Hey Guys! Newbie here with a well ?

[JasonJ]

Hello, I hope I have found the right place to get some expert advice. I have a well on my property that is 46 foot deep. The static water level is 25 foot. I am on city water, but want to use the well to water my yard. I have looked at 1Hp 115V submersibles on the web and my question is do I need a pressure tank. All I want to do is run a hose from the well pump to a single sprinkler to move around my yard for watering here in HOT Georgia. The pump I am looking at says it will deliver around 30 gpms at a head of 30'. Is this enough pressure to run an oscillating sprinkler? Is it too much pressure? I understand I will have to step down in pipe size. The pump has 1 1/4 coming out of it so I would have to step down to a water hose up top. Basically, I am wondering if I need a pressure tank. This will not be plugged in all the time, only when I want to water the yard. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jason

 

[Reach4]

The pump I am looking at says it will deliver around 30 gpms at a head of 30'. Is this enough pressure to run an oscillating sprinkler?

That spec is odd, even if it is gpm rather than gps. Thirty ft barely gets the water out of the ground.

I would think you would want something like a 1/2 HP 10 gpm pump.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JasonJ]

That spec is odd, even if it is gpm rather than gps. Thirty ft barely gets the water out of the ground.

I would think you would want something like a 1/2 HP 10 gpm pump.

I was going off this? Maybe I am not understanding it right? This is all new to me and I appreciate any help.

 

[Reach4]

60 psi is about 140 ft of head. If you are to be bringing water from about 30 ft down, you would want to be at about 170 ft on the graph. That means that pump would deliver about 14 gpm.

That might drive two or three oscillating sprinklers at once -- depending on the sprinklers.

A lower power pump would probably be more appropriate for one oscillating sprinkler at a time.

 

[JasonJ]

60 psi is about 140 ft of head. If you are to be bringing water from about 30 ft down, you would want to be at about 170 ft on the graph. That means that pump would deliver about 14 gpm.

That might drive two or three oscillating sprinklers at once -- depending on the sprinklers.

A lower power pump would probably be more appropriate for one oscillating sprinkler at a time.

Thank you, I appreciate your input.

 

[shane21]

You are missing some crucial information, specifically what is the gallons per minute (GPM) rating of the oscillating sprinkler head and how many GPM does the well actually produce. Knowing the production capacity of the well is important for properly sizing the pump. For instance, your well may only produce 5 GPM so what would be the point of installing a pump that could move 30, or even 10, GPM if the well won't produce enough water to keep up with pump? You can buy the pump you linked and use it to determine the well production capacity or you could call a pump service company and have them come out and perform a 30-60 minute flow test of the well with a temporary pump so you can buy the proper well pump for the application.

I am sure the pump you linked would work, it may just be way overkill for the application and may require a good quality garden hose to handle the back pressure provided by that pump.

 

[JasonJ]

You are missing some crucial information, specifically what is the gallons per minute (GPM) rating of the oscillating sprinkler head and how many GPM does the well actually produce. Knowing the production capacity of the well is important for properly sizing the pump. For instance, your well may only produce 5 GPM so what would be the point of installing a pump that could move 30, or even 10, GPM if the well won't produce enough water to keep up with pump? You can buy the pump you linked and use it to determine the well production capacity or you could call a pump service company and have them come out and perform a 30-60 minute flow test of the well with a temporary pump so you can buy the proper well pump for the application.

I am sure the pump you linked would work, it may just be way overkill for the application and may require a good quality garden hose to handle the back pressure provided by that pump.

Thank you, I guess I need to figure out the wells production capacity. I didnt know there was such thing, but it makes sense now. Thank you for the help!

 

[Valveman]

That pump will work and will be much less than paying someone to test the well. With that pump you can test the well up to about 30 GPM running wide open. Sprinklers need about 40 PSI or 92' of head on top of the 30' lift in the well. So, your total head is about 130', and that pump will deliver about 21 GPM. Regular garden hose type sprinklers only use about 3 GPM. So, if the well will produce 21 GPM you can run 7 sprinklers at a time. If the well will not produce that much water, you can use a regular ball valve to regulate the flow so you can run 1 sprinkler without over-pressuring the garden hose. You could also use a Cycle Stop Valve instead of a ball valve, and the CSV will maintain the 40 PSI constant no matter how many or how few sprinklers you want to run. The CSV works like an automatic ball valve, maintaining 40 PSI no matter what you are doing with the water. And you don't need a pressure switch/pressure tank if you want to manually turn on and off the pump. Just make sure to never close a valve to less than 1 GPM or the pump will melt down.
https://cyclestopvalves.com/collect...ntrol-valves/products/csv125-cycle-stop-valve

 

[JasonJ]

That pump will work and will be much less than paying someone to test the well. With that pump you can test the well up to about 30 GPM running wide open. Sprinklers need about 40 PSI or 92' of head on top of the 30' lift in the well. So, your total head is about 130', and that pump will deliver about 21 GPM. Regular garden hose type sprinklers only use about 3 GPM. So, if the well will produce 21 GPM you can run 7 sprinklers at a time. If the well will not produce that much water, you can use a regular ball valve to regulate the flow so you can run 1 sprinkler without over-pressuring the garden hose. You could also use a Cycle Stop Valve instead of a ball valve, and the CSV will maintain the 40 PSI constant no matter how many or how few sprinklers you want to run. The CSV works like an automatic ball valve, maintaining 40 PSI no matter what you are doing with the water. And you don't need a pressure switch/pressure tank if you want to manually turn on and off the pump. Just make sure to never close a valve to less than 1 GPM or the pump will melt down.
https://cyclestopvalves.com/collect...ntrol-valves/products/csv125-cycle-stop-valve

Perfect, thats what I wanted to hear lol. Where would I place the ball valve? I am thankful to all the members who have helped me! The fact that you guys help someone you dont even know means alot. Thanks guys.

 

[Valveman]

Put a ball valve on the discharge line. Just don't close it to less than 1 GPM and you won't hurt the pump.

 

[shane21]

That pump will work and will be much less than paying someone to test the well.

Dang I need to relocate to your area of the country or start buying pumps where you get them! We charge $150 to perform a 45 minute flow test on well with our test pump as long as it's less than 80' deep and there is adequate 115V power within 100' of the well.

 

[Valveman]

Yeah you can buy those pumps for 130 bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/Hallmark-Industries-MA0414X-7A-Submersible-Stainless/dp/B07LB6NTHB

 

[shane21]

I wonder how well they hold up? For $130 I may buy one just to beat the hell out of it and see how it well it responds. Thanks to both of you for the information.

 

[Valveman]

I have played with a couple. They have strange control boxes, the amps don't drop much, and I think they have an oil filled motor with ball bearings. But you could buy several of them for the price of a comparable sized pump. I have been recommending them for shallow wells and cistern booster pumps with good results so far.

 

[shane21]

So they have a control box like a standard 3-wire motor? And that is included in the $130 price? I can't see any information regarding the control box in the amazon link you posted.