jmlmr2
New Member
I have a 15' deep, 30" diameter hand dug, loose stone cased, spring-fed well. The static water level tends to be around 5' (which equates to around 185 gal), sometimes higher, and when the water level drops below 5' the well refills almost immediately. A 1/2 hp jet pump on a 30/50 pressure switch has been handling the pumping duties for the past 30+ years (I've only been at the house, itself 200 years old, for about 3 years, but my plumber has been working at the house for decades). The pump is giving out, and the simplest course would be to replace it with another 1/2 hp jet pump, which is my plumber's default recommendation. However, after seeing some of valveman's posts regarding the use of submersible pumps laid on their side in situations like mine, I was thinking that might be a better solution. With 5' of water I could probably go vertical, but the horizontal solution seemed like a more certain way to keep the pump off the bottom of the well while also giving the most leeway should the water level drop below the levels I've observed. Of course, that assumes that I can source a submersible pump that is less than 24" in length to give room for fittings, dropping it into the unevenly shaped well, etc. Any thoughts/input on this would be appreciated.
In terms of pumps, what would you recommend in terms of flow rate? I'm assuming a 5GPM pump would be sufficient? Also, the constant pressure valves seem to be a favorite on this board - would you recommend adding one as part of this install?
Thanks in advance!
In terms of pumps, what would you recommend in terms of flow rate? I'm assuming a 5GPM pump would be sufficient? Also, the constant pressure valves seem to be a favorite on this board - would you recommend adding one as part of this install?
Thanks in advance!