How to determine well pump depth

[jmed999]

Does anyone know how I can determine the depth of my well pump? Would that be associated with the permit or is it listed on something associated with the well? I'm wanting to know the depth so I can look up the flow rate on the manufacturers charts.

Thanks guys!

 

[Valveman]

You will also need to know the depth to water and the model of the pump to figure the flow rate. A bucket and amp test would be a good start. You can back into the pump model number and depth to water that way.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

Would that be associated with the permit or is it listed on something associated with the well?

Maybe. Ask the county what they have.

 

[xMarcusx]

Not sure if it's the same in the US but here in Ontario Canada well info is logged with the government including depth, soil condition, casing size, casing material and method of install. Call your local county office or state office. They may have the answer you seek

 

[jmed999]

You will also need to know the depth to water and the model of the pump to figure the flow rate. A bucket and amp test would be a good start. You can back into the pump model number and depth to water that way.

It's a Goulds 25Gs30. I have the GPM chart if I only knew the depth.

 

[Reach4]

It's a Goulds 25Gs30. I have the GPM chart if I only knew the depth.

I assume this is for a business such as a farm, rather than for a house.

 

[jmed999]

I assume this is for a business such as a farm, rather than for a house.

It's for my house but I have a large yard and a large irrigation system.

 

[Valveman]

Since you know it is a 25GS30, a bucket test will tell you the water level. Running wide open with zero pressure on the gauge, if you are getting say 27 GPM, the water level in the well is 280'.

 

[LLigetfa]

Since you know it is a 25GS30, a bucket test will tell you the water level.

OP asked about the depth the pump is hung. Depth to the water level is likely different than depth the pump is hung. The difference between the two along with casing size is storage in the well.

 

[Valveman]

For looking up the flow rate from the manufacturer charts the depth to water is more important than depth to pump.

 

[2stupid2fixit]

Might not be the scientific way to do it but I used a bay fishing pole with a reel wrapped for bluefish and croakers so i was reeled at a good test. I tied really good boy scout knots and put a brass areator like whats on the kitchen sink at the end of the line for a sinking weight. I dropped it down the well with no pump or other junk in the bore. When the brass fitting stopped sinking i pulled it up and dropped it again. It didnt sink any further. I cut the line and pulled it up for about half an hour by hand. After that i stretched the line i pulled up and measured the fishing line and measured 253 feet of string .So roughly 250 of brass weight free fell until hitting a bottom of something. I don't know if this will work for you but I think I have a 250' well based on my expeiment.

 

[Valveman]

Might not be the scientific way to do it but I used a bay fishing pole with a reel wrapped for bluefish and croakers so i was reeled at a good test. I tied really good boy scout knots and put a brass areator like whats on the kitchen sink at the end of the line for a sinking weight. I dropped it down the well with no pump or other junk in the bore. When the brass fitting stopped sinking i pulled it up and dropped it again. It didnt sink any further. I cut the line and pulled it up for about half an hour by hand. After that i stretched the line i pulled up and measured the fishing line and measured 253 feet of string .So roughly 250 of brass weight free fell until hitting a bottom of something. I don't know if this will work for you but I think I have a 250' well based on my expeiment.

The pump setting depth only helps to know how much pipe you will need to pull. The pump is still only lifting from the actual water level, not the pump setting depth.

 

[2stupid2fixit]

The pump setting depth only helps to know how much pipe you will need to pull. The pump is still only lifting from the actual water level, not the pump setting depth.

Before I get started, I would HOPE that anyone reading anything in this forum takes valveman's advice over mine. I thought I warned everyone but here is the same warning:
"I do not know what I am doing. I am learning,or at least I tell myself that, and sometimes that means paying dearly for mistakes at my own expense." Valveman on the other hand has saved me time, money and injury.

Now, back to my response...
Yes I agree. In reading this again, he did ask what his pump depth was, which is how many feet from the ground level the pump sits. I agree with you that the depth to water is the important number. I mistakenly gave him a method of how to reasonably measure the depth of the dug bore. I missed that key point.

I figured out how far down my pump was hung by yanking it up and measuring the pitless on poly connection to pump connector.

I've always wondered this though. My well depth is 250. The pump is hung at 200. Is the 50 feet just a buffer? Or is it a wise guess that the driller back in the day knew something about the aquifer and its expected behavior?

I ask this because my house is in a development of what we would now call built by sketchy developers that took advantage of the lack of regulation in the early 1970s. The houses went up quickly, and I am inclined to think that they put 250 feet of bore bit on the drill truck and drilled each lot for that no matter what. Then, they costed out pumps and poly and wire and every pump got dropped to 200 no matter what. I guess we can only just guess since all the paperwork is gone or was never made, and regulation wasn't there and the ones that did the install it are now likely dead.

If the OP does measure his whole well's depth, at least by then he will know how far down he will need to feel around in case he accidentally drops his pump down the hole and wants to go get it.

 

[Reach4]

I've always wondered this though. My well depth is 250. The pump is hung at 200. Is the 50 feet just a buffer? Or is it a wise guess that the driller back in the day knew something about the aquifer and its expected behavior?

Both? I think the space gives room for sediment to accumulate for years without getting sucked up. Depends Fifty feet is more space than is usually needed, and more than can be given up as a buffer. But wells differ.

Your 250 ft well is likely cased to the bottom. In the west the wells often only have casing at the top, and just have unlined mostly-rock the rest of the way.

 

[Valveman]

Like Reach says, every well and area is different. Some wells need the pump set a foot off bottom, others can have the pump set hundreds of feet off the bottom. It is usually better to have 50' extra hole instead of 50' not enough. It is not good to set a pump too deep and have the well feeding the pump from above. Water needs to come in the well from below the pump when possible, or use a flow inducer when not possible. If the well becomes weak you have the option of lowering it by 50'. Some people don't have that option.

As an example there are wells that need to be dug to 800'-1000' to hit water. But when you hit the water it comes up to within 50' of the surface. In these wells you can set the pump at 100' even though the well is 1000' deep.