Help raising GPM, pump recommendations?

[KCunningham]

First, I'm new to this so bear with me please. I have a 16' dug well and currently have a 4.5 GPM flow rate that is inadequate for my filtration systems. Looking to boost this up to at least 7 GPM. I have a jet pump in my basement. My well has never run dry, so I'm hoping to raise my GPM by upgrading my pumping situation and avoiding an intermediate storage tank if possible (to save money and headache both).

Can anyone recommend a good/long lasting way to upgrade my pump for these GPM? I definitely want a solution that I wont have to replace in a year or two. For example if there is a brand of pump famous for failing, that's good to know. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Valveman]

At 4.5 GPM you must only have a 1/2 HP pump? A 1HP like a J10S Goulds would give you 8 GPM, and a 1.5HP like a J15S would give you 13 GPM max. You won't know if your well can supply this much water without testing it. You can probably test up to 10 GPM with the pump you have, by just opening enough faucets or a large enough faucet to get the pressure down to 20 PSI or so.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[KCunningham]

At 4.5 GPM you must only have a 1/2 HP pump? A 1HP like a J10S Goulds would give you 8 GPM, and a 1.5HP like a J15S would give you 13 GPM max. You won't know if your well can supply this much water without testing it. You can probably test up to 10 GPM with the pump you have, by just opening enough faucets or a large enough faucet to get the pressure down to 20 PSI or so.

Great, would love to test before buying, of course. I have a pressure gauge in-line and plenty of faucets. So run them all until I see the pressure around 20psi? How long do I do that for to complete the test? Just looking to be sure it doesn't run out of water?

 

[Reach4]

Great, would love to test before buying, of course. I have a pressure gauge in-line and plenty of faucets. So run them all until I see the pressure around 20psi? How long do I do that for to complete the test? Just looking to be sure it doesn't run out of water?

How about going 40 minute or until the pump pressure drops to 50% of its steady state (below cut-on pressure)?

Actually, you will only be running for about 20 minutes during filter backwash, if that, but this will help know how much margin there is. I would be ready to shut down the test by closing the valve that feeds the house. Turning off the power is probably good enough, but I was thinking the valve would minimize the chance to lose prime. I have never operated a jet pump.

 

[Valveman]

Great, would love to test before buying, of course. I have a pressure gauge in-line and plenty of faucets. So run them all until I see the pressure around 20psi? How long do I do that for to complete the test? Just looking to be sure it doesn't run out of water?

Run it until the water flow drops off, and see how long that took. Or hopefully the water flow will not drop off after time, and you can put in a larger pump without worrying about using too much water and pumping the well dry.

 

[LLigetfa]

To test and measure the GPM, you need a hose and/or faucet capable of that much GPM, a bucket of known volume, and a stopwatch.

Empty the pressure tank so that the flow is only what the pump produces and then time how long it takes to fill the bucket.

 

[KCunningham]

I will try to take a picture of my current pump setup tonight also so you can see what I'm currently using.
Thank you!

 

[KCunningham]

Here is my current pump and tank.

 

[Valveman]

Running with a valve wide open and zero pressure that pump can produce 10 GPM from 15'. But it can only produce 2 GPM at 50 PSI. I would run the test at 10 GPM wide open and see how long the water last. That will tell you how much your well will produce, then you just need a larger pump to produce more water at the pressure needed. A 1HP will deliver up to 5-6 GPM if the well can keep up?

 

[KCunningham]

Running with a valve wide open and zero pressure that pump can produce 10 GPM from 15'. But it can only produce 2 GPM at 50 PSI. I would run the test at 10 GPM wide open and see how long the water last. That will tell you how much your well will produce, then you just need a larger pump to produce more water at the pressure needed. A 1HP will deliver up to 5-6 GPM if the well can keep up?

Not completely sure what I need to do here to run it at 10 GPM. If I open the hose spigot wide open for a minute I get ~4.5 gallons (4.5 GPM right?). Is that different than running with a valve wide open? The pressure usually hangs out between 40 and 50 psi. I'm confused Apologies for being a novice on this

 

[Valveman]

Your faucet only lets out 4.5 GPM. Run more than one faucet or take off the faucet and use a ball valve instead. A ball valve will open up as much as needed, the faucet will not.