New pump help

[djc11369]

Hi all,
My pump of 23 years is showing signs of it's age, it used to fill my 20 gal tank in about 30-40 seconds and now takes about 1 minute and 45 seconds. It's supposed to have a 6.2 gal drawdown so I'd say it's outputting about 3.5 gpm? It's not adequate to backwash my iron filter or water softener, they used to sound like a jet engine taking off and now I don't hear them much at all except maybe a minute or two.

I've also been experiencing random puffs of air from different fixtures, it's not sputtering but just a quick puff and isn't very frequent so I'm hoping that it's tied to the pump as well. Tank was replaced 2 years ago, I just double checked the precharge a month ago and it was down 1 psi so topped off and good there.

I wasn't provided any detail on my well when it was drilled other than verbally that it's 60 feet deep. No info on current pump, I've discerned that my setup is 2 wire and 230V. Pressure switch is set at 30/50 although I am considering adjusting and going to 40/60.

What I've been able to collect for info: 1" poly pipe, 87 feet from well to house, static water level 19 feet, 6" casing. I tried to get measure how much it draws down when the pump is running but I stop at something at about 29 feet, I believe it's a plastic cable guide but not positive. There is one above that I had to finesse my line through. I think I see glimmer of water just below it.

So with all that said, and please correct me if I'm wrong because I probably am, I calculate a TDH@50 psi of 185 feet (209 feet @ 60 psi). I assumed 60 feet for elevation head because I have no idea how far down the pump really is, ~9 feet for friction head and 116 (or 140) feet for pressure head.

Only 2 people in the 3 bedroom, 2 bath house but only 1 shower is used at any given time along with maybe a sink or toilet flush. Maybe a dishwasher or washing machine running. If you use the 1 gpm per fixture count method it'd be 10 gpm although I don't think I really need that much with only 2 people.

Sorry for the long post, I'm sure I forgot something. Any input on an appropriate pump would be appreciated, Gould seems to be what's common in my neck of the woods but Grundfos or...?

 

[Valveman]

Probably have a hole in the well pipe. Also probably have a check valve above ground that should be removed. A Goulds 10GS05 or a Grundfos 10S05-9 would work well at that depth.

 

[djc11369]

Probably have a hole in the well pipe. Also probably have a check valve above ground that should be removed. A Goulds 10GS05 or a Grundfos 10S05-9 would work well at that depth.

Thanks Valveman, is there a way you can discern if you have a hole in the pipe? There is a check valve at the tank and I assume the pump itself has one. I guess the thought of the valve at the tank is in case the one in the pump fails? The only way I can think of testing is pressurize the line between the check valve and pump and watch for a pressure drop over time but that could also mean a leaking check valve at the pump.

I got a recommendation from aquascience.net of the 5GS05 which I'm not really sure what the advantage of one over the other is so please bear with me below on my limited understanding.

Based on the graph of the 10GS05



if my 185tdh@50psi is correct it'd be outputting almost 8gpm. At 209tdh@60psi it'd be it'd be deadheading? I do have an iron filter which I've read conflicting numbers on but the more conservative said to add 20psi for regen which adds another 46 feet for it to those tdh numbers?

The 5GS05 chart seems to have a higher head capability but lesser gpm


185tdh@50psi it'd be outputting about 6.8gpm. At 209tdh@60psi it'd be outputting 6.3gpm and if I add another 20psi for regen then at worst cast at 60 psi I'd be getting about 5.2gpm?

I've read too much on a topic that I don't have any experience in so I'm just trying to understand. I did read that the aim was to fill the tank in a minutes time to keep from short cycles so from that prospective the 5GS seems to make sense unless I'm totally off on the understanding of the charts.

 

[Valveman]

If you want 60 PSI use the 7GS05. Or better yet a 10GS07.

 

[Valveman]

Remove the above ground check valve. If the pressure leaks off when no water is being used, it confirms a hole in the pipe. Second check valve is masking the problem, which is just one of several reasons to only have one check valve on the pump and no others.

 

[RS]

The occasional puff of air indicates that you have a leak between the check valve at the pump and the one at the pressure tank. If the pump is hanging on galvanized pipe it's common for the pipe to rust through in the threads just above the pump. I also had the water line adapter crack off right next to the pitless adapter, from the ground settling.

 

[djc11369]

If the pressure leaks off when no water is being used, it confirms a hole in the pipe.

Couldn't this also mean a leaking check valve at the pump?

 

[djc11369]

The occasional puff of air indicates that you have a leak between the check valve at the pump and the one at the pressure tank. If the pump is hanging on galvanized pipe it's common for the pipe to rust through in the threads just above the pump. I also had the water line adapter crack off right next to the pitless adapter, from the ground settling.

It's all poly pipe. How you can discern with certainty that it's a leak there? Couldn't it be further down stream in the iron filter or water softener that's introducing the air? The iron filter does have an air purge valve at top so you would think that any air would be expelled coming from prior to it leading to the water softener?

 

[Valveman]

You can't confirm a leak until you remove the above ground check valve. But that is the most common problem for what you describe.