# Land has well: I need to install the pump



## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

....and piping and holding tank. All the info I find on the web assumes I am simply replacing equipment I already have. My local library has nothing in the way of books about it. I am new to this whole land thing, but I am sturdy and smart. I have no electric on the land yet. Considering a possible solar pump. But for this thread's purpose, AFTER i get info on my well (how deep it is,water level, etc).....where do I start. I need a submersible pump, a holding tank......what else. Talk to me. All things well pumping! Tired of discouragment on doing this on my own from others. Again, with information and a shove in the right direction, I am good. Then we'll talk septic systems......lol!


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2014)

Not enough info. Does it freeze where you are ? Pump house or will pressure tank be located elsewhere such as crawlspace , basement , etc . ?


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Agree with WV.....more info would help. If you plan to go solar, can you get enough elevation on a tank to gravity supply your needs ? You'd need about 50' (or more) of elevation from the point of use to work this out. IF you have this, things get a lot more simple and cheaper ( using gravity )


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

How deep is the well and how far down does the water start will also help quite a bit. Hopefully you aren't too deep and will be able to install with just a couple people guiding. Where you are (cold-wise) makes a difference too. We have to go into a pitless adapter 4 feet down here...


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Ya! Me too! Need to know more before we can help. Is this a shallow well? If so they average 15-20 feet but can be 50 feet. Ours is 35 feet deep,holds 23 feet of watter,hand dug to an underground vein. Tell us more and we'll try to help.


Wade


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

What diameter is the well casing?


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## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

The well casing is (I believe) 9-10 inches in diameter (I hope the casing is that pipe sticking out of the ground)

I don't know depth or anything yet. But I do know I will need a simple wood house around the well and holding tank. My mom and her fiance live on the land that connects to it, that's all they needed for theirs. My well is probably about 100 feet from theirs. From what I understand, they have a very basic setup. This will be in Tecumseh oklahoma. so our winters range from mild to very cold (like this year). I believe I have been told our frost line is 18 inches down if that helps.They set up the skimpiest of wood shacks as a pump house around their holding tank and well with no issues. Unfortunately I have no water level or depth info yet. The ground seems pretty level from well to location I want my home, but if anything MIGHT be a very SLIGHT incline. Solar was just a thought (my long term goal is solar and/or wind energy for just about ANYTHING I can)
Trying to get back out there in the next week to get that info. But from what I understand they have simply a pump and holding tank. I just need to know what holds that all together. 

I would ask my step dad, but seriously, I can't focus because he can't just give simple answers. it turns into a battle of the boredom because it just becomes a "well we did, but this happened, and you could do this, but what I would do is this, but i didn't..."


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

The link below has a "typical well" layout. The drop pipe can be black plastic pipe if the depth isn't too deep. That makes droppping the whole setup in and hanging it on a pitless adapter much easier. Mine is about 120 feet and 2 or 3 people is an easy 5 minute job to pull or put in. The control box shown isn't needed if you buy a 2 wire pump (3 wire pums need the control box). The link shows the line coming out thru a pitless adapter and running underground to the building with the tank etc in the residence. That is a typical layout in cold locations. If the buried pipe ever freezes it takes about 2 months of nice spring weather for the soil to warm enough to thaw all the way down, so folks here stay well under the frost line.

http://www.jwblissplumbing.com/well-tanks-pumps/


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## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

moeh1 said:


> The link below has a "typical well" layout. The drop pipe can be black plastic pipe if the depth isn't too deep. That makes droppping the whole setup in and hanging it on a pitless adapter much easier. Mine is about 120 feet and 2 or 3 people is an easy 5 minute job to pull or put in. The control box shown isn't needed if you buy a 2 wire pump (3 wire pums need the control box). The link shows the line coming out thru a pitless adapter and running underground to the building with the tank etc in the residence. That is a typical layout in cold locations. If the buried pipe ever freezes it takes about 2 months of nice spring weather for the soil to warm enough to thaw all the way down, so folks here stay well under the frost line.
> 
> http://www.jwblissplumbing.com/well-tanks-pumps/


Aha, thank you! I need to learn all this so that I can not only install: but know how to troubleshoot issues and fix them in the future. Or how to have someone else fix them without taking me for a ride with the cost and what I "need".


