If you live outside the city or in a rural area, it is highly likely that your home has its own system for getting water from a well. According to the US Census Bureau, more than 15 million homes depend on private wells for drinking, food prep, bathing, and other household uses.
Your pump is the heart of your water well system, which is why it is crucial to have the best deep or shallow well pump for the kind of well you have. The pump is the most important single piece of equipment in your water well system. If the pump is not working properly, your water well system will break down.
Whether you are building a new home and need a new system, or your existing well is failing, Pocono Well And Pump will select the ideal well pump for your well system.
In this guide, you will learn which well pump is best for you, and you will also learn about the different kinds of pumps available, how pumps work, and how they are installed.
What Is a Well Pump?
Pumps are devices for extracting water from a well, and centrifugal pumps are the most popular and most commonly used type for this job. They are popular because they give very high flow rates and can change those rates over a wide range.
How Does a Centrifugal Pump Work?
A centrifugal pump is an extremely simple design. The only moving part is an impeller affixed to a shaft that is driven by an electric motor.
The two main parts of the pump are the impeller and the diffuser. A diffuser or volute holds the impeller and directs the water away from it. Water goes into the eye of the impeller and is thrown out by centrifugal force.
When the depth to water increases, the pump moves less and less water. When it pumps from a great depth, the increased pressure also means it pumps less water.
The "head" or pressure that a pump will develop is directly related to the impeller diameter, the size of the eye or inlet opening, the number of impellers, and how much velocity is developed by the speed of the shaft's rotation. All of these factors affect the horsepower of the motor to be used.
For these reasons, it is important to select a centrifugal pump that is designed to do a specific pumping job.
For higher pressures or greater lifts, two or more impellers are commonly used, or a jet ejector is added to help the impellers increase the pressure.
Kinds of Well Pumps: Shallow vs. Deep Well Pumps
We're going to take a closer look at the different kinds of well pumps typically used for residential ground wells. When it's time to either install a pump for a new well or replace an aging pump, the goal is to find the model that fits your home's needs.
There are three common well pump types available to consider:
Shallow Well Pump
This type of pump uses a basic centrifugal pump and is used for wells that only go down to 25 feet.
Convertible Well Pump
The convertible well pump is a jet pump that also sits above ground. This pump can operate between 0′ and 25′ with a shallow-well jet nozzle, or between 25′ and 110′ deep with an ejector assembly.
Deep Well Submersible Pump
Deep well pumps can be used in wells as deep as 90 – 400′ underground. Unlike shallow well pumps, deep well pumps are submerged inside your well.
When you are considering a well water pump, let's go deeper to see which one is the best for your house.
Shallow Well Pump Explained
The shallow well pump is designed to draw water from a shallow well. The advantage of this kind of pump is that it doesn't use much power, and its simple construction makes it easier to maintain.
If you have a much deeper well, this type of pump won't do the job, and your home will suffer from low water pressure. The shallow well pump has simpler mechanical systems than its counterpart, so little upkeep is required.
Without a pressure switch and gauge, the pump would run every single time somebody opened a water tap and dropped the water in the holding tank or pressure tank even a little.
Convertible Well Pump Explained
The convertible well pump is a jet pump that also sits above ground. This pump is designed to extract water from depths up to 110 feet. The deep-well ejector is located in the well below the water level. The deep-well ejector works in much the same way as the shallow-well ejector.
Water is supplied to it under pressure from the pump. The ejector then returns the water plus an extra supply from the well, to a point where the centrifugal pump can lift it the rest of the way by suction.
A convertible jet pump allows shallow well operation with the ejector placed on the end of the pump body. This kind of pump can be converted to a deep-well jet pump by mounting the ejector below the water level.
Some models may include a tailpipe to make sure the well is never pumped dry. This increases the pump's suction power, discharge pressure, and the speed of the water as it moves. A convertible well pump is a good choice if your water table rises and falls.
How to Choose the Best Well Pump
If your family relies on a well for water, it's essential to have the right kind of pump with enough power to keep the water moving, which affects its efficiency, lifespan, and ultimate cost. To decide which type of pump will work best for any particular application, you need to do a little extra research before buying a new pump.
1. How Deep is Your Well?
The well depth will give you an overview of the pump choices.
