Shallow well or deep well? Well pump help!

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james wentworth

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Disclaimer #1, I'm a newbie at this stuff.

The story:

I inherited a family cabin in Northern Michigan that has what I thought was a shallow well, but at this point I'm not quite sure. The well pump is inside the kitchen and is a 1988 Simer "Carefree" Convertible Jet Pump, 1/2HP, that has been in there since I was practically born in 1987. I do not know how long the well has been in place, however.

There are two galvanized pipes (I'm guessing 1 1/4" or so in diameter) coming out of the ground and into the pump, which I would imagine is the dual-line suction / drive style of pump / well. In speaking with several neighbors, I've learned that wells in that area generally are shallow wells at around 20-25 ft, which makes sense because we are near a large lake and only a few miles from Lake Michigan. So, I would imagine the water table is quite high.

What is confusing me is that during my online research, the types of wells that utilize two-line wells / well pumps all seem to be considered deep wells, which is opposite of everyone else in my area that I have talked to.

My questions are:

Is it possible that dual-line wells / pumps were used in shallow well settings, such as my situation? If in fact it is a shallow well, would it be okay with replacing the well pump with a deep well jet pump? Or do they make shallow well convertible jet pumps with the two line application? I plan on using the old well pump as long as I can, but being that it is nearly 30 years old, I would imagine it's getting close to the end of its time. I spoke to one well driller and he said Simer's are typical box store junk, but I feel mine is pretty stout and has stood up to the challenge. Would this one be worth re-building if needed?

Any insight on this mess would be a huge help. Thanks a lot!!
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Reach4

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Is it possible that dual-line wells / pumps were used in shallow well settings, such as my situation? If in fact it is a shallow well, would it be okay with replacing the well pump with a deep well jet pump? Or do they make shallow well convertible jet pumps with the two line application?
Yes to these three questions.

Another possibility would be to convert to a submersible pump. Those are much quieter, and they never have a priming problem. The casing size would be one important factor in deciding if to consider that further. 4 inch or bigger ID it is open for further consideration.
 
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