will work of your water is 25 to 90 below the surface of the ground. These are used much anymore for the fact that if your water table fluctuates below 90 ft the will not work as the water is to low for them. It is the principle of a straw if the bottom of the straw is not in the water it will not pull any water up. Also if it loses its prime then you will have to have water to prime the pump to get it working again. With the submersible pump, it is in the water all the time and never has to be primed and it can be set in the well to account for the fluctuation of the water level. There are several different brands of submersible pumps, the one that is used the most is the brand name, Goulds, They make pumps for several industries and they are a very good pump. They are not a cheap pump but most well drillers will use this pump of they are knowledgeable of what they are doing. There are several brands of pumps some are Red Loin, Flotec, Simer, and Wayne pumps, just to name a few. In my opinion, Goulds pumps are the best to use in your well.
Jet Pump
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Submersible Pump
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The pitless adapter is just a way to keep the casing and well pump out of the well house you will build around your tank and your electric connections to the well. It is an easy way to be able to pull your pump from the well without have to move the well house that you built and it makes it easier to service your pump, casing, and the pipe coming from the bottom of your well. It is a simple as that.
Thank you for reading our blog and I hope you have or are learning something from these posts. I hope everyone has a great day/night, whatever it is in your neck of the woods. Please upvote, resteem, and feel free to ask questions in the comments below. I will try to answer them all!
