Low volume out of 56 foot well...suggestions?
#1
11-04-04, 06:38 AM
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Low volume out of 56 foot well...suggestions?
I just moved into a new home that has a swimming pool. The previous owner "hinted" that the pool requires a lot of filling time and that he fills it overnight. I have owned a pool for several years and never fill it more then a few hours a day so that sounded crazy to me.
Well when I did my first fill I found out why....we have low water volume.
The pump is a single tube pump and is 1hp...maybe 1.5 (bad memory)? The pump looks like it's in great shape. Previous owner said the well was drilled to 113 feet but had iron so they raised it to 56 feet and it is clean now. The water hose tap is right after the pump and before the bladder. When you turn on the hose you get awesome volume and pressure until it empty's the tank and then it just trickles water out at probably 1 gallon per minute. My father in law lives just down the street and has the same size pump and gets more like 6 or 7 gallons per minute. The pressure gauge on the regulator shows 40 to 50 PSI while it's filling the tank and 20 - 30 once I empty it out. The house has been there 11 years. Do the regulators ever clog up? Worn impeller maybe? Any ideas?
Well when I did my first fill I found out why....we have low water volume.
The pump is a single tube pump and is 1hp...maybe 1.5 (bad memory)? The pump looks like it's in great shape. Previous owner said the well was drilled to 113 feet but had iron so they raised it to 56 feet and it is clean now. The water hose tap is right after the pump and before the bladder. When you turn on the hose you get awesome volume and pressure until it empty's the tank and then it just trickles water out at probably 1 gallon per minute. My father in law lives just down the street and has the same size pump and gets more like 6 or 7 gallons per minute. The pressure gauge on the regulator shows 40 to 50 PSI while it's filling the tank and 20 - 30 once I empty it out. The house has been there 11 years. Do the regulators ever clog up? Worn impeller maybe? Any ideas?
#2
11-04-04, 07:49 PM
There is a screen at the bottem of the well pipe (foot) and on top of that there is a one way valve to stop the pump from loseing it's prime. Some times the screen gets cloged ( with rust, sand, ect). If you have plastic pipe you can pull the pipe your self and ckeck it out. If you have metal pipe you will need to call a well repairman ( unless you can lift 20 foot of pipe at time). The problem may also be that the well pipe is not deep enough, another 20 foot should fix that. Good Luck.
#3
11-22-04, 12:42 PM
Sounds as if you may have inherited some interesting things with this house. I don't know where you are located, but you can possibly get a well log from the driller of the well (if it says it on the well cap, etc.) and see what that says. It will tell you depth, the well yield, and other info that would help someone troubleshoot this for you.
In your first post you said:
[Previous owner said the well was drilled to 113 feet but had iron so they raised it to 56 feet and it is clean now.
What that says sto me is that your well screen may be plugged with iron and may need some treating by a well specialist. This would involve removing the pump, introducing chemicals, circulalting the acid into the well and then pumping it out to waste and treating it. Even this may not produce the results you are looking for. It may be in your best interest, not knowing anything about the well to start considering drilling a new well. You can put a lot of money into treating and rehabbing an old well to no avail. If you do drill, see if the driller can install a 5-6 in. casing and put a submersible pump in for you. Then you don't have to worry about priming the pump, foot valves failing, etc. It is a much better system in my mind.
Also, pump impellers plug with iron, too, rendering the pump ineffective to build up pressures or produce the proper demand. Changing the pump however will not solve your problem, there is something deeper there that needs to be looked into by a specialist.
In your first post you said:
[Previous owner said the well was drilled to 113 feet but had iron so they raised it to 56 feet and it is clean now.
What that says sto me is that your well screen may be plugged with iron and may need some treating by a well specialist. This would involve removing the pump, introducing chemicals, circulalting the acid into the well and then pumping it out to waste and treating it. Even this may not produce the results you are looking for. It may be in your best interest, not knowing anything about the well to start considering drilling a new well. You can put a lot of money into treating and rehabbing an old well to no avail. If you do drill, see if the driller can install a 5-6 in. casing and put a submersible pump in for you. Then you don't have to worry about priming the pump, foot valves failing, etc. It is a much better system in my mind.
Also, pump impellers plug with iron, too, rendering the pump ineffective to build up pressures or produce the proper demand. Changing the pump however will not solve your problem, there is something deeper there that needs to be looked into by a specialist.
#4
11-22-04, 07:52 PM
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I'm confused by this one, - I read "single tube pump" - sucking from 56 feet --I don't think so !
Did I get the wrong impression here?
Did I get the wrong impression here?
#5
11-23-04, 05:42 AM
Originally Posted by nomind
I'm confused by this one, - I read "single tube pump" - sucking from 56 feet --I don't think so !
Did I get the wrong impression here?
Did I get the wrong impression here?
I saw this too, but maybe this is a jet pump w/ an eductor at the pump or what we call a "convertable" jet pump. It can either be used in a single pipe application or a 2 pipe jet application.
#6
11-23-04, 09:44 AM
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There's no problem with the 56 or 113' as long as the water level is around say 20' and the recovery rate is equal to the pump discharge rate. If so he'd be lifting the water 20' and a single line jet pump would work fine. A two line deep well jet would be a better choice though. So would treating the iron instead of allowing what sounds like (113- 56' =) 57' of possibly stagnant water if he has a rock bore well.
Gary
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Last edited by Doug Aleshire; 03-11-05 at 07:30 PM.
#7
11-24-04, 07:41 PM
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H2O Guy,
that's an interesting point you make, I've used lots of convertible pumps and lots of eductors but never used an eductor on single line, only on 2 line systems. I'm having a problem understanding how an eductor would work on single line. Is it going to suck more than 25 feet?
-Enlighten me, oh wise one .
that's an interesting point you make, I've used lots of convertible pumps and lots of eductors but never used an eductor on single line, only on 2 line systems. I'm having a problem understanding how an eductor would work on single line. Is it going to suck more than 25 feet?
-Enlighten me, oh wise one .
Last edited by nomind; 11-24-04 at 08:04 PM. Reason: too brief
