Jet Pump on City Water

[JD1984]

Need some help finding a solution to a couple of problems that i have run into with my jet pump being on city water.

My house sits up on a hill with about a 600ft 1.5in waterline from the meter. The elevation change from the meter to the pump is about 25-30ft, according to some on line elevation maps. The pressure at the meter is about 25psi from a 3/4" meter. The pressure coming into the house without the pump is about 5psi. When the house was built in 2017 the meter had 40+psi and the house had 10-15 psi.

Unfortunately, the water department keeps breaking their water lines and isn't wanting to push more pressure.

Currently I have a 1/2hp jet pump that wont pressure my tank and house up to 40psi, i'm not sure if its gone bad, or not getting enough water on the inlet. I've turned the switch down to 10/30 to get by looking for a solution. My assumption is the 1/2hp is underpowered, long story short it was put in in a rush Christmas eve 2023, the previous pump was a 3/4hp that lasted 6 years and i bought the wrong replacement.

Solutions I've considered:
1. buy a 1hp Franklin Electric Versa Jet Pro, or Goulds 1HP
2. building a pump house at the bottom of the hill and running wire to put the pump there, about 240ft. (would prefer not to do this)
3. Adding water tanks (200gal) to the crawlspace and having the city water fill them and have the pump draw from them.

Another issue I'm looking to solve is the need of a switch or something that will cut the pump off when there is no water from the city so the pump doesn't continually run. The water department is always cutting the water off without notice because of maintenance, pump issues, or a break in the line. We don't always know when the water from the city is off since we have the pressure tank, normally we find out when we're in the middle of a shower.



Thanks for any advice

 

[Valveman]

If the pump is pulling the city pressure down to zero or lower, you will need a storage tank or cistern. But if the city pressure stays positive when the pump is running you can just boost the pressure. It depends on which 1/2HP pump you have, as they are different. The J5S doesn't build much pressure but the J5SH does. With other brands sometimes going up in horsepower is needed to get more pressure. Look for a pump that has a max pressure of at least 70 PSI, so you can run a 40/60 pressure switch.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JD1984]

If the pump is pulling the city pressure down to zero or lower, you will need a storage tank or cistern. But if the city pressure stays positive when the pump is running you can just boost the pressure. It depends on which 1/2HP pump you have, as they are different. The J5S doesn't build much pressure but the J5SH does. With other brands sometimes going up in horsepower is needed to get more pressure. Look for a pump that has a max pressure of at least 70 PSI, so you can run a 40/60 pressure switch.

Thanks for the quick reply. The gauge before the pump just bounces around when the pump is on. The pump is a everbuilt HD from HD.

 

[Reach4]

Currently I have a 1/2hp jet pump that wont pressure my tank and house up to 40psi, i'm not sure if its gone bad, or not getting enough water on the inlet.

Can you measure the pressure at the input to the pump? If that pump is only adding about 20 PSI to the pressure, your jet might be clogged. Its free to clean if your pump is built to allow that.

For your run-dry protection, this may be the time to use a pressure switch with a low pressure cutoff switch. Those lock off, and requires you to hold a lever to get going again. Cheap solution.

You would want your pressure tank to not have too much air precharge to avoid false trips.

 

[JD1984]

Look for a pump that has a max pressure of at least 70 PSI, so you can run a 40/60 pressure switch.

Any reason why i need to go 40/60? The house is regulated to 45psi, which i didn't know until about a week ago. We're fine with 45psi.

The 1/2hp pump burnt up yesterday. Ended up with a FloTec 1hp (67 max psi) and added a 30/50 with low pressure cut off verses the HD pumps we used before.

The low pressure switch trips randomly, our assumption is we're taking all of the water from the line faster than the city can push water up the hill.

 

[Valveman]

Yeah, low pressure cut off switch can be a nuisance. Anytime you open one too many faucets or flush during a power outage you have to go lift that little lever to re-start the pump. 30/50 is the best you can do with that pump. I would gut or remove the 45 PSI regulator as it is just an additional restriction. If running on 230V a Cycle Sensor will protect the pump from running dry and doesn't have the nuisance trip problems of a low pressure cut off switch.

https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/cycle-sensor-pump-monitor