Well pump selection

[AlanB]

I must be missing it somewhere, been reading the well pump selection guides etc. etc. and cannot see the advantage of going with a convertible well jet pump over a submersible.

I have the 4" well, water is down about 40' (ish) using it for supplying the garden and vehicle washing etc. We are on city water so house water comes from there, but don't want to pay for garden, greenhouse, wash water when all I need to do is pump it.

Thinking the advantage of the convertible pump is that it is all up top where it is easier to service, but thinking that a comparable submersible pump has more power / volume and really would not need to be serviced that much (thinking every 5 years or something.

Money looks similar with either system.

Currently have a convertible that I allowed to freeze last year and broke the pump housing.

Suggestions, experience, words of wisdom from the board on which way to go?

 

[dex3361]

I have a submersible that has been in for 23 trouble free years. It is about 15 feet down to the water and its 40 feet to the bottom of the well. FYI it is a 1/2HP 10GPM redjacket brand and its the waterbear series.

 

[PILOON]

If you had a submersible instead of the jet, it would not have frozen!
40 ft is not all that deep so servicing would be no trouble at all.
One trick I have used to drain submersible systems is to install a 'T' under water and a valve on the 'T'.
In autum you simply open the valve and gravity empties the line and the pump being submerged will never freeze.

Big advantage with submersible is that they NEVER need to be primed!

 

[DaveOmak]

Advantage #2. Submersible pumps are less expensive to operate.

 

[jbooth]

I would have to put in my vote for the submersible also. Installed one in the 70's and it is still working. If freezing is an issue, it can be treated like the old manual lever pumps with a small hole drilled in the discharge down in the well casing to allow drain down. The loss of capacity is very small and was tolerable on the hand pumps so would not even be noticable on an electric.

 

[Egon]

If freezing is an issue, it can be treated like the old manual lever pumps with a small hole drilled in the discharge down in the well casing to allow drain down.

Been a long time since I seen that mentioned!

Submersible pump would be my choice. Just make sure and size it properly.

 

[tommu56]

Been a long time since I seen that mentioned!

Submersible pump would be my choice. Just make sure and size it properly.

If you do this you will need an old school galvanized tank and a volume control
and a sniffer valve then check valve then tank.

The sniffer valve lets the air back in pipe check keeps pressure in tank while pipe drains back to the hole and volume control keeps tank from being air bound (too much air from the pump up cycle.

tom

 

[TheGoose]

Submersible pumps are more efficient and use less electricity to pump more water.
They do not need to be primed.
They are quiet.
They are less likely to be stolen or vandalized.
They are sealed units and bugs etc. cannot get into the motor and short it out.
They run cooler since they are submersed in water. Running cooler allows the motor to have a long life.

About the worst thing about them are they are harder to install and you really need to know what you are doing. Also, they are so quiet that if they are running unnecessarily often times you don't even know. Jet pumps are noisy, lose prime, get shorted by bugs, etc. That being said, a properly installed jet pump can last a long time.