Well pump and supply tank installation

Ask This Old House - Well pump and supply tank
Season 4 | Episode 417
Original Air Date Week of January 28, 2006

Richard and well spe******t Dave Haynes help a homeowner repair a residential well that is causing a banging sound inside the house. Dave determines that the well pump needs to be replaced, along with a pressurized storage tank inside the basement. Richard and Dave begin by removing the old well pump. They then replace it with a more durable stainless steel unit. They also replace the tank with a much larger tank so that the pump won’t over-cycle, which could shorten its life.
Episode Info.
Watch video here

A job well done? What do you think?

Torque arrestor - New vs previous installation
Starter pipe - why?
Check valve at tank - why?
AMTROL'Râ„¢ Digital Control - pro's and con's Link

Does anyone know where to buy an Amtrol'R pressure control?

The Amtrol web site provides minimal information on the control. Can this device be used to control a low voltage control on a pumping system?

Does anyone know where to buy an Amtrol'R pressure control?

The Amtrol web site provides minimal information on the control. Can this device be used to control a low voltage control on a pumping system?

Did Dave decide the pump or just the check valve needed replacing? Since the pump itself cannot cause the water hammer.

The much more durable pump could have been cast iron, plastic or stainless. There isn't any difference in reality. We have used them all and the only difference it price.

As for the Amtrol switch, from all I can gather. It is just another pressure switch.

The Amtrol switch seems to be an electronic pressure sensor tripping an output switch. That should be inherently more reliable. I have had problems with my pressure tank switch with little use. It may be related to not running the pump current through the contacts. They might get dirty without significant current flow. The Amtrol probably uses a relay for output which may have the same problem; but maybe not. There was little real information on the device on the Amtrol site.

Amtrol seems to imply other wondorus capabilities.

A search only found one online. List price.

Just my 2 cents worth;
Never install a check valve at the pressure tank!!!! It may be fine until the submersible pump starts to gain some age. The check valve on top of the pump will start to become sluggish, closing a little slower than the valve at the pressure tank. The valve at the tank will hold pressure from that point on into the house. The slower closing valve in the well will allow some of the pressure to leak off of the drop pipe. When the pump starts under these conditions, it is starting with little to no head pressure, and you get the famous "BANG" (water hammer). Each time you get this hammer, youre putting tremendous pressure and stress on the drop pipe, and eventually that pipe will break, and when you try to remove the pump, you'll pull the pipe up, and the pump will be laying in the bottom of the well. With only the check valve on the pump alone, when it gets sluggish, you may lose enough through back leaking to cause a few phantom cycles (pump cycles even though no water has been drawn) in a days time, but you dont get the bang, you dont stress out the pipe and pump, and the pump will probably continue to work fine for several years this way.
Also I can not see the chaffed wires "electrifying the water and creating a shock hazzard". The insulation on many of the older cables usually is in poor condition long before the pump has expired. You have an enormous amount of ground water, and under these conditions, the "electrified" water is "grounded", and you would never notice a shock. I have pulled pumps where the cable has deteriorated so much under water that the amp draw was crazy, yet the pump motor tested out fine, and no shocking or tingles were noticed ever.

Since the Amtrol switch is electronic and I'm in the lightning capitol of the world, I'll stay with the old analog version of pressure switch's. Just like the filtration we sell. Electric, but not electronic.

bob...