Reply With QuoteDid trench back to house, install hydrant at desired location, run pvc back to house and tie into existing water pipes.
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Want to install spigot at the well head
Greetings,
I recently moved into a home with a well...my first well. The well head is located near the center of the 1 acre lot...an excellent spot for a spigot for keeping the lawn watered but there's no spigot. I'd like to add one but am not sure how to go about it. It's a submersible pump with the cap in the center of a concrete pad. Any advice would be appreciated.
thanks,
djdixon1995
Did trench back to house, install hydrant at desired location, run pvc back to house and tie into existing water pipes.
What I'd like to do is have the spigot right at the well. Can I somehow tie into the pump or the plumbing at the pump?
Do the water pipes come up out of the "cap", or are they underground (depends on if the ground freezes there or not). If they are underground, as I suspect, they are probably PVC, depending on when the house/well was put in. You can take the cap off and look down well to see how far down the piping is, dig down between the pad and the house that depth, and if you find PVC (white plastic) then you can buy a compression union that you can splice into that line, go see your friendly hardware store.
Tell us what you find, we'll go from there.
Rancher
You can install a hydrant anywhere in the line between the pump and the house as long as there is not a check valve between the tank and the hydrant.
You will get a noticable variation in pressure when the pump is running before shutoff and after it shuts off. Before it shuts off the pressure is equal to the tank pressure + pressure drop in the line to the tank. After the pump shuts off the pressure will be the tank pressure - the pressure drop from tank to hydrant.
Rancher,
Great advice. The pipes are underground. I followed your advice and found the PVC at about three feet below the surface. If it's as simple as splicing into that PVC with compression fittings, my intent is to "tunnel" under the concrete pad a foot or so so I can locate the stand pipe on the pad. I'll have to figure out a way to drill a hole through the concrete. Do you see any show stoppers or have any advice?
I guess the pump will just run continuously whenever I'm using this spigot. Should I be concerned with robbing the water supply to the house?
Thanks,
djdixon1995
If there is no check valve between spigot and tank the effect will be exactly as if you are using the same amount of water from any other faucet.
Wouldn't every house have a check valve? If not what would stop the pump? and if you did tie into the well line and not the house line, what what turn the pump on if the pressure switch is after the check valve?
I live in new england and every house i've ever wired with a well has an expansion tank with a check valve. So someone educate me please.
A submersible pump usually has a check valve in the pump and there is no check valve at the tank.Originally Posted by Chris75
Thanks, I still generally see a check valve at the house also, is this normal?
This is how I see them installed around here.
Last edited by Chris75; 01-13-2008 at 07:57 AM.
Rancher/Chris74,
I don't believe I have a check valve at the tank end (the photo was helpful). That being the case, is it a true statement that when I use a hydrant located between the pump and the tank, when I open that hydrant, the water will flow back from the tank to the hydrant which will work just like any other spigot in the house?
Thanks for all the help and advice.
djdixon1995
That's how a lot of well/pump men (women) install them, with the check at the submersible and one at the tank. Some of the experts here think that can cause problems, I do my own well work, and do not install a check at the tank.
Rancher
An air hammer will make a nice hole thru concrete slabs, you haven't said where you live and what your freezing temperatures will be, but they do make hydrants that shut off down below and bleed off the residual water.
Rancher
Fellas,
Job sucessfully completed...thanks to your help and advice. I used a hydrant with the valve below the freeze line as suggested. Pretty nerve racking cutting into the main supply line but it all worked out in the end.
When I did cut into the line, with the pump off, i got a lot of water, under pressure into the hole I dug. I think that must mean that I don't have a check valve at the tank.
Anyway, thanks from someone that formerly had a fear of plumbing.
djdixon1995
Depending on where you live you may have violated a separation rule for a yard hydrant (that drains down) and the well.
The reason for this rule is that when the hydrant drains down it can siphon chemicals or other contaminates into the ground next to the well. Most regulations require a minimum of 10 feet spacing from a well to a yard hydrant.
I have seen many nasty things siphoned into a hydrant accidentally. If you are going to leave this new tap in place, make sure you never use any type of chemical applicator and always make sure that your remove the hose from any bucket that may have soap or other chemicals in it.
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