Welcome to Ready & Able, formerly known as David LeRoy Plumbing! Although our name and brand have changed, we are still here to serve you and all of your plumbing, heating, cooling, and air quality needs!
If you rely on a well for your water, it’s crucial to equip it with the right pump to keep your water flowing during peak usage hours. In this well pump guide, we’ll familiarize you with how a well pump works, the different types available and how to pick the best pump for your needs.
In urban and suburban areas, most people have virtually constant access to potable, clean water. However, in more rural areas, millions of homes rely on wells for their water supply. A well pump is an electromechanical piece of equipment that gets installed after drilling or digging a well. Its purpose is to pump the water from your well into your house. An electric motor drives an impeller or centrifugal pump, which pushes water from your well through a jet or pipe.
They come in a wide range of sizes, and the best size for your home depends on three primary factors:
We’ll provide more detailed information on choosing the right pump size later on in the guide.
The well pump pushes the water from your well into a storage tank, which will store it until you need it. When the motor is in operation, it will draw water into the pump, which then pushes it to the surface into a pressure tank.
Pumping water into this pressure tank will cause the tank’s air pressure to increase until it reaches a specific preset level, ranging from 40 to 60 psi. When you turn a faucet on in your house, the force of the lessening air pressure in the tank pushes water through your plumbing. Once the air pressure drops down to around 40 psi, this will turn the pump back on again, and the pump will immediately start to drive more water into the storage tank.
In many regions of the United States, the water table is just a few feet below the ground’s surface, and accessing it is easy — or at least easier than in areas with a lower water table.
You’ll have to dig further down to obtain the same result in areas with lower water tables, or regions that lack a consistent supply of drinkable water close to the surface. Because deeper wells require moving water over a longer distance, they need a different strategy.
What does a well pump look like? They come in various shapes and sizes. In this section, we’ll go over the most common types of well pumps and the situations where each pump is most suitable.
A centrifugal pump rotates an internal fan to create suction. Unlike other well pumps, centrifugal pumps sit in a mechanical housing next to the well instead of inside it, making maintenance less of a hassle.
One potential downside of centrifugal pumps is that their suction is not powerful enough for use in deep wells. Centrifugal pumps are only a viable option if your well is shallower than 25 feet. The centrifugal well pump tends to be the most affordable type.
The submersible pump is possibly the most prevalent type, in part due to the flexibility it offers. These pumps are practical for virtually any well, no matter how shallow or deep it is.
As their name suggests, submersible pumps are underwater, deep inside the well. These pumps are watertight, last a long time and rarely need repairs. However, repairs involve pulling the pump out of the well and up to the surface. A trained well pump repair technician can complete this task, but the labor involved will usually increase repair costs.
Some characteristics of submersible pumps include:
These sophisticated pumps provide the most power and can deliver more water faster than other types of pumps. Similar to their submersible counterparts, jet pumps work in wells at all depths.
The jet pump’s installation will depend on whether it’s “single-drop” or “double-drop.” Single-drop models, which are most suitable for shallow wells, are inside, either in your house or in an outbuilding. Double-drop models, which are most suitable for deep wells, require a split installation. Though the jet assembly is in the well, the motor must stay above ground.
While the upfront costs for submersible pumps are often higher, their generally lower maintenance costs make them a cheaper long-term investment. If your in Central PA. area, check with us for a quote on Well Pump installation.
Some defining characteristics of jet pumps are:
When choosing the right pump for your well, the single most crucial factor is your well’s depth — that is, how far the water must travel to get to the surface of the ground.
To determine your well’s depth, look at the report provided by your well driller. If no such report exists, you can also determine it yourself. Find a long piece of string, attach a fishing bobber to one end, then lower the bobber down until you feel it floating. Mark the string once you remove the slack.
If you have a shallow well, we recommend the single-drop jet pump.
As the water exits the jet, a vacuum will then suck more water out of your well. When this extra water comes together with the drive water, it will discharge into your house at high pressure. Keep in mind that a shallow well jet pump’s process of drawing water also relies on water.
If you have a deep well, we recommend the double-drop jet-pump system.
A jet pump in a deep well will come with a 25-foot-long tailpipe attached to the jet’s housing on the intake side to prevent overpumping. When the water level dips below the jet’s housing, the tailpipe will ensure nobody can pump the well dry. The higher the jet sits above the level of the water, the more efficiently it will pump. Just like with a shallow-well system, a deep-well system also requires priming with water. At the well’s bottom is a foot valve, which will prevent water drainage from the pipes.
If your well is deeper than 110 feet but not exceeding 400 feet, we recommend using a submersible pump.
Unlike aboveground well pumps, which are vulnerable to mechanical failure, submersible pumps tend to have fewer problems. Because submersible pumps are underwater, they don’t lose prime, an issue commonly experienced by aboveground pumps.
Cavitation, an occurrence when gas or air makes its way into a pump’s mechanical parts, is generally not an issue for a submersible pump because the pump sits far below the water’s surface and can always access water.
Even though a submersible pump can deliver water more efficiently than a jet pump with a similarly sized motor, any motor issues could require removing the entire unit from the well casing. Luckily, a submersible pump tends to be highly reliable and can operate at peak performance for as long as 25 years before needing maintenance.
In addition to choosing the best pump for your well, you will also have to determine the size you need. Pump ratings are in terms of gallons per minute, and an average home with three or four bedrooms needs 8 to 12 GPM. When figuring out how much water your home needs, add one gallon per minute for each of your home’s water fixtures, such as dishwashers, clothes washers, refrigerators, faucets and showers.
While your pump needs to be sufficiently large to meet your home’s needs, an oversized unit will lead to reduced performance and energy inefficiencies. If you need to replace your pump, pick one with identical horsepower. However, note that you may need extra horsepower if you plan to add new family members or appliances. Pumps that must transport water over longer distances will require more horsepower.
If you’re going to replace your pump, check your pump’s identification plate to find its horsepower. Remember that a submersible pump might need either two or three wires, so you must find out the number of wires the new pump will require.
If your well pump needs speedy and reliable repairs, reach out to Ready & Able. We’re available 24/7 to provide emergency fixes and answer any questions you might have.
To contact us, you can fill out our form or call us at (717) 978-9879.
Welcome to Ready & Able, formerly known as David LeRoy Plumbing! Although our name and brand have changed, we are still here to serve you and all of your plumbing, heating, cooling, and air quality needs!