I have been lingering here for a while. Thanks to all for the great info! I am now comfortable enough with my little knowledge to ask for help.
I have a pump system that was installed about 10 years ago. It has a Wellmate 86 gallon tank that is now leaking and a submersible pump that I am not familiar with. I can’t get in touch with the installers to find out what they put in. I owned the property when this work was done but I knew nothing about pumps and wells. I was given no manuals or info. The installation was done outside and all I have done for maintenance is to protect it from freezing in the winter time. There is a building about 15 ft from the location of the well. I am thinking about running the pipe from the wellhead underground into the building, and setting up a CSV with a small tank inside the building. I was advised against using a csv by a local well pump supplier but after reading a lot in this forum I decided to do this anyway myself. The job that was done by the contractor left a lot to be desired. I have a few questions.
I would like to know the benefit of having a 10 gallon tank versus a 4.5 gallon tank, if any, since supposedly a bigger tank is a waste of money. The water gets small amounts of sand in it sometimes. If I collect five gallons of water and let it settle, I might get a few grains of sand at the bottom. I wonder if this contributed to the early demise of my water tank as I was told it would last 20 years. I am thinking of putting in a sediment filter. Should I put it in before the csv or after? My water is acidic and eats up copper and brass. I believe the csv and fittings come in stainless but the 4.5 and 10 gallon tanks obviously are not. Will the acidic water hurt my tank? I am trying to avoid adding an alkalizing filter, but if I have to, I will. Yet we love the taste of our water and the way a shower feels! I think it is because of the acidity of the water that most people use fiberglass tanks around here.
Do I need to know the size of my pump? It was installed for a two bedroom home in the country. If I do, is there a way to approximate the size of pump by its current draw? A twenty amp double pole breaker feeds this thing and it has never tripped. I measured 4.5 to 5.5 amps draw on 240 volts. This leads me to believe it is either a 1/2 or 3/4 hp pump. Does it matter for csv pressure or tank sizing? Also, most wells around here are about 100 to 150 feet deep.
Two last things. I want to put in a valved bypass around the csv for use in case of a fire to hook up a fire hose with unimpeded flow while a firetruck gets here, which takes a long time! Neighbors had a scare once. That truck took forever!
And finally, I am renovating an old cabin about 90 feet away I want to use as a rental. I would like to run that off the same system. This might imply needing a variable csv so I can change pressure down the road, and/or adding another tank, or it may be cheaper just to get a larger tank up front. There would only be a single person or couple living there. But I would hate to lose pressure in our house once that little house is finished.
Any suggestions on how to best accomplish these goals would be greatly appreciated!
I have a pump system that was installed about 10 years ago. It has a Wellmate 86 gallon tank that is now leaking and a submersible pump that I am not familiar with. I can’t get in touch with the installers to find out what they put in. I owned the property when this work was done but I knew nothing about pumps and wells. I was given no manuals or info. The installation was done outside and all I have done for maintenance is to protect it from freezing in the winter time. There is a building about 15 ft from the location of the well. I am thinking about running the pipe from the wellhead underground into the building, and setting up a CSV with a small tank inside the building. I was advised against using a csv by a local well pump supplier but after reading a lot in this forum I decided to do this anyway myself. The job that was done by the contractor left a lot to be desired. I have a few questions.
I would like to know the benefit of having a 10 gallon tank versus a 4.5 gallon tank, if any, since supposedly a bigger tank is a waste of money. The water gets small amounts of sand in it sometimes. If I collect five gallons of water and let it settle, I might get a few grains of sand at the bottom. I wonder if this contributed to the early demise of my water tank as I was told it would last 20 years. I am thinking of putting in a sediment filter. Should I put it in before the csv or after? My water is acidic and eats up copper and brass. I believe the csv and fittings come in stainless but the 4.5 and 10 gallon tanks obviously are not. Will the acidic water hurt my tank? I am trying to avoid adding an alkalizing filter, but if I have to, I will. Yet we love the taste of our water and the way a shower feels! I think it is because of the acidity of the water that most people use fiberglass tanks around here.
Do I need to know the size of my pump? It was installed for a two bedroom home in the country. If I do, is there a way to approximate the size of pump by its current draw? A twenty amp double pole breaker feeds this thing and it has never tripped. I measured 4.5 to 5.5 amps draw on 240 volts. This leads me to believe it is either a 1/2 or 3/4 hp pump. Does it matter for csv pressure or tank sizing? Also, most wells around here are about 100 to 150 feet deep.
Two last things. I want to put in a valved bypass around the csv for use in case of a fire to hook up a fire hose with unimpeded flow while a firetruck gets here, which takes a long time! Neighbors had a scare once. That truck took forever!
And finally, I am renovating an old cabin about 90 feet away I want to use as a rental. I would like to run that off the same system. This might imply needing a variable csv so I can change pressure down the road, and/or adding another tank, or it may be cheaper just to get a larger tank up front. There would only be a single person or couple living there. But I would hate to lose pressure in our house once that little house is finished.
Any suggestions on how to best accomplish these goals would be greatly appreciated!
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