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

..................Tie a large plumb bob to a string on a hand crank reel ! IF , this well is 200 feet deep you should beable to use Sch. 80 , 1 inch PVC connected with galvanized metal collars . Most folks use 20 foot joints . I'd use a 100 gallon pressure tank with a rubber bladder and a 40\60 pressure switch . Talk with the local well man in your area , he can advise you , IF , he will . , fordy


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## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

Thank you, fordy! You know, I tried to ask my dad, as we grew up with well water and septic.......but in the 10 years we lived in that (old) home......we never had a problem with any of that stuff, so he never had to deal with it. Just had to replace a pipe on the septic once! Great grandpa built that stuff strong, apparently! But I thank everyone for giving me good info and not talking down to me. I know it would be easier to have a professional do it, but money is on the tight side, and I want to know how to be able to maintain as many things on my land as possible myself!


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

The pitless adapter part is a bit tricky to understand. Couple different styles. May have to dig down below frost line, did you say 18 inches? drill through the well casing. attach the adapter through the casing. The other part goes on the pipe and submersible pump that you drop down the well. The other half of the pitless adapter connects to the drop pipe, opposite end from the pump. The two pieces of the pitless adapter fit together when you drop the pump, pipe and the other half of the pitless adapter down the well. The pump must sit well into the water. The well water level may change when the pump runs for awhile, so make sure it is positioned well below that line. critical that the pump does not operate without water,


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## retire2$ (Feb 12, 2003)

Check to see if there is a tag on the well casing. The tag will include the well driller's name and an identification number. Call the health department with this information and they will tell you how deep the well is and the flow rate (gallons per minute). 

Now call a plumbing supply house with this information. They will ask you how many toilets and sinks you plan on having. With that information they will tell you what size pump you will need. Pumps can be purchased from plumbing supply stores, big box stores, and the internet. 

You will need to dig a trench (below the frost line) from the well to your house. I would suggest running two of the one inch plastic lines from your house to the well. You can put the electric line in one and use the other for water. This way if you ever get a leak in your water line you can simply pull the electric wire out and use it for the water line and then pull the electric line through the now leaking water line. You can also use the plastic pipe to connect your pump to the pitless adapter. You can buy one inch plastic pipe in 100 foot rolls. The plastic pipe is not very expensive. Put your pump 10 to 20 feet from the bottom of the well. The reason for this is to avoid pulling sediment from the bottom of the well..

You will use submergible wire from the pump to the top of the well. Standard romex wire or underground wire is used from the house to the top of the well.

Your well recovery rate will dictate how big a storage tank you can use. Forty or fifty gallon is the norm but you can get bigger. 

Most submergible pumps are 220 volt. Get the two wire pumps so you do not need a control box.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

This is a set of directions for installing a submersible pump that may help you. http://www.deanbennett.com/4inch-installation-instructions.pdf If you build your pump house over your well you won't need a pitiless adapter, you can come out of the top of the casing with a sanitary seal that will seal to the inside of the casing capping it off and have exit holes for your pipe and wire.


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## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

I found out my well is 120 feet deep with 60feet of water. 6 inch casing. My step dad says I should get a 1 HP pump. I have no clue where he gets this number. I think that's what he has and it supplies a small pull behind mobile home AND single wide with a 1.5 bath. Both have pretty good water pressure. I will have to research more. I will have a 2077 sq foot home with two fulls bathrooms, washer, kitchen, etc.


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

You are off to a good start now. The pump hp will determine how much water it can deliver based on how far you are lifting and how many stages it has. Note that you are only lifting from the 60' level, unless the well drops quickly with pumping. A good local shop will be able to help you pick the right pump and the rest of your supplies based on your needs. The only danger is getting too a flow and pumping the well down if itdoesn;t have good recovery. I f you can find out who dirlled the well they should have tested that initially. You can run the flexible black water line at the depth you have, this is much easier to put in the hole. You should probably set your pump up to stay 8-10 feet off the bottom.


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## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

So, what I have: it will be a well house and pressure tank set up....so I take it NO pitless adapter. I still dont know the refill rate. Just that a very close by well for the house next to my property (they are very long SKINNY properties) uses a 1HP for a 3 bdroom single wide with one bathroom, 4 people...as well as my parents little teeny trailer. They also use a pressure tank. Not sure of size. Get a 2 wire pump? And I can use the black water pipe..........diameter? Would a one inch 100 psi be ok? Or should I get a higher psi? Also, how does the pump know the pressure tank has refilled and to stop pumping/running? And can I get an adaptor to hook up a regular electric pump to a solar panel (temporarily) thanks for all your help?


