Michaelg3
New Member
I have a 39' deep 6" casing well with an existing Goulds 1/2 hp 230 volt submersible pump. Not sure where the pump is sitting at this point but the static level was measured at 8' with an airtest showing 30 plus gpm with 15' draw down after 1 hour in the ecology well report 19 years ago. Pump is around 19 years old and apart from cycling often it seems to be working fine (a CSV may help that). I have a fairly large Champion pressure tank installed. A small 3 bedroom house on 1 acre with an older couple in residence. Drip irrigation for outside garden.
Now, given that history what I'm considering is a number of things.
I'm planning on building a permanent type of greenhouse. Considering a lean to design with insulated back and partial insulated ends. I'm hoping on incorporating the (new) pump house into this structure as it fits into the footprint of where it could be built.
I've spent over twenty years (a prior life) living off grid and while that is in my past I recognize that I'm very dependent on the grid staying up especially for water. In the off grid situation we had a 200' well with a small DC submersible pump filling a 1500 gallon storage tank and a booster pump for the house. Here we have had power outages up to a week during storms though that is not normal. I do have a simple pump (high quality manual or motorized pump) in a box that was purchased for the off grid location but never installed. This pump is designed so it could be installed along with an existing submersible pump, especially in my 6" casing.
Given my history and I guess my psychological disposition I want to design and implement a water system that is hopefully going to be trouble free and versatile enough to allow operation even without grid power. I really don't want to spend time discussing why I choose to prepare for an off grid situation, just that I do and want to mine the brains of those with water systems knowledge for that goal. There are many considerations/options but since I'm most likely going to at least pull the existing pump in the process of installing the simple pump in addition to the submersible I'm thinking of what changes I could be making to the overall system. I don't want to just rely on a backup generator as the total alternative method for pumping water though that could be one alternative. My off grid days taught me to have backup for backups in critical areas and even then had to be creative at times to take care of the family. I'm retired now and don't have the energy that I once did but do have more money to afford options than I did raising a family.
So for questions. Should I replace the existing submersible pump with one easier to power with a smaller generator/inverter (recommendations)? Storage tanks, booster pumps, Solar, whatever? I live in the Pacific Northwest so solar kinda works but it's problematic. Winds are intermittent so wind generators are not an answer. Sorry for the long post. It seems like the more information the better informed answers and better return questions. I may have picked the wrong forum to post this on but thought it's worth a try. Thanks
Now, given that history what I'm considering is a number of things.
I'm planning on building a permanent type of greenhouse. Considering a lean to design with insulated back and partial insulated ends. I'm hoping on incorporating the (new) pump house into this structure as it fits into the footprint of where it could be built.
I've spent over twenty years (a prior life) living off grid and while that is in my past I recognize that I'm very dependent on the grid staying up especially for water. In the off grid situation we had a 200' well with a small DC submersible pump filling a 1500 gallon storage tank and a booster pump for the house. Here we have had power outages up to a week during storms though that is not normal. I do have a simple pump (high quality manual or motorized pump) in a box that was purchased for the off grid location but never installed. This pump is designed so it could be installed along with an existing submersible pump, especially in my 6" casing.
Given my history and I guess my psychological disposition I want to design and implement a water system that is hopefully going to be trouble free and versatile enough to allow operation even without grid power. I really don't want to spend time discussing why I choose to prepare for an off grid situation, just that I do and want to mine the brains of those with water systems knowledge for that goal. There are many considerations/options but since I'm most likely going to at least pull the existing pump in the process of installing the simple pump in addition to the submersible I'm thinking of what changes I could be making to the overall system. I don't want to just rely on a backup generator as the total alternative method for pumping water though that could be one alternative. My off grid days taught me to have backup for backups in critical areas and even then had to be creative at times to take care of the family. I'm retired now and don't have the energy that I once did but do have more money to afford options than I did raising a family.
So for questions. Should I replace the existing submersible pump with one easier to power with a smaller generator/inverter (recommendations)? Storage tanks, booster pumps, Solar, whatever? I live in the Pacific Northwest so solar kinda works but it's problematic. Winds are intermittent so wind generators are not an answer. Sorry for the long post. It seems like the more information the better informed answers and better return questions. I may have picked the wrong forum to post this on but thought it's worth a try. Thanks
