On Sunday, July 21, 2013 10:44:01 PM UTC-4, Coccopine wrote:
I purchased a home a couple years ago that was a foreclosure home. It is

way out in the country and runs on a well system. The well is about 365 ft

deep and has a 3HP 230V 60hz submersible pump set at about 350 ft down the

well. Up a hill about 300 ft from the well head is a concrete and gravel

pad where a water storage tank used to sit. I am told that the previous

owners removed the storage tank and booster pump system when they left the

home during the foreclosure process. The first year I was in the home I

was too busy moving in etc to worry much about the outside landscaping

needs. This year I repaired all the landscaping water lines etc and

started to water everything the way it should have been and discovered an

issue. The well pump is capable of pumping about 20 gallons a minute from

the well but the well appears to only be capable of supplying about 7 to 8

gallons per minute. Therefore it pumps like crazy for about 15 minutes and

then begins to starve.

I had a well company come out and look at the set up. They tell me that I

really need to re-install the storage tank up on the hill in the original

location. They tell me that the price for that install will be about

$6000.00. I would love to just pay them the money and have them do the

work but I simply don't have that kind of cash. The main reason they

suggested the storage tank is that we are in a high fire danger area and

without the stored water our home would most likely be lost as the fire

department would not have enough water to fight the fire from our current

well set up.

Currently, the well pump line feeds a pressure switch and then two

pressure tanks that then feed the house and landscaping supply lines. I am

very handy with most home projects like many people who live out in the

country. I have a friend who is a contractor and we can perform most

plumbing and electrical projects. I am trying to determine if this project

is simple enough that I can do most of the work myself and trim the cost

down substantially from the $6000.00. I know the tank, pump, fittings, and

controls will cost some but hope I can perform the labor and cut the costs.

The biggest problem I have is that I have never seen one of these systems

set up and don't know exactly how to plump or wire the controls etc. I can

do the work but have been unable to locate any type of design drawings to

show me how to set up the system so that it will function properly.

The old pad foundation where the original storage tank was located is up a

hill about 300 feet from the well head and is elevated about 30 to 35 feet

higher than the well head and pressure tanks. There is an abandoned 1"

black poly tubing that runs from the well head area to the base of where

the old storage tank was. There is a 2" PVC line that runs from the well

head area to the base of where the old storage tank was. There is also

electrical conduit running between the well head area and old storage tank

but no wire. I am figuring the 1" black poly tubing was most likely the

fill line directly from the well head to the storage tank. The 2" PVC line

most likely came out of the bottom of the storage tank and down the hill

to feed the booster pump. Then I think the booster pump would be plumbed

into the pressure switch and then the pressure tanks which in turn will

supply the house and landscaping with pressurized water.

I will need to purchase and wire in a pumptec from Franklin controls to

protect my well pump from trying to continue pumping when the well water

level runs low. I originally thought about switching out the well pump

with a smaller pump rated at less than the 7 to 8 gallon rate the well can

supply but the well company representative said since the well pump is in

good shape and working fine it would be an added expense that isn't

necessary at this time. I also will need to purchase and wire in a good

control system to sense the water levels in the storage tank and turn on

and off the well pump etc and provide alarms if water levels get too low

or too high. In addition to some misc fittings the other major components

I will need are the storage tank and a booster pump.

I know this is a long post but wanted to provide as much info as I thought

you would need to provide assistance with this project. Thank you!







Some thoughts. I think there are some separate issues here that
need to be thought out. First, you've been living there for some
time and the well apparently was fine for supplying domestic water
needs. Looks like it only became a problem when you went to watering
the landscape. If that is true, why couldn't you re-zone the irrigation
so that it matches the well? You could have three 2 gpm heads per
zone. As long as you water from say 12am to 6am, when other usage
would typically be very low, it should work.

Next is how important that tank would be for fire protection, insurance
premium reduction?, etc. I would really look into that. My first
thought would be that it might not really do much. My thought is that
if a forest fire does arrive, you may need a huge amount of water and
a tank size that holds 500 gallons, etc might not really do much
good. Again, I have no experience on this, but there must be some
guidelines as to sizes of tank vs probablility of it actually saving
your house. Also, that probably explains why there is a 2" line
coming back down the hill. The 1" is fine for supplying the house,
but wouldn't do much for a fire truck, etc.

As far as making it all work, I would think you could find examples
online. I would think it's just a matter of a switch that responds
to water level in the tank that opens a fill valve. The fill is
sized so that it's within the rate of the well. You then need a
pump to deliver the water at pressure when needed. I would think
that pump could be located where convenient, ie at the bottom of
the hill, doesn't have to be at the tank.