The basic approach is to check your well driller's well record, which should list the depth to water.
Attach a sinker to the line, drop it down to the bottom of the well, and take up the slack. This is the well depth.
You can measure the static water level at this step, which is a deciding factor when choosing the correct pump and the depth at which to place it.
Convertible well jet pumps pump water from 0′ to 90′ deep. A convertible well jet pump can run between 0′ and 25′ with a shallow-well jet nozzle, or between 25′ and 110′ deep with an ejector assembly.
2. What is The Diameter of Your Well Casing?
The size of your well casing determines what type of well pump you need. If your well casing is 4″ or more in diameter, you can use either a jet well pump or a deep well submersible pump, depending on the depth of your well.
3. What Size Well Pump Do You Need?
In general, higher horsepower pumps put out more water (the GPM flow rate is higher). Different models of jet pump are designed in different ways.
A 1/2 HP pump can supply water to a cottage with one bathroom and just a couple of people. If you have a second bathroom that can be used at the same time as the first, or if your house could run the laundry at the same time as the shower, opting for higher horsepower will give you the additional water your household will need.
A house with several bathrooms, several people, and the possibility of a sprinkler system, laundry, and pressure washing all running at once will probably need one of the 1 HP or larger models.
To have a complete well water system, there is more you need to examine.
4. How Much Does a Well Pump Cost to Replace?
The factors to take into consideration when buying a new well pump or replacing an old one are as follows:
Gallons per Minute (GPM): When thinking about buying a well pump, the gallons-per-minute rating is a vital factor to think about. A higher flow rate costs more.
Materials: Well pumps are made of different materials, such as polycarbonate, stainless steel, and cast iron. Pump prices will vary depending on the materials. In general, thermoplastic costs less than cast iron, and cast iron costs less than stainless steel. When deciding which pump will give you the best value, it's worth looking at your pump system in terms of value rather than cost.
Quality, Size, and Depth: Good-quality well pumps cost more than pumps toward the lower end of quality, and the cost of a pump also depends on its size. Another thing to consider for the cost of a well pump is its depth. This includes the depth of the waterline and its distance from the top of the well.
Cost varies with the flow rate (gallons per minute), the horsepower, any added features, and the material the pump is made of, such as stainless steel, carbon ceramic, cast iron or polycarbonate.
It also depends on the quality and size of the pump, how deep it is set, and local labor rates.
Well Pump Q&A
Q. What should I do if I'm out of water?
A. First, check the circuit breaker for the well pump to make sure the pump is getting power. Next, check the pressure gauge at the tank to see if there is pressure in the tank.
Then check for water at the boiler drain (the tap) at the tank. If you have water there, you may have a restriction somewhere in the plumbing, such as water treatment equipment.
Q. How often should I have my water tested?
A. Have your water tested every year, and any time you notice a change in its taste or smell.
Q. Do I need to put a check valve in the pipe down to my pump?
A. These pumps come with a check valve in the pump's discharge. Adding check valves in the pipe can help break up the column of water, so one check valve does not have to hold all of its weight.
Q. Where do I find the model number and date of manufacture on my pump?
A. The data tag on the pump shows the model number and a date code. The date code is usually a mix of letters and numbers.
Q. What voltage do these pumps need?
A. Most of the 1/2 HP pumps are set to operate on 115 volts only. A lot of the 3/4 HP and 1 HP pumps are switchable: they can run on 230v or 115v. The motor has a switch inside it that sets the running voltage.
Q. Do these pumps come in cast iron as well as plastic? Which one is better?
A. The internal components of both pump types (and most competing models) are made of thermoplastic. The outer casing simply holds the pump together and protects the internal parts. A cast iron casing is more durable and impact-resistant, making it a better choice if the pump is installed in an area where it might get bumped or jostled.
Q. What is the difference between a "pre-charged pressure tank" and a regular one?
A. In a pre-charged tank, your well pump pushes water into a bladder under pressure. When the pump shuts off, a one-way check valve in the piping holds the water in the tank. When someone opens a faucet or shower, the air pressure inside the tank presses on the bladder and forces the water out.
Q. How big a pressure tank do I need?
A. With pressure tanks, bigger is better. Period. The whole point of a tank is to store water under pressure so it is ready to use in the house, and so the pump does not have to turn on every time a little water is needed. Frequent starts are one of the biggest things that shorten a pump's life. A bigger tank stores more water, so the pump runs less often. In short, buy the biggest tank you have room for and can afford.
