New member needs well system advice

I have a 1200 foot deep well with a 3hp motor. It feeds into a 1000 gallon steel pressure tank. The system was installed about 30 years ago, and the pressure tank is beginning to rust out to the extent that it needs replacing.

1000 gallon pressure tanks are very expensive.

The reason this one is so large is that it services 4 houses, a wash house, and a farm filling station for filling 500 gallon tanks for chemical mixes. One of the houses is about 1/4 mile away but everything else is within 500 feet of the well.

I've been wondering if it would be cheaper to buy a water storage tank and a smaller bladder pressure tank and use the two together to get the water pressure and amounts that I need. But no one here has any expertise with a system that would work that way. I do know that the bladder tank would be too small when the farmer is filling his tanks. How one would hook up a system with a storage tank and a pressure tank is beyond me.

So can any of you experts give me some advice? The only person that I've talked to here says replace the steel pressure tank with another comparable size pressure tank.

Save your money for the galvanized pressure tank and get a plastic 1000 gallon or so tank. Put a submersible pump inside that tank and push the water to the people using the water. A small bladder tank with a constant pressure valve would make the system work nicely. In most cases a 1/2 hp sub would do the job.

This sounds far more reasonably priced than the galvanized tank. What sized bladder tank?

Would it be well to bladder tank to constant pressure valve to storage tank with submersible pump to plumbing? I'm not quite sure how to visualize how the water comes out of the storage tank. I take it a submersible pump is the same kind that I have in the well. I have a gadget on the well that prevents the pressure tank from waterlogging. The bladder tank would obviate that need, wouldn't it? And waterlogging wouldn't be a problem on the storage tank, would it?

I'd really like to have a larger storage tank that could handle a fire hose because I live deep in the country and extra water is always a comfort. Would I need a bigger submersible pump for that?

Have you any suggestions for a potable water plastic storage tank? All the ones I've seen have been black or dark green, and in deepest Mississippi that could lead to hot water from the tank--my current silver painted tank still sends warm water in the summer.

I'll have to see if any well people around here would know anything about such a system.

Sorry this post is so disconnected.

This link will give you a good idea how it works. Your submersible in the well would simply keep the cistern full using a float to turn the pump on and off.
http://www.pumpsandtanks.com/helpful-information/cistern-with-submersible/

Forgot to say that anything I buy will be outside in the weather. Hasn't seemed to bother my system for 30 years. Are there bladder tanks made to live outside?

Most bladder tanks will survive in the weather if you can keep the sun off them. The paint will fade and go away here in Florida in a few years. The pump will be in water. Black is a UV resistant color, but It sure would make the water hot. Keep everything in the shade of possible. The big problem with bladder tanks is the quality. Well X Trol, Flexcon and Zilmet are the only tanks I would recommend. The rest aren't so good.

Check around locally for the cistern tank. Shipping would be very expensive if you bought one that had to be shipped.

I would think that even though the well is 1200', since you have a 1000 gallon pressure tank and only a 3HP pump, that it is not set at 1200'. We would need to know the depth to water in the well and the actual depth the pump is set, but you maybe able to just put a CSV on the well pump and use it with an 80 gallon size pressure tank.

But if you can't find the well pump info and figure out if it has a bleeder orifice in the well, it might be easier just to add a storage tank, booster pump with CSV, and then an 80 gallon size pressure tank.

Here are a couple more pictures of how to make that work. The only difference being that you might want to use a 40 to 80 gallon size pressure tank since it feeds 4 houses.

Thank you guys so much. I have a well man coming out today, and I have printed out this thread to show him.

About my well, the fellow who provided the system has developed a lousy reputation for honesty. I had the well plumbed not long after it was installed, and the plumb could go down no farther than 450 feet. Either the casing wasn't straight, or I was screwed when he charged me for a 1200 foot well. I'll try and have the new well guy see if he can figure out the all the specs as they are today.

Just met with the well man. He's been doing this since he was eighteen and is now 68. He's never heard of such a system. States very positively that it cannot work, will not work because of pressure needed. Scanned the diagram and said that wells that aren't in Mississippi might be able to use such a system, but ours can't. Said my water level is probably 60-90 feet whereas it would be different in other places. Says the only place he's seen constant pressure valve is directly on top of the well. Said he was not at all interested in doing such a system. Also said that he thought I could run the system with a 350 galvanized pressure tank. And that my well probably produces 30-40 gallons of water per minute.

