Artisian well not in use since previous cottage torn down

[MidtoupperMichigan]

I have a lot we purchased that had a previous cottage that use to be on it before we bought the lot. The old cottage was torn down before we owned the lot. The well is still there. It is an artisian well as all the cottages have in the area. The artisian well has not been used for maybe 5 years. It does drip a little bit of water constantly all yer round (so it is flowing). If i look down the 2' well pipe I can see the water level at where the water is leaking out a spigot. I think the well head is clogged down in the ground. I plan to flush it out with a hose and a air pressure tank hose with blasts of air at a time but not till spring when I am ready to hook up water to the cottage we moved to the newly built foundation there.
My questions are, does that sound like a good plan for cleaning out the head of the well pipe and do I put the pump in the garage which the wall of the garage is 2ft behind the artisian well or do I put the pump in the cottage crawlspace which is about 40ft away and up a slight grade? I believe the previous set up was with the pump in the garage. One benefit to that is that if the pump leaks, then it leaks in the garage not the crawlspace which I dont have a drain in the crawlspace of the cottage. And do I put a check valve at the well head or up stream inside the cottage crawlspace. And do I put a pressure tank in the cottage crawlspace or in the garage? We will at times be winterizing the cottage in some of the winter weeks. It gets pretty cold there. It is not too far from the coldest city in the lower peninsula of Michigan. The well water is relatively cold also. I was told it is an undergound river of water from Canada. Its cold enough that the cottages in the area need to have insulated toilet tanks because in the summer months the toilets will perspire from the cold water in toilet tank and warmer air in the room. I would like to set this up in the most logical set up while I am at it.

 

[Valveman]

You need a foot valve at the bottom of your suction pipe, which is the only check valve you need, Run the suction pipe down lower than the drain spigot. No reason to go any deeper than about 20', as that is all a jet pump can do. Then get a good jet pump like a J7S and a PK1A to control everything. Something like this.

Or this..

 

[Sponsor]

 

[MidtoupperMichigan]

Thank you for the photos and info. Silly question, but my artisian well head is located maybe 3o' to 35' away from the crawlspace so do I put all the items you had photos of inside the basement? It looks like the previous owner may have had the pump possibly in the garage about 2 ft from the well head.

 

[Valveman]

The closer the pump to the well head the better. But you can draw from a long ways away. Just need to make sure the long horizontal run doesn't have any high spots to accumulate air. It is best if the suction line gradually rises towards the pump.

 

[MidtoupperMichigan]

Good to know. I can put the pump right in the garage but the garage is not heated and it does get cold there but the garage is on a cement slab so the ground is probably 45 degrees year round and the water is probably similar and I could make an insulated box around the pump and water line from the well head if needed. But if I put the pump in the cottage crawlspace, then it has the added insulation benefits of the warmer cottage floor above it and the much more sealed in crawlspace temps and the ground temp. If I put the pump in the cottage crawlspace it is probably 3 ft higher up than where the well comes out of the ground and 35 ft away or so. It wouldnt need to have any high spots but it would gradually go up a few ft as it climbs to the pump 35 ft or so away in the crawlspace.

 

[Valveman]

The pump being 3" higher shouldn't hurt anything, as long as total lit from pump to water line is not more than 20-24'. Sounds like it will even put the pump at the high spot, which is good. The more suction line you have the more water it takes to prime and the more chances you have of a suction leak, but it will work.