Water Pump Recommendations

[HiQ]

Hey Everyone! I'm new here and I'm hoping I can pick some of your brains. I purchased an acreage just over a year ago and it is serviced with a well water.

Everything has been perfect, but it sounds like the water pump is louder than when we first got here. We've had no other issues, but I'm thinking it would be best to have a replacement water pump ready to go if something was to happen to this one (only source of water).

Upon looking at the pump, it's an old Jacuzzi unit from the 90s (definitely got their money worth from it). I managed to find the same pump, but it's now made by Franklin. It is the Frankin Convertible Jet Pump, cast-iron, c-series, FE07CI-C (can't post the link due to post count sorry).

I realize I could just purchase the exact same pump, but I've only found them at a few places and they're $600 USD or more. I would like to find a less expensive backup pump and was hoping some of you might have a suggestion. I did find the Red Lion, premium cast-iron shallow well jet pump, RJS-75-PREM. It seems to do a little less GPM, but that just means the pump will run longer when it does kick in?

Sorry I don't have any good information as to how deep the water is, etc. We have a large pressure tank and the pump generally only runs for a short period of time each cycle. Thanks!

 

[TheGoose]

IMO as a water well professional Goulds makes the best jet pumps.

If the well is big enough (3" casing or above ) you should investigate putting in a submersible pump.

Here is a great forum for more information Water well pump and tank questions answered. Water filtration advice.

 

[HiQ]

IMO as a water well professional Goulds makes the best jet pumps.

If the well is big enough (3" casing or above ) you should investigate putting in a submersible pump.

Thank you very much! I know nothing about the well as it's probably not the easiest to get to with the amount of snow we have now. I'll cross my fingers this thing runs till Spring and then look at maybe moving to a submersible. So the only real thing I'd have to worry about is the casing size and then getting power to the well? Seems very doable.

 

[TheGoose]

Curious how the well is kept from freezing? You would need to put in a pitless adapter.

 

[Looking4new]

Home Hardware, Canadian Tire and Home Depot sell jet pumps.

 

[Rocky J]

Does Canada use the same current as the USA ? The US is 60 cycle

 

[Egon]

[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=shallow+well+jet+pump&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiE0tqGoJnRAhVLxoMKHQpqA0oQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=681#imgrc=3ba-MJxAWeSnIM%3A[/video]

Are you set up for shallow well or jet pump operation. The shallow well will only have one line to the well.

Can we assume the pump is accessible and in the house? If accessible either type of pump can just be switched out without access to the well head. That is unless there are foot valve or educator problems. Priming can be a pain.

If wanting to switch to a submersible it would be wise to check the flow rate and water quality.

 

[Looking4new]

Does Canada use the same current as the USA ? The US is 60 cycle

yes

 

[speedbump]

It would help if you described the pumps location in relation to where you think the well might be. That and the number of pipes leading out to the well from the pump. One or two? The horsepower will help to determine the depth of the well in some cases. Is the pump horizontal or vertical?

 

[HiQ]

Whoa! I missed all these replies. Sorry everyone.

So I did some more googling and I guess it's a dug well that we have. It looks like a 3' culvert vertical down into the ground. I can't remember the last time I looked in there, so I'll try and get to it sometime in the next while. I'd like to get a distance to water and depth of water measurement sometime also. The jet pump is in our basement utility room that's probably 150-200' away. It is fed by a single 1-1/4" black pipe so a shallow well setup.

I assume it would be possible to hang a submersible pump from the top, right? Or get a 4-6" pipe and put it in there and put some holes in the pipe below the pump and lower that down in? I'd just have to worry about getting power to the well, which would involve trenching a new line in there somehow. There is a 110v circuit about 50' away, but I assume 220v is the way to go (less wear on motor?).

Or I could just get a nice shallow well jet pump (Gould?) and be done with it, but then we still have a loud jet pump in our basement. Are any of them quieter? I guess we still have an ejector (effluent) pump that runs periodically as well down there (but it seems quieter than the water pump and runs wayyy less often).

What would you guys recommend? Stick with the simpler jet pump setup or put in the work trenching a wire an get a submersible setup? What's the price difference on the pumps? We do have a water coop that we could pay $10M for hookup fee and then trench that in instead (wouldn't need our softener setup any more either). I think the water coop is the eventual answer, but $10M plus trenching/piping/connection is a lot for the time being.

 

[speedbump]

Your going to have to measure the depth of water in that dug well. In my experience, there isn't very much water above the bottom of the well. This makes putting a sub in there kind of risky. I would stay with a decent jet pump. Not any big box pumps though.

 

[HiQ]

Your going to have to measure the depth of water in that dug well. In my experience, there isn't very much water above the bottom of the well. This makes putting a sub in there kind of risky. I would stay with a decent jet pump. Not any big box pumps though.

Okay I'll try and do that sometime. Otherwise you'd suggest something like a Goulds J7S (better than the JRS7)?

Anyone know how loud a Goulds J7S is? I'm trying to compare it to our current pump. I'm hoping it's significantly quieter, but doubt it. I know they need airflow, but can you build an insulated "dog house" to put overtop? Thanks again!

