Well seems a bit iffy

[Protofax]

I grew up in this house 20 years ago and finally bought it as an adult. It is a house in the city and also has a well. City water was here before the well. The well was built in the 1950s and ran like a champ in the 1990s. My dad put a lot of effort into it to make it run perfectly. It ran fine back then. Being on city water the entire time, this was an irrigation pump and well that was put in during a drought. The guy that lived here had a lot of money back then.

It spins up and has full function from what I can tell, but it will not pressurize the 300ish gal tank properly. I was told by the local well company that I have to have the well pipes entirely pulled out and have the connections redone.

 

[Protofax]

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[Sponsor]

 

[Smooky]

How big of an area are you going to irrigate? What are you going to be irrigating? You could always have a smaller pump but have more zones so that you are watering a smaller area. It is a lot cheaper to do it that way.

 

[Protofax]

It is only a .4 acre lot. I just don't want to diminish what I have. I just think that if I have a pump that turns on and may have some threading issues that have to be fixed, I shouldn't just throw it out.

Isn't there a cheaper way to fix it instead of replacing it?

 

[Reach4]

Am I making the right decision in hiring them? They told me that 25-30 can do an entire city block. I do have a massive old 1950s pump that can move, but cannot seem to make a lot of water come up like it used to. I just don't want to lose what I have.

A 25 HP motor take a lot of electricity. Are you using 240 single phase power for that? http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/elctrical-motor-full-load-current-d_1499.html says
As a "rules of thumb" amps horsepower rating can be estimated as

• 115 Volts motor - single-phase : 14 amps/hp
• 230 Volts motor - single-phase : 7 amps/hp
• 230 Volts motor - 3-phase : 2.5 amps/hp
• 460 Volts motor - 3-phase : 1.25 amps/hp

If you think they after your motor, tell them you want to keep the old motor and you sell it for scrap.

To get a sense of the right power, you would need to know the depth of the well. Are you thinking you need 20 GPM to water your yard?

 

[Protofax]

You are right about keeping it. I will probably just do that. It is 240 single phase. It uses two 30 AMP fuses for the power switch. I tried using two 25 AMP fuses and it blew them.

As for the yard, I could do the entire yard, it is divided into 5 zones. My assumption is that I need 10 GPM per zone. They said around .5hp per 10 GPM.

Thanks for the responses. I guess if you think I should go forward with the replacement, then I will do it. I really do want both well and city water.

 

[Reach4]

You are right about keeping it. I will probably just do that. It is 240 single phase. It uses two 30 AMP fuses for the power switch. I tried using two 25 AMP fuses and it blew them.

So the existing pump could not be 25 HP. Maybe 4 or 5 HP, which is still a really big pump motor for a residence for water level under 100 feet, or 200 feet for that matter.

As for the yard, I could do the entire yard, it is divided into 5 stations. My assumption is that I need 10 GPM per station. My hope with this replacement pump was to do 2 or 3 stations at a time. They said around .5hp per 10 GPM.

That would seem to imply that your water level is less than 80 and probably less than 50 feet below the surface. The pump would be mounted well below the water level, but it is the water level and not the pump depth that determines the required pump and characteristics.

Note that for household use, with a 30 GPM pump, the pressure tank should have a 30 gallon or more drawdown. So the pressure tank would be 12o gallons or more. A CSV could let you use a substantially smaller pressure tank. Using a 15 GPM pump and switching zones would be more efficient for sharing with a house.

I don't know about the price. Seems high, but maybe not. Well people are very busy in California. Do have them replace all of the galvanized pipe and fittings with PVC and brass or stainless.

I am not experienced in this.

 

[Valveman]

A 30 amp breaker is used for a 1.5HP or a 2HP pump. But it maybe a high volume/low pressure type pump. These were used for row or flood irrigation, so they pump a lot of water but won't make much pressure. I would do a bucket and pressure test. If the pump will build 40 or 50 PSI and still pump 10 or 20 GPM, I would just keep using it.