Q. How does a well work?
A. A well is just an opening in the ground that reaches an aquifer, built to draw groundwater from it and supply that water to a home or building for use.
Used for decades, it is a practical way to get water for any type of building in almost every region. Wells come in various sizes and shapes, depending on the soil conditions and how much water is needed.
If you have a well system, it's good to understand how it works so you can give it the maintenance it needs.
Well Construction
Well Casing
The casing is usually 4 to 6 inches in diameter and extends from above the ground surface into the aquifer. The casing provides a connection to the groundwater and a pathway for bringing the water to the surface.
There is normally a well screen at the end of the casing to strain out rocks and debris.
The type of casing chosen depends on the drilling method, local geological conditions, natural groundwater quality, and the kind of pump.
Well Screen
If a well pumps water from a sand or crushed rock aquifer, the well screen is typically attached to the bottom of the casing.
This screen filters out tiny particles from your water source, allowing water to move through it while preventing sand and crushed rock from entering the well.
The screen is usually made of stainless steel, carbon steel, plastic, or brass.
An envelope of sand or gravel is placed outside the well screen, between the screen and the borehole wall. It keeps fine sediment from entering the screen and also promotes the movement of water into the well.
Grouting
Grouting is the placement of a sealing material such as neat cement or bentonite into the annular space between a well casing and the borehole created during well construction. It is needed to fill the annular space to keep surface water and other contaminants from entering the well.
The usual method is to put a 3/4- to 1-1/4-inch diameter pipe (called a cement pipe or tremie pipe) down to the bottom of the space between the well casing and the borehole. Both shallow and deep well pumps require good grouting.
Well Pump
If your water well were a living creature, the pump would be its heart. This is the primary and most important component of the entire system. A pump is used to push or raise water from the well into your house plumbing.
There are as many different kinds of well pumps as there are requirements, although the choice often depends on the depth of the water and the diameter of the well casing.
Water well pumps are divided into two main designs: shallow well pumps and deep well pumps. The typical limit for a shallow well suction pump is 25 feet at sea level. Deep well pumps are completely submersible pumps that are used to push water uphill from their inlet.
Submersible deep well pumps are lowered into the well pipe by a rope that also has the electrical power leads attached to it. These are normally impeller-style pumps. Another common design for deep well work is the jet-style pump. Jet pumps depend on the Venturi principle. If piped properly, jet pumps can be used in deep well applications, or they can be used as suction-style shallow well pumps. The basic lower limits for deep water well pumps are 80′ to 100′, versus 25′ for the shallow ones.
Storage Tanks
Many water systems include a water storage container called a pressure tank. The pressure tank has three purposes:
To store water and supply it under pressure when the pump is not running.
To give a reserve supply of water for use during times of high demand.
To build up a reserve supply of water each time the pump runs, so the pump has to start and stop less often. This helps lengthen the life of the pump.
As water is pumped from the well into the pressure tank, it compresses the air in the tank until it reaches a preset level, typically 40 to 60 pounds per square inch (psi).
When somebody turns on a faucet, air pressure in the tank pushes water through the plumbing until the pressure drops to the predetermined trigger pressure, generally 20 to 40 psi.
Pressure tank size and drawdown will depend on the amount of water the pump can draw into the home in 1 to 2 minutes.
A larger pressure tank may be needed if your home uses more than the typical amount of water or has a well with a low yield.
Pressure Switch
A pressure switch monitors the pressure in the tank and turns the pump on when the pressure drops below the switch's cut-in value.
It turns the pump off when the pressure reaches the cut-out value. This switch has one adjustment that sets the cut-in and cut-out pressure together, and another that sets only the cut-out pressure. Properly adjusting the switch extends the life of the pump.
The pressure tank is most commonly used on home water systems with a private well. It acts as water storage, provides the pressure to move water through the plumbing system the well serves, and controls the number of times the well pump has to turn on, which keeps your water supply effective.
A well water pressure tank holds several gallons or more of water under pressure, which lets the tank supply fixtures after the pump has turned off. This stops the pump from turning on every time water is needed, extending its lifespan.