We purchased our house about a year ago and have known from the beginning that the water plant was going to need some work. This house was built in the 70's and it doesn't look like the plumbing has really received much love. I am now in the process of planning a complete redo of the water plant with the intention of solving several problems
1) Low flow - 2.45gpm
2) Low water pressure if more than one fixture is in use
3) High iron
4) Clogged and corroded pipes
I just wanted to get some feedback on my plan from the experts.
Solving #1 (Low flow) - Replace well pump
I know the pump at the bottom of our 130ft well is a 1/2HP model from a manufacture that no longer makes pumps (don't have the name) and it is really old, like the date code on it is from 1984. It surely must be worn out by now, especially since it has been cycling like crazy due to other leaks downstream at the pressure tank. I would like to think that replacing this with an adequate pump will get me back up to a reasonable flow. I will have the a local pump man do this as I don't really want to mess with anything down the bore. He was out here once before when we first bought the house to fix an issue with air in the water. I wish I had replaced the pump then when he had it out, but I was still new to the whole well thing and wanted to research things.
Solving #2 - Replace the corroded 40g galvanized pressure tank with a CSV like the Pside-Kick.
After pricing out replacement pressure tanks like the Well-X-trol line, it seems the Pside-Kick will actually save me money and space in addition to providing constant pressure. This is assuming that with a new pump, the flow is capable of keeping up.
Solving #3 - I am still kicking around a few ideas here, but I have thought about adding a storage tank, just to have a reserve of water in case of emergency. It will only be 300 gallons max as that is all we have room for in the house and I don't want to bury one. I was thinking I could have the storage tank also serve the purpose of an iron filter by either aerating or chlorinating (or both) and then letting the iron precipitate out where I can clean it out periodically. Alternatively, I could install some other form of iron filtration. This idea hasn't been fully fleshed out yet.
Solving #4 - I think a contributing factor to the pressure issue is that their is a fair amount of buildup in the copper pipes I have had to cut into so far. I will probably re-plumbing on a case by case basis with PEX and installing a manifold in with home runs.
We do have a water softener installed after the pressure tank but it is currently being bypassed due to leaks and general disrepair of the system.
I know there is a lot here but I would welcome any feedback from those who have dealt with these issues before.
Thanks,
J
1) Low flow - 2.45gpm
2) Low water pressure if more than one fixture is in use
3) High iron
4) Clogged and corroded pipes
I just wanted to get some feedback on my plan from the experts.
Solving #1 (Low flow) - Replace well pump
I know the pump at the bottom of our 130ft well is a 1/2HP model from a manufacture that no longer makes pumps (don't have the name) and it is really old, like the date code on it is from 1984. It surely must be worn out by now, especially since it has been cycling like crazy due to other leaks downstream at the pressure tank. I would like to think that replacing this with an adequate pump will get me back up to a reasonable flow. I will have the a local pump man do this as I don't really want to mess with anything down the bore. He was out here once before when we first bought the house to fix an issue with air in the water. I wish I had replaced the pump then when he had it out, but I was still new to the whole well thing and wanted to research things.
Solving #2 - Replace the corroded 40g galvanized pressure tank with a CSV like the Pside-Kick.
After pricing out replacement pressure tanks like the Well-X-trol line, it seems the Pside-Kick will actually save me money and space in addition to providing constant pressure. This is assuming that with a new pump, the flow is capable of keeping up.
Solving #3 - I am still kicking around a few ideas here, but I have thought about adding a storage tank, just to have a reserve of water in case of emergency. It will only be 300 gallons max as that is all we have room for in the house and I don't want to bury one. I was thinking I could have the storage tank also serve the purpose of an iron filter by either aerating or chlorinating (or both) and then letting the iron precipitate out where I can clean it out periodically. Alternatively, I could install some other form of iron filtration. This idea hasn't been fully fleshed out yet.
Solving #4 - I think a contributing factor to the pressure issue is that their is a fair amount of buildup in the copper pipes I have had to cut into so far. I will probably re-plumbing on a case by case basis with PEX and installing a manifold in with home runs.
We do have a water softener installed after the pressure tank but it is currently being bypassed due to leaks and general disrepair of the system.
I know there is a lot here but I would welcome any feedback from those who have dealt with these issues before.
Thanks,
J