Clearance minimum between flow sleeve and pump?

[Showme]

Ready to put the new pump in the new well, and I've got one more question before I stick it in the ground. My pump is a Grundfoss SQFlex 6. With a 2.9" diameter, I've got what looks like about 1/8" clearance around the pump body inside a 3" thin wall pvc pipe. Specs say it has a 3 1/16" ID.
Anyway, I'm wondering just how much clearance is correct/enough/won't screw something up.

I did the 'slice the top and strangle the pipe with it' job for my flow sleeve. Used a stainless clamp and taped the heck out of it around the check valve with waterproof gorilla tape. I'd actually bought a commercial Graham 4" sleeve, thinking it would fit in my 4" bore. (The page on Aqua Science listed it as 4x...). It turned out to be over 4 1/4", so I sent it back and made my own. Which is another thing- How can a sleeve the same size as the well diameter allow any water to go around it?

So, I'm ready to get out there in that 100* plus heat tomorrow and put this in, but I needed to make sure I've got this in proper working order, and a visit to the experts here was in order. Thanks for any and all replies. Lee

 

[Reach4]

How much space is available for water to flow around an SQ pump motor in a flow inducer?

Pipe​	ID​	Area in²​	Pump OD​	Area in²​	Annular in²​	OD​	Pipe ID equv​
3inch Schedule 40​	3.042​	7.268​	2.9​	6.605​	0.663​	3.500​	0.919​
3 inch D2729 solid sewer​	3.102​	7.557​	2.9​	6.605​	0.952​	3.250​	1.101​
ASTM D3034 SDR35​	3.064​	7.373​	2.9​	6.605​	0.768​	3.250​	0.989​

Now the motor and intake OD is not exactly 2.9. It will be less. The above chart presumes 2.9 inch. For comparison, a pipe with actual 1 inch ID would have an area of 0.785 in².

Which pipe did you use? Anyway, you should be good. Plenty of room for the flow.

I hope you left some slack in the wire. I expect the plastic pipe to stretch some.

 

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[Showme]

It was the thinnest sewer pipe Lowe's had. If it wasn't 30 miles away, I'd go out and check. Seems like it was sdr35, but the wall thicknesses measured about 3/32". Inside was 3 1/16". I was never any good at translating decimals into fractions. I'm an Ironworker, not a machinist. Took me a while just to figure .9" as a fraction. My tape only has sixteenths. But thanks for the confirmation that it's enough room to keep me from ruining my $2000 pump. That's the answer I was looking for.