My well is about 250 feet deep on black flexible pipe in rock with a casing extending the first fifty feet or so. The pump lasted for about twenty years with no problems except for having to replace a check valve and bladder tank about ten years ago. In 2011 I began doing a fair amount of irrigation--running about 6 to 8 GPM for several hours per day during droughts in 2011 and 2012, and less so far this year.
We finally had to replace the pump with a 1 HP Flint Walling pump in June, 2011. Then in June, 2012 we had to have the pump pulled to replace the wiring. Had to do that again just a month later and then again last week. The wire was chafed about ten feet above the pump. I asked the pump man about using a torque suppressor or the plastic wire guards or even placing some poly pipe over the lower part of the wire, and he said none of those worked in his experience. I'm guessing that the irrigation causes the pump to cycle more often than normal, which may partially account for the excessive wear on the wiring, but I need to try to come up with a fix. I have seen a lot of opinions on the torque suppressors and cable guards, and I don't expect to see any consensus on those, but it does seem that reducing the cycling would surely help.
I thought about installing a much larger tank with a separate pump, but that would probably get expensive. Since the last event I have done some more reading and have read that a CSV (Cycle Stop Valve) might be an option. I guess this would reduce the number of cycles, but I worry that reducing the flow rate might hinder the cooling of the motor. Any opinions on either CSV valves or other options would be appreciated.
Thanks, Charles
We finally had to replace the pump with a 1 HP Flint Walling pump in June, 2011. Then in June, 2012 we had to have the pump pulled to replace the wiring. Had to do that again just a month later and then again last week. The wire was chafed about ten feet above the pump. I asked the pump man about using a torque suppressor or the plastic wire guards or even placing some poly pipe over the lower part of the wire, and he said none of those worked in his experience. I'm guessing that the irrigation causes the pump to cycle more often than normal, which may partially account for the excessive wear on the wiring, but I need to try to come up with a fix. I have seen a lot of opinions on the torque suppressors and cable guards, and I don't expect to see any consensus on those, but it does seem that reducing the cycling would surely help.
I thought about installing a much larger tank with a separate pump, but that would probably get expensive. Since the last event I have done some more reading and have read that a CSV (Cycle Stop Valve) might be an option. I guess this would reduce the number of cycles, but I worry that reducing the flow rate might hinder the cooling of the motor. Any opinions on either CSV valves or other options would be appreciated.
Thanks, Charles