Well Advice Wanted

[TVL]

My feeling is....the well driller/pump installer you trusted to do the work knows the area better than the rest of us do, I for one wouldn't want to second guess his expertise in the local hydrology. He has the pump set at that depth for a reason and I think you should ask him if it's ok to set it a shallower depth.

Well, here is the rest of that story. The local well digger wasn't sure what was happening with the original well - was it going dry? had the well screen gotten plugged from sand over the years and simply wasn't allowing proper flow? ...... thus the reason for blowing it out which still didn't resolve my issue.

So, he then suggested we drill a new well in hopes we could once again get a sufficient quantity of water. He is also the one that suggested we drill a new well somewhere near the original ..... so I picked a spot just 15 feet away. After drilling, he felt fairly confident we were in the same sand aquifer as the original well. He also confirmed the static water level was the same in both.

Since I had been experiencing issues with pumping the well dry in the original well and he wasn't sure if it was because the well screen had become partially plugged over the years OR if I was indeed running out of water because the aquifer could no longer support the demand, he chose to put the pump near the bottom in the new well. He felt this was the safest thing to do at the time and I certainly agreed. However, I have since monitored the new well very closely and now know the exact static water level at rest and during operation. Based on my data is why I felt it might be best to raise the pump to address any cooling concerns I have. But again, I wasn't or still don't know if there are other things I should be concerned with if the pump is raised a few feet ............. thus my reason for asking the experts.

Anyway, maybe I should just let this post die, unless someone wants to address my main concern which is item #1 in my original post. Thanks so much!

 

[Valveman]

Don't raise the pump until you have checked the water level after running the pump wide open for several hours, during the last part of summer, at the end of the longest drought in your area. Then you would be safe to raise the pump until it is only about 5' under water. If you burn up a motor, you will know you should have raised the pump earlier. If the motor last a few years, it will probably last a long time, and you were making a mountain out of a mole hill.

That is exactly why I use 5" casing and put a flow inducer shroud on every pump. Then I don't have to worry about this problem.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[TVL]

Don't raise the pump until you have checked the water level after running the pump wide open for several hours, during the last part of summer, at the end of the longest drought in your area. Then you would be safe to raise the pump until it is only about 5' under water. If you burn up a motor, you will know you should have raised the pump earlier. If the motor last a few years, it will probably last a long time, and you were making a mountain out of a mole hill.

That is exactly why I use 5" casing and put a flow inducer shroud on every pump. Then I don't have to worry about this problem.

Thanks Valveman!

Your recommendation makes complete sense and therefore, is my plan of action! Thanks to all who responded and consider this thread closed!

 

[Texas Wellman]

Couldn't have said it better myself. Even though the pump is in the screen apparently I'll bet it still gets enough water over the motor to keep it cool or creates enough turbulence to keep it cool.

My feeling is....the well driller/pump installer you trusted to do the work knows the area better than the rest of us do, I for one wouldn't want to second guess his expertise in the local hydrology. He has the pump set at that depth for a reason and I think you should ask him if it's ok to set it a shallower depth.

 

[VAWellDriller]

You can fit a Grundfos 3" pump in a 3" PVC sleeve in a 4" well. I have done it and it will give you the proper cooling flow and maximize available draw down.

 

[Craigpump]

You can fit a Grundfos 3" pump in a 3" PVC sleeve in a 4" well. I have done it and it will give you the proper cooling flow and maximize available draw down.

What do you use to secure the sleeve to the pump?

 

[VAWellDriller]

What do you use to secure the sleeve to the pump?[/QUOT

Good quality 2" vinyl pump tape. We put a lot of sleeves around here, mostly low yielding 6" rock wells with 4" sleeves. It doesn't sound like much, but a good tape job is very secure and quick.

 

[VAWellDriller]

idiot post...put it in your text

 

[Valveman]

If I remember correctly those 3" SQ type pumps have a little circulator pump in the motor. This circulates the oil in the motor up through the pump shaft where the water is cool, and back to the motor. That way you don't need a shroud to keep the motor cool, and you don't need a shroud so they can fit in 4" or smaller casing.

That may have been the old "Jet Sub" which was the precurser to the SQ. But I think the SQ does the same.

 

[Craigpump]

We use 4" sch 40 for sleeves, and use a 4" abs well seal.

I asked because i didn't think they made a 3" well seal...

 

[VAWellDriller]

Valveman- I don't know how they are supposed to work, but my personal experience is with a test pump that I use for pumping shallow wells, both drilled and bored. Its a 1/2 10 sq 115 volt and I set it on the bottom of the well, or a few inches up....it always shut itself down below 2-3 gpm until I put the sleeve on.

Craig - I have not seen one, but a salesman told me someone started making a 3" well seal. I used a product a while back that an engineer spec'd for a job....and I can't remember what the name was...it was a kit for making a sleeve that you provided thin wall 4" cut to size and it provided a nice top seal with rubber grommet and bottom cap with strainer too. It worked fine, but I guess I always just used the motto KISS and haven't had any problems with just tape.

 

[Valveman]

Valveman- I don't know how they are supposed to work, but my personal experience is with a test pump that I use for pumping shallow wells, both drilled and bored. Its a 1/2 10 sq 115 volt and I set it on the bottom of the well, or a few inches up....it always shut itself down below 2-3 gpm until I put the sleeve on.

Thanks, that is good to know. So I will quit saying I think the SQ does not need a shroud, because they obviously do.

 

[Craigpump]

Baker shows a 3"x 1" well seal.

I think that a motor spinning at 10,500 would really benefit from a flow inducer.

 

[Texas Wellman]

It's been years since I used one but simmons has made a 3" well seal for quite a while. You can even get a 2" well seal.

 

[Reach4]

Does well seal imply no pitless adapter?

 

[Valveman]

Does well seal imply no pitless adapter?

Yeah but they are talking about using a well seal for a shroud head, not to hold the pump at the top of the well. You could still have a pitless or well seal up top, and have a well seal for a shroud head down on the pump.