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

I'm no help on a solar pump but they are available. You need to figure out the GPM you will use. I would say somewhere in the 6-10 is probably right for max. The pump chosen needs to be able to supply this while lifting 60 feet. From a quick look at some gould pump curves, that will probably put you at a 3/4 hp pump, although a 1hp may be cheaper and easy to lay your hands on, check your local source. The pump usually has a 1-1/4 inch threaded end in it, you can screw in a brass connector designed to accept either 1" or 1-1/4 black water pipe. The diameter really should be dictated by how far you are running from the well pump to the house, but it sounds like its not that far, so 1" likely good. I have no experience how you go out of the top of a well to a tank there, we have pitless adapters buried a good 4+ feet up north. I'd talk to a local water place where you intend to buy your pump or look at the setup next door.
Yes a 2 wire pump is the way to go, as you don't need a control box.
The electric to feed the pump goes thru a pressure switch mounted on a on plumbed with your well tank, when the tank gets to pressure the switch clicks out, shutting off power to the pump.


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## Clod Kicker (May 7, 2012)

A 'Foot' or 'Check Valve' located at the pump outlet will prevent drain back when the pump is off. In other words, the check valve prevents return flow to the pump, from the vertical pipe, when the pump shuts off. Without it, the pump would have to refill the vertical and much of the horizontal pipe every time it starts. You might be able to install a 90Â° check valve at the vertical x horizontal connection instead of a regular ell, for easier maintenance. Otherwise if the foot valve installed at the pump outlet starts passing backwards you have to pull up the pump to get to it.


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## 10quietacres (Feb 20, 2014)

Look for a guy named engineer775 on youtube. He builds and installs solar well pumps from time to time and talks about them on his youtube channel. He also does an install where he uses a hand pump and solar pump as backups to a AC powered pump. Something like that may be just the ticket considering you don't have power available yet. Just watch the videos to get some ideas about how and why.


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## pips (Mar 9, 2014)

lots of good info here.some key points to know.
1 some pumps can be pulled by hand some cannot my brother and i pulled pump on a 100 foot by hand.granted we are build pretty big and it took all we had.
that said my well is 300 feet and is a diffrent type of system.u must pull the casing pipe to get the pump up to the surface.it must be done by proffesional.
that said let me say this BUY A QUALITY NAME BRAND PUMP.my dad has 3 wells on his property we rplaced a pump with a cheap one no name brand and it went out in 10 years.the other well has a thompson pump and it has been running 35 years.
now i think u said your moms well is 100 feet away? why not run a line off her be alot easier.


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## tmillerrn (Feb 7, 2014)

Well, for one, I want to runn off my own well. Also, mom's well feeds not only her and her husbands tiny trailer, but hher husbands nieces home. Adding my 2 full bathroom home and families water needs to it would be pretty taxing. I am also on the property next to the one they stay on (it's two very skinny, long 10 acre tracts. But still, I am setting my home back and quite a bit away from them.


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## Solar Geek (Mar 14, 2014)

Solar water well pumps take quite a bit of planning. Batteries (for backup on cloudy days) cannot operate most well pumps. 
In 2012, We built an aggressively passive solar ICF (insulated concrete forms) house with solar PV (10 KW electric power) and solar Thermal (for domestic hot water -- not heating; we use a wood stove). 

As part of that we had to research our well pump. We are grid tied but have *battery backup* (as most systems have to be otherwise you would not have water at night!) But batteries cannot start most well pumps as the initial energy needed to "start" them, is too strong. We knew we needed a "soft start" pump but strong enough to get the water up the 150' (well depth)
Anyhow, we found after much discussion with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association members (WI, at https://www.midwestrenew.org/home), we needed a Grunfos well pump sized for our system.
http://www.grundfos.com/
Hope this helps.


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## smalltimingit (Jan 4, 2013)

I installed for my well a totally solar powered pump called SimplePump. It is sold at http://www.sunshineworks.com/ It was not a cheap install and the pump only had about 1.5 gpm flow.


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## smalltimingit (Jan 4, 2013)

Feel free to PM me if you have questions


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