no water pressure to uphill home

[Sandra Lamontagne]

Hello, I'm a first time info seeker building a log home up hill from the meter. The meter is a 3/4" outlet with a 2" line connection. on the line is a 800 sq. ft. cottage about 100 ft. from the meter and an external hydrant about 50 feet from the cottage. the line when it reaches the uphill home is 1".

I took a pressure reading at the hydrant it is 36psi at the cottage it is 30psi up hill at the log home hose bibb it is ZERO, 0, nothing.

we are connected to a community well, the meter is at the street, the run uphill is 500 feet and the elevation is 100 feet. we have the house plumbed and the rough-in plumber installed a Gundfos pump, model JPS4-A 115/230V in the mechanical room. It is connected/wired for 115v and I have installed a 30 amp breaker and an additional wire for 230v if I should have to connect to it.

At present the only active outlet is an external hose bibb. We DO NOT have a holding tank, pressure tank, or any other type of pump or backflow devices or valves installed.

When the installed pump is turned on the pressure is 15 psi. At this time I turn on the hose and get a trickle of water equivilent to a soda straw and it lasts about 45 seconds and then it drips to a stop. I have been researching our problem and learned a lot about pressure tanks, inside and externally buried holding tanks, in line pumps for the bottom of the hill to PUSH the water uphill and jet pumps to suck the water up hill. I have to get the water supply connected and working SOON, as I am very close to occupancy.

WHAT TO DO??? I have read you FAQ's and appreciate your kknowledgable responces. i am hopin you culd suggest a solution.

Some advice has been 1700 gal. below ground holding tank at the bottom of the hill with an inline pump and control panel , with a 2-3 gal. pressure tank in the mech room. others suggest a 100 gal. pressure tank in the mech room and still others say bigger pump and holding tank in addition to large pressure tank.

If you are not totally bored or asleep from this info, please send me your advice. Thank you, Sandy

[jadnashua]

If you had the room and site layout, I'd be tempted to have a holding tank above the house, higher up the hill. Then, if the pump was off for lack of power or some other thing, you'd have some water that would be available by gravity. Also, if it was big enough, it might give the fire department something to work with, since it sounds like your supply is inadequate.

Limit switches in the tank would allow it to slowly fill up while not limiting your actual usage. You'd want a pressure tank to be fed from that storage tank. Note, this isn't from a pro, there may be other ideas. Raising water 100' in elevation from the community well needs a substantial pump, depending on where it is located and the volume required for all involved. It doesn't sound like they've got a system properly set up. 35psi is on the low side of acceptable - most people want at least 40, and 60 is a nice value for a municipal system. That's without having to pump it up 100'. Don't remember how much you lose for that elevation change.

[Peanut9199]

Your average water consumption is 10 gallons per person, so 4 people 40 gallons.
Your better to push than suck when it comes to pumps.
You have an Grundfos Single stage shallow well self-priming centrifugal pump which is what you need but you need something to draw from.
I think your best bet would be a storage tank (again enough to suit you) and a centrifugal pump with a pressure switch sized based on what you have and how much you use.

[markts30]

That's without having to pump it up 100'. Don't remember how much you lose for that elevation change.

You lose .43 lbs/ft for elevation change...
Pumping up a hill 100' high costs you about 45 psi pressure (independant of friction losses)...
To have 60 lbs at the top of a 100' hill, you would have to have over 100 lbs at the bottom - a lot of pressure....

[jadnashua]

Well, now you know why you don't have any pressure or volume at the top of the hill - not enough pressure down there.

So, looks like you'll need a booster pump to get it up the hill. I'd still seriously consider a large water tank up there. It may make a big difference in your homeowner's insurance, too. One of the things they ask is how far from a water source you are. Then, you can treat that as your water supply and build up whatever pressure you want. You wouldn't need a high volume, high pressure pump down at the road, you'd just need to be able to refill the tank at the top of the hill slowly, and a smaller pump would do it.