 

[speedbump]

Yes you can build around them, but be sure they can get cool air flow through the motor.
I was never fond of Jacuzzi, I would stay with the Goulds. They always had the best motor (A.O. Smith) but it's now made in China from what I've heard. Sta Rite is also a very good pump as is the Betta Flo by National Pump. I sold my pump shop and can no longer buy them, but if you can find one, they are rite up there with the other two. They are probably less money also.

 

[HiQ]

I did manage to find the Goulds J7S for $392 USD shipped. That's currently the best option, but I'll definitely take a look at Sta-Rite jet pumps as well. Any recommendations between the HN/SN/FN/PN series?

Another issue.. I have 1-1/4" in from the well (which is what all pumps seem to use), but my discharge on the current pump is only 3/4". All the jet pumps I look at now have a 1" discharge. Can I just thread in a brass bushing to reduce it from 1" to 3/4" on the pump or will that increase the outgoing pressure and cause issues?

 

[Egon]

Reducers of various types are a available. The hookup will work.

Shallow well--- think about water tests and maybe drilling a deep well.

 

[Looking4new]

Do not open that well in winter. Wait until spring when you shock it.
A string with a big 2 oz fishing sinker on it and knots tied every foot, lowered into the well will tell you (a) how deep it is and (b) how much water you have.
You will need to take the lid off every month during the summer and fish the snakes out. I use a big treble hook with the barbs filed flat and lower it down on 20lb test line. Guide the hook under the snake and raise away. Just set the snake on the grass when you get it up and away it will go.
shock= dump a quart of javex down the well to disinfect it.

 

[speedbump]

I don't know much about the newer model numbers of the mostly plastic pumps of today. Stay away from plastic and go with cast iron.
The Goulds price is not bad, might be a good buy. Not all pumps have a 1" discharge, but 3/4 will do since that's what you already have, so just bush it down. Put a Tee in the bushing with a short nipple and a plug in the top. Now you can always prime it if necessary. Don't just put an elbow in the top hole of the pump like so many others do.
The concerns about bacteria growth and critters getting into the well is something to keep in mind. Any open well is not the most sanitary for sure. Hand dug wells are always shallow and not the best water either.

 

[Deere Dude]

...Everything has been perfect, but it sounds like the water pump is louder than when we first got here. We've had no other issues, but I'm thinking it would be best to have a replacement water pump ready to go if something was to happen to this one (only source of water)....

If it was me... I would get a replacement like the one mentioned as long as you have good water and don't need to be hooked up to the city.

I would also install the new pump and keep the old one as a back-up on a shelf someplace. If you would use the older pump until it craps out and then hook up the new one you won't have a back-up at all at that point. Plus, by then the warranty might be off, or mostly used up.

If what you have is working now I wouldn't go with a submersible because a lot of stuff would have to be changed around as far as wiring is concerned.

 

[HiQ]

First off, please forgive me. I am a city slicker that moved to the country a year ago and clearly has no clue about this stuff. I did not know that you needed to shock a well. We have not done that and we've been here just over a year now. Should we be getting our water tested?

I know it is very hard as our demand based Kinetico softener goes through a good 350 lbs of salt a month (only two of us living here). We have monthly records of how much salt going back a few years from the previous owners and it seems like this is the norm.

Eventually we want to look into hooking into town water, but $10-15M is out of the cards right now. We do have a Kinetico RO system that we use for all drinking/cooking so that makes me feel slightly better.

Getting back to our current situation... The saga continues:

I went down to the utility room to get a better look at everything and grab some timings during a shower situation. Nothing else was using water, just one shower. The shower would run for 2 mins 45 seconds before pressure would drop from 58 psi to 40 psi and kick on the pump. The pump would run for 50 seconds bringing the pressure back up to 58 psi (while the shower continued to run).

I then took a look at the pressure tank and whoa... I don't like the look of it. It is an AquaFlo 44G unit, but the bottom is covered in rust. I attached a picture below.

How much longer until this thing bursts? It may look worse that I think, but I can't imagine it should be absolutely covered in rust on the bottom like that. I assume it's just from condensation dripping and sitting on the bottom?

So now I'm sitting here thinking I need to replace both the jet pump and the pressure tank. The added pressure tank costs are probably a good $2-300. So now I'm wondering if I should:
1) Just buy another 44 Gallon pressure tank and swap it out or
2) Look at getting a smaller pressure tank/CSV setup for the new Goulds pump

I realize option 2 will have the pump running MUCH more often so I will really need to find a way to quiet it down (insulation, etc). What do you guys think?

 

[speedbump]

CSV's are not really needed with jet pumps. You can crank the pressure switch up a little to keep the pump from cycling. I have no idea what an Aqua Flo is, but these tanks keep getting sold by more and more box stores and the new names keep coming out. I wouldn't worry a lot about the outside of the tank, most of them go from the inside out. If it's a decent quality tank, the water never touches metal on the inside. You might want to check the air pressure inside the tank. You can learn how to do that from the link that was posted above or use the one at the bottom of this post. Go to FAQ's.
Have you had your water tested for hardness. You might find you don't even need a softener. Surface water is rarely hard at all.
About the noise. The bearings in the motor are what are making the noise. If you have a motor shop locally, they can change the bearings for you and quiet it right down. A jet pump (made of cast iron) should not be noisy. You should never hear it if it's in a basement and your upstairs.