Shallow well and garden watering

I have 2 wells and a 3000 gallon cisterin. The 20 inch well has about 1000 gallons in it at all times. The 39 inch well has about 300 gallons at all times. I would like to pump the 20 incher and fill the cisterin for a holding tank to water a small vegatable garden during the summer. The 20 inch has 2 pipes running down the inside, I guess it had a jet pump at one time in the well room. I'm not looking for an automatic system and plan to monitor the water flowing out of the 20 inch well into the cisterin as it is pumping to keep it from going dry. The well will recharge the 1000 gallons in about 20 hours. The 20 inch well is 72 feet deep and the cisterin about 6' deep. What type and capacity pump should I get for the well and for the cisterin? I only need a garden hose type flow from the cisterin for the garden but would like something a little faster for the well to the cisterin. I see these long cylinder type pumps but dont know how I would use one in a 20", cement walled well. Would you run a pipe for that style pump down into the well and have the water flow right out the top? Or would I be better off replacing/repairing the existing pipes in the well and use a jet pump? Im in a rural area.

Sorry for the long post.

Thank You,

scott

You need to tell us what kind of flow you would like from these wells. You said the one well was 70 feet deep so a 1/2hp Submersible Pump would work fine and give you around 15 gpm continuously. If you want it to fill faster, more horsepower would be required.

You would hang the pump on pipe ( Poly, PVC or Galvanized) along with the submersible pump cable (wire) that operates the motor. Then just pipe to the cistern.

bob...

Bob,

Thanks for the tips. I dont really care how fast the well goes down, the sooner the better I guess. At 15 gpm, it would take just over an hour. Guess I could go a little bigger. Which would be the more economical way though? A sub, or a jet? Those subs get expensive and there is already jet piping in the well that runs to a pump room. I would just have to pipe it from the pump i the well room to the cisterin. I guess the sub pump slides up in the pipe and pushes the water up that pipe? As far as the cisterin output, I only need a garden hose type flow, not planning on any extravegant irrigation system, at least not yet anyways. Dont think I have enough water to handle it. If I wanted to run soaker hoses, I guess I would need a pressure tank for the cisterin to fill and then output the tank to the soaker hose? A little confused here now, thinking too much.

Any help appreciated,

scott

You can get any flow you want up to 100 gpm in a 4" submersible pump. Bigger is faster, but expensive when you get beyond 1hp.

You can also use the same submersible pump in the cistern. The reason I recommend submersible pumps is they are more efficient than a jet. They will move more water at higher pressures for less money. A tank and pressure switch would be needed to make it automatic from the cistern so you can open a valve and have immediate water. A Cycle Stop Valve is a good idea too.

bob...