New well size for single-family home and irrigation?

[hutt132]

I'm wanting to have a well put in for my 3bed/2bath home in NE Florida. I also have some sprinklers and drip irrigation for 15 fruit trees.
Right now I'm using my neighbor's well to pump water into my aerator tank, where I then pump through my water softener to my home.
Trying to figure out the basics on materials/specs before going around asking for quotes to ensure I'm getting a quality well install.

My neighbor has a well ~300ft away from where I plan to have one installed that is 166ft deep and their water has next to 0 iron in it the last time it was measured. We don't get iron staining. There is some sulfur (unmeasured amount) and we both use a large aerator tank to help reduce it. I don't smell any rotten eggs and the water tastes great, but I still get buildup on my shower heads with a water softener, so I'm assuming sulfur is still building up.

Their well specs are:
4" Casing from 0 - 55'
2" Casing from 55' - 140'
Screened from 140' - 166'

I'm assuming my well could be a similar depth. I plan for this to be my forever home.
Is it still standard to have a 4" casing that transitions to 2"? What should I ask for?
What submersible pump brand is recommended?
Should I get a 2-wire or 3-wire pump?
Anything else I should ask the installer about?

 

[Reach4]

Standard, if there is one, is a five inch casing. Some areas have casing all of the way down, and some just until the path turns to rock. Your local well driller will have the experience and knowledge.

Four inch PVC would also be good.

I have not heard of switching to 2 inch casing. I am not a pro. Three-inch or more allows you to have a submersible pump, and you really want a submersible pump. Two-inch will not fit a submersible pump.

3 wire or 4 wire? How much irrigation are you talking about? 3 wire with a run capacitor will take less power, but if you are not running for many hours per day, then it does not much matter. A 3-wire pump is easier on the generator requirements if you may run with a generator. The 3-inch pumps are 2 wire, and they are easy on the generator.

Ask the well person what he recommends. Go with that, unless there is a red flag.

Added questions:
1. Pitless adapter?
2. Where will the pressure tank and pressure switch be?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hutt132]

Standard, if there is one, is a five inch casing. Some areas have casing all of the way down, and some just until the path turns to rock. Your local well driller will have the experience and knowledge.

Four inch PVC would also be good.

I have not heard of switching to 2 inch casing. I am not a pro. Three-inch or more allows you to have a submersible pump, and you really want a submersible pump. Two-inch will not fit a submersible pump.

3 wire or 4 wire? How much irrigation are you talking about? 3 wire with a run capacitor will take less power, but if you are not running for many hours per day, then it does not much matter. A 3-wire pump is easier on the generator requirements if you may run with a generator. The 3-inch pumps are 2 wire, and they are easy on the generator.

Ask the well person what he recommends. Go with that, unless there is a red flag.

Added questions:
1. Pitless adapter?
2. Where will the pressure tank and pressure switch be?

Yeah my neighbor hired a legitimate well driller in 1993 and the casing switches from 4 inch to 2 inch 55' down. He has a submersible pump that goes down the 4" portion.

As for irrigation, I have a run of 4 front sprinklers and a separate run of 4 back sprinklers. I turn on one run at a time for a few hours.
For the 15 fruit trees irrigation, I have a 1/4 inch emitter at each tree and run it for a few hours before dawn. I don't run it with the sprinklers.

Would I be okay with a 4 inch PVC casing, or should I pay extra for a 5 inch PVC casing?
I also plan to do whole home solar with an inverter in a few years, so I'll do a 3-wire pump.
I could build a little pump house around the well casing to house the pressure switch and pressure tank. Is there a recommended pressure tank size?

 

[Bannerman]

Would I be okay with a 4 inch PVC casing, or should I pay extra for a 5 inch PVC casing?

The well casing's internal diameter provides space to store water. A 5" casing will allow a greater amount of water in storage above the pump compared to a 4" casing. Placing the pump @ a deeper depth, provides access to a greater amount of water in storage above the pump.

How much water needed in storage will be largely conditional on the well's recovery rate, static water level, and how much water you expect to need from the well at any one time.

Although your neighbours well maybe 166' deep, because his submersible pump can't fit within the 2" lower section, the pump can't access the water located below the pump's inlet screen, in the event the water level ever drops lower than ~53'.

While your intended well location maybe ~300' from your neighbour's well, there is no guarantee your water will be sourced from the same aquifer as the neighbour's well, or that water conditions will be similar.

A water softener will remove calcium and magnesium ions which is the main cause of water hardness. While a softener is also capable of removing some amount of ferrous iron and manganese, a softener is ineffective at removing sulfur and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is the cause of rotten egg odor.

Depending on the amount of sulfur and other water conditions, there a various methods for treating a sulfur issue including removal using a backwashing filter containing Catalytic Carbon.

Is there a recommended pressure tank size?

A pump is designed for continuous operation. It's frequent On/Off cycling that reduces the lifespan of the pump, pressure switch, pressure tank, check valve etc.

To reduce cycling, the minimum recommended tank size, will cause the pump to run for 1-minute after no further water is consumed. Better still will be a larger tank, to cause the pump to run for 2-minutes. Best is to prevent the pump from cycling.

You may want to consider equipping your system with a Cycle Stop Valve, to cause the pump to deliver the exact amount of water as it is being utilized, thereby preventing the pump from cycling for as long as more than 1 GPM is being consumed. Since the CSV reduces the delivery rate from the pump to further fill the pressure tank at only 1 GPM after water consumption is stopped, only a small pressure tank will be normally needed.

Because a pump will consume the most power when it is moving water at its maximum flow rate, a CSV will reduce power consumption as the pump's delivery rate will be reduced to equal the rate of water consumption.

An additional benefit of a CSV includes, constant pressure supplied to fixtures and irrigation systems, once the pump is running.

CSV Interactive Animation

 

[Reach4]

You will have two pumps-- a well pump that fills the cistern, and a pressure pump that feeds the house and irrigation.

The well pump will be some kind of 1/2 hp submersible. A 10 gpm is cheaper, and a 7 or even 5 gpm pump will cost more, but can lift higher. There are also submersible pumps that can work directly off of solar cells. Those cost more.

The pressure pump would best be a 1/2 hp submersible horizontally in a flow inducer. That would be near the low part of the cistern/tank. If your tank has a cone bottom, that will facilitate draining off sediment. https://www.plastic-mart.com/storage/

For the pressure pump, you would want the irrigation to consume about the capacity of the pump, and then run it for a shorter interval.

Protect plastic from the sun.

 

[Valveman]

I have heard of areas where they switch from 4" to 2" casing. Usually three is some kind of pressurized aquafer that once you drill into it at 150' or so, the water level will come up to 20' or so. As long as it can keep up with demand there is no need to set the pump deeper than 40' or so.

Aerators do generally use a two pump system. Water from the well pump gets aerated as it goes into a storage tank. Then a booster pump, which can be jet or submersible is used to pump water as needed.

 

[hutt132]

What spray nozzles do people typically get for their aerator tank that best atomizes the water to release the sulfur gas?
I was looking at these 1/4" spiral nozzles: https://www.amazon.com/Horiznext-Stainless-Atomizer-Removing-Cooling，（5/dp/B0861W67HM

 

[Valveman]

Don't think it will take much spray action. Just don't want nozzles that restrict the flow too much.