Pump quality... Brand name...

[Spaceman Spiff]

My well pump installer wants to sell me a Hays Rising Star pump for my deep well. The well is a 6" with the pump at 150' and a head of ~85'. Has anyone had any unusual quality issues with this brand vs Goulds or Grundfos??

 

[hj]

pump

What is the pump's capacity at that head, or a bit more since the water level will drop when pumping?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

It is a model 7A50 which is rated for 13-14.5 GPM for the drawdown of about 10-20' I expect. This is a great match since the driller rated the well at 15 GPM.

 

[CaptWally]

I've not installed Hays pumps, but from my experience they seem to be quality products. Though my suggestion would be to not go with a 1/2hp pump under any circumstances. If you have or at some point in the future plan an irrigation system you will appreciate the benefits of having at least a 1hp pump in your well.

 

[Gary Slusser]

It is a model 7A50 which is rated for 13-14.5 GPM for the drawdown of about 10-20' I expect. This is a great match since the driller rated the well at 15 GPM.

I've not heard of Hays pumps but... a 6" well holds 1.47 gal/ft of water. And if the well is a rock bore, the pump should be sized for and set a 10-15' off the bottom. It really has little to do with the recovery rate (15 gpm) of the well. If the well is fully cased and screened, then the pump is set at the screening or 10' below the pumping level of the well. The pumping level being where the water level stops falling and is maintained by the recovery rate flow.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm not too worried about the 1/2HP pump since I'll also have a 1500 gal tank with a 1HP pressure pump to supply water to the house. The well pump is only used to fill the tank.

 

[Gary Slusser]

Then that begs the question of why the cistern (1500 gal tank)? And why a 1 hp pump (what's the gpm?) from the tank to the house? How far away and how much elevation from the tank to the house? Why not a pump in the well and no tank or other pump and pressure tank, switch etc.? Are you going to time the well pump operation or how is a 1/2 hp 13 gpm pump going to keep up with a 1 hp x gpm?

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I am planning on feeding water to my house, the house next door (yet to be built) my irrigation and the irrigation next door. The tank is so I can draw more than 15 GPM at any one time since there could be a couple of showers going, the tub filling, washing machine and the lawn sprinklers. The 1HP ~50~75 GPM pump will be supplying pressurized water to the whole lot at 40/60 PSI. There will be a float in the tank to refill the tank as needed. The well is about 25' away from the house and the tank is midway between. The tank and pressure pump are almost level with each other.

Any comments on the quality of this well pump?

 

[Gary Slusser]

You're going to take more than 15 gpm @ 40/60 psi out of the cistern with a 1HP ~50~75 GPM pump and replenish it with a 1/2 hp 13-14 gpm pump in the well.... I can see the cistern empty or near empty and sucking dirt off the bottom at times! Or at least the houses and irrigation using more water faster than the well can replenish the cistern.. Then what? I can also see high purchase prices and operating costs.

How are you going to control the well pump to put that volume back in the cistern without running the well 'dry' or too low for that 1/2 hp pump? The usual means is float switches, and maybe a timer on the well pump if the well can't supply al the volume in one pumping. Can the well produce the volume this will require in such a short period of time? There should be a float switch to prevent the cistern pump from running dry. And IMO you don't need a 1 hp 50 gpm pump in the cistern when you have hardly any 'head'. You need the GPM that exceeds the peak demand of the houses and irrigation and future needs at the pressure you want to run, and then you select the minimum or required horses to do the job.

I mean I'm all for DIYers *except* in the design phase when there should be a pro involved. What about water quality and possible required water treatment equipment? Before the cistern or after it? If not before, where? And if before, how do you clean the cistern and feed water to the water treatment with float switches? If not treatment before the cistern, what potential water quality problems might we have to deal with after the cistern tha twe wouldn't have to if we treated the water as it left the well; now at the beginning or later like say 6 months using this new well? Most new wells have a change in water quality as time goes by.

IMO, and if this were mine... I'd want the well to be capable of producing all the water the houses need and the pump in the well to supply the houses etc. with one pressure tank and a switch. Or better yet, a Cycle Stop Valve for constant pressure due to two houses and irrigation using water at teh same time.

I would not want a 1500 gal tank, float switches in a tank and the periodic cleaning of a tank and stuff growing in the tank or rust etc. forming in the tank and another pump and controlling pressure tank etc.. Let alone the expense of buying the stuff and trouble installing it and then to have to maintain it.

Is this an atmospheric or pressurized cistern? How is to be cleaned?

Over the years I have heard from many people with cisterns, after the fact, and they all wish they had known of the pitfalls before going with one. I do pump and well work but most of their problems are water quality issues, and they can get real serious quickly and they have no to little room for equipment and need more equipment than shall I say 'normal' due to the 1000-1500 gallons of stagnant water sittting in a cistern and no place for equipment or the means to put equipment before the cistern. So please take what I'm saying as helpful and think this through fully.

I haven't heard of Hays pumps so I can't answer the question, but you can't beat Goulds, Sta-Rite, Flint and Walling etc..

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[Mike Swearingen]

Here are a couple of wells-and-pumps tutorial sites that also may help you:
www.peekspump.com
www.jessstryker.com
Good Luck!
Mike