What kind of water pump should I invest in?

[shaneatwell]

I just started planting, but my long-term goal is 2-3 acres of nut trees (chestnut, walnut, etc), 1 acre of experimental subtropicals, 2 acres of stonefruits/apples and a small greenhouse. And a small house. 10 year project, so I don't know if i build the pump for that or just to get me through the first 5 years.

I'm leaning towards 15-18 gpm right now and vacillating between a constant pressure pump and a traditional setup with a 5000g tank.

[spaugh]

Shane, if you are really going to put in a house, you should check what the rules are for water tanks.  I think houses need 7500 gal tanks for fire fighting.  You don't want to go put in a 5000 gal tank and then have to get a bigger one later. 

[shaneatwell]

Shane, if you are really going to put in a house, you should check what the rules are for water tanks.  I think houses need 7500 gal tanks for fire fighting.  You don't want to go put in a 5000 gal tank and then have to get a bigger one later.

Good point. Looks like i need 5000 for a house < 1500sf. So i probably would need to go 7500 to guarantee 5000 for the FD. Also there are some requirements about location i wasn't aware of. Might need two tanks...

[Elopez2027@aol.com]

Have you explored a RAM pump. Might have different name in Europe. Cheap to build, no electricity, carries water up hill and at distance.

[Mark in Texas]

I just started planting, but my long-term goal is 2-3 acres of nut trees (chestnut, walnut, etc), 1 acre of experimental subtropicals, 2 acres of stonefruits/apples and a small greenhouse. And a small house. 10 year project, so I don't know if i build the pump for that or just to get me through the first 5 years.

I'm leaning towards 15-18 gpm right now and vacillating between a constant pressure pump and a traditional setup with a 5000g tank.

I have the Grundfos 1 HP for my Xmas tree op, like 3,000 trees on drippers. Rows 8', trees 6'.  It was more than enough. I figured my output around 18 gpm.  I could open up one of the 600' 1/2 inch poly pipe and shoot a stream 30'.  Trust me, that's what you want.

No tank is needed except for the 2 gal. one that you T off in line being it's a closed system IF it's for your house and the other stuff.  (Not open like in a city)

 

[Mark in Texas]

Have you explored a RAM pump. Might have different name in Europe. Cheap to build, no electricity, carries water up hill and at distance.

Who wants to build a pump?  They're cheap, well designed, carry a warranty and come in a 100 flavors.

[pineislander]

I finished installing a pump in my well. It is the Grundfos constant pressure SQE pump that uses electronic control to vary the pump speed to meet pressure demand. Instead of a pressure switch turning the motor on/off it uses a sensor and controls the pressure within 5 psi (0.4 bar) with the motor speed running between 3500 to 10,000 rpm. The action of the controller gently does a "soft start" at first to minimize stress on the motor. The pump is a high capacity 30 gallons/minute flow (3.8L/min) for irrigation and also meets the house demand. Once pressure is met and doesn't vary for a few seconds the pump turns off. The pump pressure setting is variable via keypad. I haven't completed connecting to irrigation but did make a full flow test for a day it really puts out.

[Mark in Texas]

Congrats, nice job!    Been using a 1 HP Grundfos SQE for over 15 years on the house and for irrigating pop ups around the house.  Used a 1 HP SQ (no controller, just relay switch and On/Off timer) for 2 zones in the field, 2 miles of 1/2" poly pipe, in line emitters off another well.

Just a thought, if things start going wonky, it means the 2 gal. bladder tank you T-d off to has a leaky bladder. Expect a 2-5 years life out of them depending on water quality.  Either have a spare handy or make sure the locals have one in stock all the time.   Have the 2 gal tank at 70% psi of the system psi setting, measure with a tire gauge.   IOW with no pressure in line your tank air pressure should be 42 PSI with a system PSI setting of 60.

Also, I put an Amiad S/S filter on both systems.   BTW, went from a 1 HP to a 3/4 HP pump change out after 15 years for the house.  Works great.  Only changed the pump out to have the old one as a spare and to update my galv. pipe couplers to S/S.  Pipe was red when we pulled it from the couplers decomposing.   S/S couplers were only $12.50 each.  20' sticks.

The diagnostics are also a great value.  Came home, no water.  Pulled the console cover and the red LED says "no contact with pump".  Turned out I did not originally cinch down the hot wires at the console's terminals well.  Backed off the screws, shoved the stripped wires up, screwed it back down - water.
 

[pineislander]

Interesting that I had the same problem on startup with a loose wire termination on wire to the pump agree that the diagnostic lights were handy.
Also, Florida is one of the world's lightning hotspots and if anyone installs one of these here be sure to run a good ground. This is a new house and I actually installed a lightning rod system on the house tied into it . If anyone is building new it is highly recommended. My neighbor lost several $1000's in a strike and most appliances now have plenty of electronics even dishwashers, refrigerators etc.

[Mark in Texas]

Interesting that I had the same problem on startup with a loose wire termination on wire to the pump agree that the diagnostic lights were handy.
Also, Florida is one of the world's lightning hotspots and if anyone installs one of these here be sure to run a good ground. This is a new house and I actually installed a lightning rod system on the house tied into it . If anyone is building new it is highly recommended. My neighbor lost several $1000's in a strike and most appliances now have plenty of electronics even dishwashers, refrigerators etc.

That kinda surprises me but Florida does get its shares of storms.  I had a lightning stike split a 300 yr. old live oak near my field pump house located 30' away.

I had an expert tell me that wells themselves make for good lightning rods - not good. 

[marileespeed]

For your purposes, you need a fairly durable pump, with a long power cord. From my personal experience I can recommend zoeller m53 sumppumpadvisor.com. It can drain about 34 gallons of water per minute from a 10m deep basement, it's understandable that at 50m the numbers will be a little less, but it's still impressive. Also, the spinning material is strong enough and made of glass-filled plastic, so it can work for long hours without any damage or interruption. In addition, it is also relatively cheap, so I advise you to at least take a look at this option.