Shallow well pump selection

   / Shallow well pump selection
  • Thread Starter
#31  
Funny how I run headlong into a "small" project and discover so much once I start doing research and get advice from this forum in particular.

We intend to run the powered water as I described in my first post and we also require a hand pump on the well. I thought a few hundred bucks for a cheap pump, wire, pipe and fittings, borrow my friend's small backhoe, and BOOM, done! This little project is a bit larger than I anticipated.

In hindsight, I would have roughed in plumbing to allow the pressure tank, CSV and switch to reside in my workshop. Then I could have built an insulated box around the equipment and placed a small heater in there for the cold months. At the time we built it, I never anticipated this project and we were trying to cut costs. Save a penny to spend a dollar later!

At this point, I need to determine where I can place the pressure tank, CSV and switch. My retired general contractor buddy insists it is perfectly acceptable to place this equipment in the well on a platform I'll have to build into the well top.

Appreciate all your guidance to this point. I'll keep you posted!
 
   / Shallow well pump selection #32  
My 2 cent suggestion would be a pump house of sorts to house the tank and controls.
Be it a mere 3 ft X 3 ft 'house' the idea being to get it away from the humid environment of the well.
Heck even with minimal insulation (use foam board) even a 60 watt bulb would provide enough heat.

I had a client that had his well controls in a damp humid location and I was amazed as to the collection of pressure controls he had scattered around. He'd had to change every 6-8 months!

Another client had a shallow well with a small cabin that I insulated and used a fan to distribute the heat. (gets mighty cold here). Heat and fan helped rid the humidity and that installation has run trouble free for some 7-8 years now.
Foam board insulation is what to use as wools simply become rodent nests.
 
   / Shallow well pump selection #33  
IIRC neither switch or tank needs to be in the well or outside of it, in a structure, installed 'inline', etc.
 
   / Shallow well pump selection #34  
I have seen lots of well houses burn down because of heat lamps. Use something like this oil filled heater. It has a thermostat and doesn't get hot enough to start a fire.
View attachment 709298
I don't think they have a real thermostat per se, which completely kills the heat when not needed. They do work great though, when hooked up to one of these; TPI KT121 Industrial Series SPST Heat Only Thermostat - 6' Cord/Plug

That is the setup I use to keep my small house from freezing when I'm not home to keep wood in the stove. Before buying the thermostat it was costing me about 125$/month in winter to keep the place warm through the day. Since I bought the thermostat, heat costs me around 7$/month.
 

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