Howdy mayaschu,
Much thanks for your clarification. As I have a
well for my main residence, this research allowed
me to learn more about my own water supply.
It is not so much whether it is OK to use two pumps
in one well, but rather, is it possible to use two
pumps in one well? The answer to that, if it is a
well of the usual type, is no. This is because the
pump is in the casing, which is the pipe that goes
down to the water, and there is room for just that
one pump in the casing.
From the "Popular Mechanics" website's "How It Works"
series, talking about water well pumps.
http://popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/how_it_works/1997/5/water_well_pump/index3.phtml
"... a more effective solution is to move the pump
down into the well so, instead of lifting the water,
it's pushing it up. A typical submersible pump is
characterized by a long cylindrical shape that fits
inside the well casing."
The above "Popular Mechanics" article has a nice
illustration that you might look at to get an idea
of the makeup of a typical water well.
Besides, as redhoss-ga points out below, there is no
real need to put in two pumps. It might not be as
simple as "just" installing a larger pump though, as
pointed out by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
and Food article, "Private Water Well Owners - Dealing
With Water Shortages."
http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/engineer/facts/99-025.htm#q3
"If I increase my pump size, will my supply of water
increase?
If a replacement pump is installed in a well, the pump
must not exceed the maximum safe-pumping capacity of the
well, and the specific height of lift that the pump must
raise water in the well.
A larger pump will only supply you with more water if
the well is capable of supplying additional water. Before
increasing the size of the pump, have a qualified water
well contractor conduct a pump test and provide advice as
to what pump is recommended to match your specific needs.
If too large a pump is installed, it is possible to do
irreparable damage to the pump and/or well."
As well, the process of replacing a submersible pump
might go easy, or not so easy, at least according to
this "horror story" from a "Homesteading Today" website
forum, quoted as posted there.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/homestead/Countryside/Wc8f68decce16a.htm
"we have submersible pump that was doing the same thing.
after shecking all else we had to pull it.i took 5 of my
firefighter friends to bring it up.hand over fist 358 feet
down.turned out to be 2 of the 3 wires broke and it was
holding on by 1 wire."
Depending on the flow from your well, you might have to
have a cistern, which is just something used to store
water. Alberta's Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
website has an article titled "Planning Your Water System"
which outlines cistern usage, as well as providing some
good advice on water supply systems and maintenance, etc.
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/wwg407?OpenDocument
"For most household situations, wells with a production
rate of less than 5 gallons per minute (gpm) for a one
hour (peak use) period do not supply enough water so it
is usually necessary to create additional water storage
using a tank or cistern. Wells that produce at a 5-10
gpm rate usually do not require additional storage."
Cisterns have to be maintained, just like wells. The
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a web page
on cisterns, targeted mostly at people with no other
sources of water, but still some good information.
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/private/src/surface3.htm
"A cistern is a tank (usually underground) for storing
hauled water and/or rain water which has been collected
from a roof or other catchment area. Cistern water must
have continuous chlorination for domestic water potable
use.
A floating intake takes water from a cistern below any
floating scum and above any dirt that has settled to the
bottom.
...
Good cisterns are watertight and have smooth interior
surfaces. Reinforced concrete, steel, and plastic are
common materials. Concrete block cisterns are hard to
keep watertight."
The above is from the EPA website's "Private Water
Education System" which is full of great information.
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/private/src/main.htm
"For three-quarters of the U.S. population, getting a
glass of water or watering the lawn is simply a matter
of turning on the faucet and paying the monthly water
bill on time. For the remaining one-fourth of the
country, however, for whom a municipal water supply is
not available, need to be aware some of the issues
involved with planning, installing, and maintaining a
private water supply system."
As redhoss-ga also points out below, you might end up,
actually in a possible best case, with two pressure
tanks. The above referenced EPA site has more on that.
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/private/src/store5.htm
"If the water source provides plenty of water to meet
the peak demand, then not much storage will be required.
Either pressure-cell or a pressure tank installation may
be used, and the pump will be able to take care of extra
demands."
I am not a lawyer, and the "Important Disclaimer" below
enforces that this is general information only and not
legal advice, but depending on your location there might
also be legal issues.
In Colorado, where I am located, my well permit allows
me just the one house connected to my well and no more.
This is because the state does not want overuse of the
water supply.
So, possible drawbacks of hooking up two houses to one
well include:
- having to use two pressure tanks
- possibly having to have a cistern with the above
- possibly running your well dry
- possibly not being allowed to even do so by the law
You might want to talk to a professional well driller
or well pump installer, etc. before proceeding.
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search Strategy:
Google search on: "submersible pump"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22submersible+pump%22
Google search on: "submersible pump" replacing
://www.google.com/search?q=%22submersible+pump%22+replacing
Google search on: cistern "water well"
://www.google.com/search?q=cistern+%22water+well%22
Google search on: cisterns
://www.google.com/search?q=cistern
Looking Forward, denco-ga |
