Best install method for new pump / tank?

[james wentworth]

In our summer use only cottage, I have a 70' double drop deep well which connects to the jet pump inside the house. The old setup was a 1/2 hp Simer pump that sat on top of small horizontal water tank, maybe 5 or 6 gallons. The piping used from the 2 pipe outlet to pump was galvanized with unions. My grandpa would disconnect the unions every year to drain and winterize it, but over time the unions started leak from the frequent threading on/off.

I have a new F&W 1/2 hp pump and a vertical water tank that I plan to install. The tank will be about 5' away from the pump. I'm a plumbing novice, and with that in mind, I'm trying to determine which type of piping I should use to connect the pump to the drop pipes, and then from the pump to the water tank. PEX is used throughout the rest of the cottage.

If possible, could someone run me through the types of valves / connections I should have between the drop pipe & pump and pump & tank? I know a check valve is needed between the tank and pump. My goal is to be able to winterize without disconnecting any of the major plumbing all while doing it right.

Attached is a pic of how my old setup kind of was (some of the galvanized piping removed).

Thanks for any help!

 

[Valveman]

Your biggest problem is probably going to be the ejector at the bottom of those two galvanized pipes. It will probably be bad or just not match the new pump. Worth a try to hook it up but you may need to replace the down hole stuff as well. The check valve is actually a foot valve and is at the very bottom of the ejector. All of that stuff may need replacing. especially if the foot valve is not holding prime. No other check valve is needed or will work properly.

I would use 160# poly pipe with barb fittings and hose clamps, and that is also what I would replace the two galv pipes with down to the ejector.

As far as pump controls go, you can either use a large pressure tank (at least 44 gallon size) and live with the pressure continually changing from 30 to 50 over and over, or you can use a PK1A kit with a 4.5 gallon size tank and get strong constant 40 PSI to the house.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[james wentworth]

Your biggest problem is probably going to be the ejector at the bottom of those two galvanized pipes. It will probably be bad or just not match the new pump. Worth a try to hook it up but you may need to replace the down hole stuff as well. The check valve is actually a foot valve and is at the very bottom of the ejector. All of that stuff may need replacing. especially if the foot valve is not holding prime. No other check valve is needed or will work properly.

I would use 160# poly pipe with barb fittings and hose clamps, and that is also what I would replace the two galv pipes with down to the ejector.

As far as pump controls go, you can either use a large pressure tank (at least 44 gallon size) and live with the pressure continually changing from 30 to 50 over and over, or you can use a PK1A kit with a 4.5 gallon size tank and get strong constant 40 PSI to the house.

Thanks for the reply valveman. I should’ve noted that the well was serviced last year and had the ejector and screen replaced and was chlorinated. Thanks for the info on a CSV. Never heard of that before. I won’t be replacing the galvanized pipe that goes into the ground unless I must. With a CSV, what kind of back pressure numbers are we talking in the piping before it reaches the pump in comparison to a system without the CSV. I guess my concern is that if it has more pressure on the pipes than what it was exposed to over the decades, will that cause my pipes to rupture? They look good from what I can see, but idk what kind of a shelf life they have?

In regards to winterization, can I do that without unhooking the pump / tank plumbing connections?

 

[james wentworth]

Is it acceptable to run 160 poly from the pump to the water tank, or should I be using something different. Regarding the check valve, I thought it was needed between the pump and tank? Again, total newbie, so bear with me!

 

[Valveman]

If the ejector was replaced recently it should have included a new foot valve, and that is the only check valve needed. Back pressure? Lol! That is how a jet pump works. It puts full back pressure on the ejector to make the pressure and flow needed. No pump can build more pressure than it can withstand. And a 1/2HP two pipe jet pump can only build about 100 PSI max anyway.

Can't tell you how long a CSV will last because the first ones we put in some 28 years ago are still running. The important part is those CSV's have made the pumps they control last several times longer than normal already, and are still going.

Hopefully the ejector for the Simer pump is similar to the ejector for the F&W pump, or it will need to be replaced again.

160# poly is good anywhere you want in a pump system like that.