First timer finishing a 350' well

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Gary Q

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I am a total newbie to wells. I bought property with a drilled and capped well. Well driller report shows 350' well with 20 gpm. There tends to be iron in the water and I need fire fighting water on property so I was thinking of putting in a storage tank which, from what I have been told, should settle out the iron before going to the house. Having a storage tank would also allow a lower production pump which would cycle on/off less often, saving wear on the pump.

I'd need a booster pump between the tank and the house and probably a pressure tank as well. I am seeking input on pump sizes and types, pipe sizings and any other ideas about my set up. Also, how do I determine the depth for placing the pump?

Thanks,
Gary
 

Reach4

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The distance down to water is called the static water level. There are electronic devices that well people often have that can measure the distance with an ultrasonic pulse.

What determines if you need an above ground fire fighting tank? How big will the tank be?

Is this usage for a house, or are you irrigating more than a moderate lawn?

What diameter is the well?

Do you have a pitless adapter to keep the pipes below the frost line?

You will need a good lab water test. https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/recommended-water-testing-lab.75253/ You need numbers for iron, manganese, silicon, pH, hardness at a minimum I think.
 

LLigetfa

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Having a storage tank would also allow a lower production pump which would cycle on/off less often, saving wear on the pump.
Refilling the storage tank will limit cycling so wear should not be an issue. Keeping up with demand would be paramount.

Pumping from the storage tank is not a "booster" application since there is no pressure to boost unless you intend to elevate the tank. A standard submersible with cooling shroud inside the tank would be ideal. Pair it with a psidekick to limit cycling.
 

Gary Q

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The distance down to water is called the static water level. There are electronic devices that well people often have that can measure the distance with an ultrasonic pulse.

What determines if you need an above ground fire fighting tank? How big will the tank be?

Is this usage for a house, or are you irrigating more than a moderate lawn?

What diameter is the well?

Do you have a pitless adapter to keep the pipes below the frost line?

You will need a good lab water test. https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/recommended-water-testing-lab.75253/ You need numbers for iron, manganese, silicon, pH, hardness at a minimum I think.

The Well Completion Report says depth to first water was 28' and the static water level is at 30'. The estimated yield was a constant rate measured over four hours but unfortunately, they didn't give any number in the "drawdown" box. Is it possible there wasn't any?

The depth is listed as 350' but the 4" PVC casing only goes to 256' with the last 20' of that having a screen with a .032 slot size. It appears that there is a larger casing of 10 7/8" for the first 24' and then it goes to 6 1/8" from there to the bottom of the well (350'). So, how does one install a pitiless adapter when 4" PVC is running down through. 10 7/8" steel casing? Also, can anyone tell me the best way to cut the welded steel cap off the top of the steel casing above ground and how is the 4" PVC held up from falling further down the larger steel casing?

This is for a 200 sq ft house but we are on 6 1/2 acres and plan to add some fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetable gardens.

The water storage requirement is per Cal Fire since I am in a very high fire danger area. They require about 2000 - 2500 gallons of storage so I was thinking I'd get a 5000 gal tank and in addition to a pump shut off at the top, I'd put a shutoff for the booster pump to the house at 2500 gals.

Also, while the tank is on the same level as the house, there must be some pressure from the weight of the water in the tank. Since we get occasional power outages, gravity flow from the tank's water weight would hopefully keep some water flowing to the house, though with less than optimal pressure. Yes, we will be using a pitiless adapter if I can figure out how to install one with what appears to be double casings.

I am open to any and all suggestions on pump and drop pipe types and sizing as well as the rest of the system design.
 
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Gary Q

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Refilling the storage tank will limit cycling so wear should not be an issue. Keeping up with demand would be paramount.

Pumping from the storage tank is not a "booster" application since there is no pressure to boost unless you intend to elevate the tank. A standard submersible with cooling shroud inside the tank would be ideal. Pair it with a psidekick to limit cycling.

What is a psidekick? Never mind, I figured it out that it's a CSV.
 
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Reach4

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For filling the big tank, I would probably go with a 1/2 HP 7 gpm pump. It would be controlled by a float switch. I might put the pump at 200, in case the water table dropped a lot. 1 inch schedule 80 PVC. Check valve in the pump and/or just above the pump.

You could work out some valving to let that pump not only fill the cistern, but let it supply water to the house if the pressure pump failed for some reason.

For the big tank, you could treat somehow. Since it is going to be open to the air, you might need some chlorine. The chlorine would make the iron and some other stuff precipitate out. Now how do you dump the precipitate? A cone bottom tank would with that. http://www.tanksforless.com/c/280/conical-bottom-tanks Chlorine would keep algae from growing, although covering the tank with an opaque cover should stop algae from growing.

I am not a pro.
 

Cacher_Chick

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I have no idea what a common installation looks like in CA wildfire country. We have a lot of buildings with fire protection and they all have diesel or natural gas powered fire pumps.
 

Gary Q

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I have no idea what a common installation looks like in CA wildfire country. We have a lot of buildings with fire protection and they all have diesel or natural gas powered fire pumps.

We don't need a pump for fire suppression. The water is there for the fire department to suck into their tank trucks.
 

Valveman

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Here is a pic of a cistern set up and a Pside-Kick PK1A to control the booster pump.
PK1A with Jet Pump vertical sized.jpg

LOW YIELD WELL_ CENTRIFUGAL_PK1A.jpg
 

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So Valveman, that diagram above would be for a nonpressurized tank? Could one inject chlorine into that and have a vent to outside for any gases such as hydrogen sulphide in that kind of tank? Is there normally a drain on the bottom to get rid of sludge on something like that? Or would one simply use chlorination and a contact tank downstream of that jet pump?
 

Valveman

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Either way. But I would inject into the line coming from the well pump to the cistern. Then yes you have to clean the gunk out of the bottom of the cistern occasionally, but it makes a good settling tank and gives chlorine a long contact time.
 

GTOwagon

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Either way. But I would inject into the line coming from the well pump to the cistern. Then yes you have to clean the gunk out of the bottom of the cistern occasionally, but it makes a good settling tank and gives chlorine a long contact time.
That is what I thought. Then the jet pump can give you more pressure as well, and more gpm?
 
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