Well Pumps Use Pressure and Suction to Produce a Liquid From a Well

Well pumps use pressure and suction to produce a liquid from a well. The most common types are deep well jet pumps used for oil wells and water wells. Description of Well Pumps Most current pumps use electricity but there are hand well pumps also that can bring water up from underground. If you get the electrical version, make sure to check the number of wires so that you can install it correctly. The pump manual will typically say control box required which is used to protect the electrical components. Standard off-the-shelf versions typically use 230 volts. Hand pumps require priming at times but electric well pumps very rarely if ever require priming. Usually the only time an electric water well pump requires priming is during installation where you just need to pour water down the well with a water hose until water begins to come up on its own. Well pumps vary in size. Residential pumps might use approximately 1/2 hp or 3/4 hp worth of energy in order to produce water while a commercial pump will need much more power to supply water for an entire community or communities. A common flow rate specification is 10 gpm, but they can be procured with lower as well as much higher pump rates. Applications for Well Pumps A well pump can be a great tool to have for times when water is otherwise unavailable, but care and caution should be used. Filters on the line running into the house are often installed by many users of water well pumps who use the water for consumption. Even though the underground water is most likely pure, contaminants may infiltrate the pipe system and cause the water to be unsafe for drinking. The most common well pump for a Wayne cast iron shallow well is a shallow well jet pump. They are mounted above the well, they can be in the house, maybe in the basement, or housed in another fashion. Water is drawn up from the well using suction. The general limit for depth for jet pumps is about 25 feet. Because shallow well jet pumps need water to get water, they need to be primed, or filled with water, before they will work. A jet pump can handle a well several hundred feet deep, but moving the pump into the well would be more effective so as to push the water up instead of lifting it. Submersible pumps are more efficient than jet pumps are delivering more water for the motor size, but maintenance is more of a professional job than with a jet pump. Submersible 4in. deep water well pumps can operate for upwards of 25 years without service but contaminants in the water such as sand and algae can shorten its life. With that said, it would get a good idea to purchase a pump with a built-in check valve to prevent backflow through the pump in the event of a power shutdown. Regardless of which type of well pump you have, the output components are pretty much the same. Well pumps do not run continuously, nor are they started every single time you turn the faucet or flush the toilet. To provide water pressure at consistently at the fixtures, the first thing the pump does is move water to a storage tank. Inside there is an air bladder that, as the water is pumped in, becomes compressed. The tank’s pressure is what moves the water all through the home’s plumbing. Once the pressure reaches a certain level, the pump is stopped automatically. As water is used, the pressure decreases, and once it drops to a certain level, the pump is turned back on and the cycle is begun and again and repeated. You can purchase these pumps at a lot of places such as Grainger. Just find the Grainger item # corresponding to the model you want, and order it. If you choose one-day shipping, you will receive well pumps in no time. Source: pumphelp.org