well pumps again

J

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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Since there seems to be no water on the horizon I may have to think about another submersible well pump (the last one lasted three weeks with no guarantee)

We have everything for the well except the pump lol - what experience have those people with newly acquired well pumps had , what cost , how deep did they go etc

I think our well is 120 feet from what I remember - the pump was great for three weeks then wouldnt pump enough pressure- so am reluctant to get another if it only lasts three weeks

we replaced control boxes, capacitors etc dragged the pump back a couple of times from its hole, the only place it would work was the swimming pool , which isnt really what we wanted
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Maybe the one you had didn't have enough HP? I wish I'd known you were looking for one, we just [last week!] sold one for my brother-in-law, 2 HP, cheap. He bought it for a new well, never dug it, sold the property so had to get rid of it.

Mr. AE says to contact Torpedo Co in SD, they might have a rep near you. Says you should buy a Gould pump, that you can't go wrong with one of them.
 
jstarebel

jstarebel

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Oct 4, 2013
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@ jrhartley. First take a 150-200' ball of cotton string, attach a weight to it and drop it SLOWLY down the well taking notice when it hits bottom. Don't let the string go down any further. Then pull it up slowly looking for where the string is wet. Tie a knot there and pull it the rest of the way out. Measure where the string is wet to where the weight is attached. This will give you overall well depth, and depth to the water level. This will help you determine where to set your pump, and how large a pump you will need. tell me what you get from this test and we will move on to checking your "Draw Down" after you unfortunately buy or preferably borrow a pump to check it. If you know a well driller, you could have him come out and "Bail" the well to determine the wells recovery rate which is what you need to know, so you don't burn up another pump.

Good submersible well pumps are; Goulds, Red Jacket, Myers, and Grundfos. You will also need to look into a "Coyote" it's a pump saver device that shuts down your pump when the amp draw goes off the curve due to lack of water in the well. Remember that the pump HAS to be sized properly for the well.

I'll be glad to help you out if you want.
 
P

pularvik

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Jan 2, 2011
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jstarebel; Very helpful reply to OP. I will be watching with interest as we have same problem. However, we are looking at solar pumps as we are entirely off the grid .
 
J

jrhartley

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The broken one is Pedrollo motor 4PDm/0.05
3400 rpm
kw 0.37
0,50 HP

just put a string down and need tapemeasure to measure length
 
jstarebel

jstarebel

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Oct 4, 2013
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jrhartley said:
ah only did to water level which was 95ft
do i need to see how deep the water is now
Click to expand...

So you're sure the well is 120' to the bottom, and it's 95' to the water in the pipe?? that's only 25' of standing water in the pipe. That's actually not good, but explains why you couldn't pump anything. Ordinarily, the standing water should make up at least 50% of the overall well depth and preferably 70%. in a 120' well, you would be wanting to set the pump at about the 95' level with the water standing in the pipe about 30' What is the inside diameter of the well casing?? Do you have any idea of the age of this well?
 
J

jrhartley

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sorry it was 95 feet to water level and then the water was 37 feet deep approx, the well is about 15 years old i think and the pipes about 6-8 inches across
 
M

MpJuly

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Apr 30, 2009
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If the "the only place it would work was the swimming pool " I thionk is a pump problem, seem you have water in your well
 
jstarebel

jstarebel

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Oct 4, 2013
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jrhartley said:
sorry it was 95 feet to water level and then the water was 37 feet deep approx, the well is about 15 years old i think and the pipes about 6-8 inches across
Click to expand...

Ok. Well is aprox. 130 ft total with aprox 35' of water in the pipe. Setting a pump down to 120'(you cant set it at the bottom) gives you aprox. 25' of water in a 6" casing. 1.47gal/ft. equals only 35 gallons of water to pull from. Thats not much at all unless your recovery rate is outstanding. If I was you, I would first call a well driller and see about bailing the well to see what the well will produce befor I spent money on a pump and controls. I'm guessing that you have a cistern, so if your well only produces 5gpm you can size a pump correctly to pump water to your cistern. I doubt you will be able to run this well to feed your home directly. You have 120' of head just from the well and you will need to also consider how much higher it is to the cistern to come up with the total head the pump needs to overcome. Wish I had better news for you, but you may have a well that can only be used during rainy season or it may be a dry hole so to speak. You need a pro to check it before spending any more money on pumps.
 
cobraboy

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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.5hp is way too little.

We have 2hp to pump water up 40' to our tinaco. Our pool pump is 1.5hp...at mid-pool depth in the pump room. Both 220v.

I suspect the pump worked itself to death.

jr, the guy who helps me with bike & tour prep is a well pump guy by profession. If you can get him to Sosua, he can definitely take care of your problem the first time. He speaks perfect English and worked for the NYC Parks Dept. in maintenance.
 
J

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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I think we may have found one - a kind man has offered us one and we dont have to pay until its installed and working.
Thanks to everyone for all the advice

I expect coraaplata will turn the tap on when we get the pump attached
 
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