Submersible or Jet??

Moved to the country recently and would like a well to maintain my 1/2 acre pond and supply the 2 bathroom, kitchen, laundry, dishwasher, 1500sq ft house I am building. So at this point I have gotten two different quotes on two different systems, each contractor claims his systems is better. Looking for an unbaised opinion, since I am in Louisiana and you have nothing to gain from your suggestion I would like your take. I am told by both that the depth would be between 300' and 400', this is the only thing they agree on.
System 1)
2" pipe to 400'
1/2 hp pump above ground
42 gallon tank

System 2)
It is called 4 X 2
2" pipe to 300' then 4" pipe on top to a total depth of 400'
1 hp submersible pump
80 gallon tank

Water table I am told is around 20'.

Taking cost out of the picture which is the better system?
Long term pros and cons, maintenance and satisfaction?

Thanks

You have a lot more options with 4" casing and a submersible pump. If that water level drops, you are just out of luck with 2" casing and a jet pump.

For the type of money you will be spending either way sinking a deep well, I would bite the bullet and go with 4" casing and a submersible. You won't have to hear a jet pump constantly. A 1/2 horse jet pump sounds kinda small for a deep well anyways, and I would suspect that it won't perform as well as you would like.
Just an uninformed homeowners opinion that lives with a jet pump
Steve

Generally from everything I've read, a submersible pump is MUCH BETTER for a deep well than a jet pump.

That's my opinion.

4 or 5 inch well is your best bet. Sounds awful deep but maybe there's a reason for that. As far as the hp of your pump it depends how far they will drop it into the well and how much you plan to pump for your pond. Just for the house a 1/2 hp is just fine, a submersible. Just because your well might be 400 ft deep doesn't mean your pump will be that deep. If there's water 20 ft down they will probably put the pump at about 60 ft and 1/2 hp is fine. Again, you may want more hp and capacity if you plan on pumping a lot of water for your pond.

The cost of the 4 X 2 is :
2995.00 for the first 110', pump and tank complete setup, there after it is 6.00 per foot to 400 feet or 1800.00 for a grand total of $4795.00

The 2", 1/2 hp jet and 42 gallon tank is 1700.00 for the first 110', here's the kicker!, 10.00 per foot to 400 or 3000.00 for a grand total of $4700.00

As for as the pond, it is in clay so there is no leakout, just evaportion, it does not take much to maintain, I just drained it after a tornado came thru and turned the water over and fish did from lack of oxygen so I increased the size from 1/4 to 1/2 acre.

As i understand it the depth is what it is, perhaps because my land is declared partial Wetlands by the Corp of Engineers and perhaps quality water is that deep?

I know this is a plumbing forum but need to ask a question about wiring. To run a pump I need to bring electric to the site, that is a 300' run from power source to pump. Should I use 10/2 with ground or 8/2 with ground for the 220volt pump or something else? I have not had the well drilled as yet, from what I have researched the pumps pull around 8 to 12 amps @ 220 volts. It will be in plastic conduit underground on 30amp breaker.

Thanks

Go with the #8. At 8A, #10 is OK, but at 12A you need #8. The high inrush (starting) current will result in a higher drop, possibly leading to premature motor failure.

http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm

Actually according to Franklin Electric, the smaller wire will reduce the end rush current and give a natural soft start. I use to always use bigger wire until I read this.

Well, you do learn something new every day. That takes care of today!

I'm not enough of a motor expert to know if the rules might be different for single-phase motors, but I wonder about that.