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Cchris

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First thing in the morning the water level is the highest and the pump maybe able to reach cut off. But was that cut off 40, 50, or 60 PSI? That 12 GPM pump maybe your problem. a 12 GPM pump can only make 400' of max head. That means if the water level gets any deeper than 260' that pump cannot make 60 PSI. It can only make 50 PSI if the water level stays above 285'. Then when the water level is too deep for the pump to reach cut off, it gets hot and melts impellers which lessens the amount of pressure it can build even further.

If your water level is going deeper than 250' you really need a 7-8 GPM pump instead of a 12 GPM pump.
When it was cutting off earlier it was at 50 and we switched it back to 40/60 and now isn’t rising again.
 

Reach4

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So for a 400 ft well with the pump bein at 375. What is the recommended pump to get?
See the link I put in #16, and look at page 5 and understand that 1 hp 12 gpm is not appropriate. The graphs on page 4 have more info, but they are harder to use. Worth looking tho. The head has two parts-- depth to water and pressure head. Pressure head is about 140 ft at 60 psi. So add 140 to the actual water depth to compensate.

So in that family, 1 hp 5 gpm, or 1 hp 8 gpm. Your 12 gpm is almost strong enough, so the 8 gpm seems like it could be a good match. Its flow would decrease as the water level fell close to the pump intake, but that may be an advantage.

Other pump families have 7 gpm pumps.
 

Cchris

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See the link I put in #16, and look at page 5 and understand that 1 hp 12 gpm is not appropriate. The graphs on page 4 have more info, but they are harder to use. Worth looking tho. The head has two parts-- depth to water and pressure head. Pressure head is about 140 ft at 60 psi. So add 140 to the actual water depth to compensate.

So in that family, 1 hp 5 gpm, or 1 hp 8 gpm. Your 12 gpm is almost strong enough, so the 8 gpm seems like it could be a good match. Its flow would decrease as the water level fell close to the pump intake, but that may be an advantage.

Other pump families have 7 gpm pumps.
I see the chart now. I was under the impression that a higher gpm would be better. Now would raising the hp have any advantage?
 

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I see the chart now. I was under the impression that a higher gpm would be better. Now would raising the hp have any advantage?
You are not alone having that false impression.

More HP takes more amps. The wire may not be sized for more.

What diameter is your well? Steel casing? Cased all of the way down, if known?
 

Cchris

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You are not alone having that false impression.

More HP takes more amps. The wire may not be sized for more.

What diameter is your well? Steel casing? Cased all of the way down, if known?
I know the wire is 8 gauge but not sure on the rest.
 

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I know the wire is 8 gauge but not sure on the rest.
8AWG, including down the hole to the pump, with a 1.5 hp motor, should be good for 770 ft (each conductor up to that long-- )not measuring the round trip distance). But 1 hp 7 or 8 GPM should be good IMO, unless you need some high flow for a backwashing iron filter etc.
 

Cchris

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8AWG, including down the hole to the pump, with a 1.5 hp motor, should be good for 770 ft (each conductor up to that long-- )not measuring the round trip distance). But 1 hp 7 or 8 GPM should be good IMO, unless you need some high flow for a backwashing iron filter etc.
Okay. We were in the process of putting in a bathroom upstairs so I wasn’t sure if that would be better.
 

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It could be. 10 gpm is popular. In discussions on how many GPM is best, I am usually on the low end of the discussion.

Here is a table for a 10 GPM 1.5 HP pump.
index.php


How big is your well? Consider a flow inducer on your new pump if the well is big enough.
 
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Cchris

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It could be. 10 gpm is popular. In discussions on how many GPM is best, I am usually on the low end of the discussion.

Here is a table for a 10 GPM 1.5 HP pump.
index.php


How big is your well? Consider a flow inducer on your new pump if the well is big enough.
In the brand that you had sent me the chart for I believe a 1.5 hp 8 gpm would work. Is that correct?
 

Fitter30

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Reach4

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In the brand that you had sent me the chart for I believe a 1.5 hp 8 gpm would work. Is that correct?
That was the brand that I thought you might already have. I think 8 gpm 1.5 hp would probably be fine. Does it have too much lift when the water surface is at 250 ft? No, it looks good for that too.

Our thought on your current symptoms is that the water level drops as you use it, and the 12 gpm pump could not lift and supply enough pressure. So with the pump with a lot more lift, will it run the well dry? Do you need a box to detect that the pump is running dry, and shut down the pump for a while? Maybe. Would an 8 gpm 1 hp pump be a better match? Let's have other opinions.
 

Cchris

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That was the brand that I thought you might already have. I think 8 gpm 1.5 hp would probably be fine. Does it have too much lift when the water surface is at 250 ft? No, it looks good for that too.

Our thought on your current symptoms is that the water level drops as you use it, and the 12 gpm pump could not lift and supply enough pressure. So with the pump with a lot more lift, will it run the well dry? Do you need a box to detect that the pump is running dry, and shut down the pump for a while? Maybe. Would an 8 gpm 1 hp pump be a better match? Let's have other opinions.
I do have a pumptec on it already. We will go with the 1 hp 8 gpm that you suggested. Thank you for all the information!
 
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