Do you have any well people you could recommend in North Mississippi or West Tennessee who might understand and be willing to install a system such as you have suggested.

vineyridge said:

Just met with the well man. He's been doing this since he was eighteen and is now 68. He's never heard of such a system. States very positively that it cannot work, will not work because of pressure needed. Scanned the diagram and said that wells that aren't in Mississippi might be able to use such a system, but ours can't. Said my water level is probably 60-90 feet whereas it would be different in other places. Says the only place he's seen constant pressure valve is directly on top of the well. Said he was not at all interested in doing such a system. Also said that he thought I could run the system with a 350 galvanized pressure tank. And that my well probably produces 30-40 gallons of water per minute.

Do you have any well people you could recommend in North Mississippi or West Tennessee who might understand and be willing to install a system such as you have suggested.

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Well I have also been in the well pump and drilling business for 50 years. And I can positively state that well man has no clue what he is talking about. Constant pressure systems using Cycle Stop Valves are not new. We have been doing this since 1993, when that well man was only 45 years old. Said "he's never heard of such a system". Then said "he's seen constant pressure valves directly on top of the well", and "they won't work because of the pressure needed"????? All clues he doesn't know anything.

It is very sad but I find most pump guys, even ones who have 50 years experience can barely splice the wires and set a pump. And anyone still using 350 gallon galvanized tanks are 30 years behind the times. Younger pump guys know even less. This is why you must research and educate yourself, as they will just sell you whatever they have on the truck, not what you really need.

And unfortunately I don't know any in your area that would be any better. Many times you just have to tell the well guy to set the pump you picked out at the depth your research says to set it. Then either do the controls yourself or get a plumber to install it.

Pump guys who didn't know anything when they started and haven't tried to learn anything for the last 40 years give us all a bad reputation. Well drillers charge you for hole they didn't dig and pump guys try to act like they know what they are doing when they don't have a clue, and they wonder why everyone thinks well drillers and pump guys are crooks? Of the thousands of pump guys and drillers I have talked to over the years, only a handful really know what they are doing. You already know more than the pump man. Do the research and trust your instincts, not his.

Well I have also been in the well pump and drilling business for 50 years. And I can positively state that well man has no clue what he is talking about. Constant pressure systems using Cycle Stop Valves are not new. We have been doing this since 1993, when that well man was only 45 years old. Said "he's never heard of such a system". Then said "he's seen constant pressure valves directly on top of the well", and "they won't work because of the pressure needed"????? All clues he doesn't know anything.

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It's very unfortunate, but I have to agree with Cary. I have found the same thing over the years. It kind of puts us in a group not unlike used car salesmen.

Suppose I wanted to use a Cycle Stop Valve in the system. Would that company help me design what I need? Well-X-Trol has a 119 gal bladder tank. Would that be oversized or could I step down to the 80 gallon or even smaller with the Cycle Stop Valve? My system is 220v. Would that make any difference? And would I use the standard Pumptrol pressure switch? Would I even need the water storage tank to get decent water pressure for all users? Could I add the water storage tank later?

Would I even need the water storage tank to get decent water pressure for all users? Could I add the water storage tank later?

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You do need a tank. No matter what. Along with the pressure switch.

I know i need a pressure tank; but could a 2000 water storage tank (cistern) be added a few months later if it's going to be added at all.

vineyridge said:

I know i need a pressure tank; but could a 2000 water storage tank (cistern) be added a few months later if it's going to be added at all.

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If your well makes 30-40 GPM you don't need a cistern storage tank and booster pump. A CSV and a 44 to 86 gallon size pressure tank is all you need. But we will need to make sure that pump can supply the volume and pressure needed from the depth to water.

Your pump man came out and told you what he would and wouldn't do, but he didn't give you the size of the pump (model number), or the depth to the pump, or the pumping level. These are all the things that are needed to make sure your well pump can do the job and will work with a CSV.

If after getting this information the pump is compatible with a CSV, then all you need is a CSV and a 44-86 gallon size pressure tank to deliver all the water and pressure you will need,