Water well pump issue

[pkarl]

I recently bought an Aquaer 1 HP convertible irrigation pump. Not presently using a pressure tank, but will likely add one next season if i can get the well reliably producing. I have a 22' deep, shallow well, about 5' below the water table. The problem is flow volume. I fill the 1.25" line with water. Foot valve holds and the line stays filled. I prime the pump and on starting there is an impressive flow, i'd say well-exceeding what comes out of the garden hose from the house water supply. But then, in perhaps 10-15 seconds the flow drops to a trickle. It kind of chugs a little. It'll run that way for a long time but it is inadequate. Clearly the pump can move more water... but it isn't. I am new at all this so any advice, particularly if i am just missing something obvious, is very much appreciated. I suspect the issue is more operator error, than a mechanical problem. Thanks in advance, Phil

 

[Matt30]

You will need to add a pressure tank to keep up with demand. A jet pump on its own would not produce the volume to keep up with that kind of flow. If you don’t want to use a pressure tank, convert to a submersible 20 GPM rated pump

 

[pkarl]

You will need to add a pressure tank to keep up with demand. A jet pump on its own would not produce the volume to keep up with that kind of flow. If you don’t want to use a pressure tank, convert to a submersible 20 GPM rated pump

Thanks Matt. Yes, a pressure tank is the way to go. For now at least, i'd prefer to stay with this style of pump. A pressure tank will be the next step. But, where i am with this now is trying to get adequate flow out of the pump, so i can determine whether i have a workable system. It's a shallow well. I get big flow for 10 seconds, then the flow drops to a trickle. It'll run that way for hours. So clearly i am not exceeding the well's recharge capacity at that flow. I dont know why it runs at a trickle.

My issue is why the pump wont run at full capacity. Thanks again. Phil

 

[fixitron]

We need to ask the obvious- are you running out of water? It appears that you are saying that the pump is 5 ft. below the static water level in the well and the pump is 22 ft. below grade. How big is the reserve capacity of the well itself and how quickly does it recharge (refill)?
Are we to assume that this is a one-pipe system? If it is, they are typically limited to 25 ft. of suction. Maybe you have a small leak in the suction side and you are initially pumping the water that is in the pump and suction hose? You would need a compound (pressure and vacuum) gauge to measure the suction vacuum.

 

[pkarl]

Thanks Fixitron. No problem asking the obvious. The foot valve at the base of the shaft is likely a bit less than 5' below water level. It is a jet pump, sits atop the well, with a single 1.25" pipe down the shaft. This is a brand new well which i dug by hand last summer and i dont know what reserve capacity would be. I have no idea what the recharge rate is. That's kind of what i am trying to assess by running the pump. If i was running out of water down there due to inadequate recharge, i expect i would be sucking air. Then i would have to wait, re-prime, start again and would expect the same thing to happen. But that's not happening. It runs for hours but the flow is way light like maybe 20% or less from when it first starts to squirt. It only pours out heavy for 10 seconds or so then drops to a trickle then runs for hours that way. I cant figure that out.

My plan is to determine whether this well will produce then get a pressure tank and put in some lines to water landscape and garden plants. There may be a leak but if so, it's tiny. Might be enough to cause the problem. This is the pump:

https://www.amazon.com/Acquaer-Dual...nid=2528832011&sprefix=shallow,aps,249&sr=8-7

 

[RS]

I suspect that you are pulling the water level down to where the pump can barely lift it, and the well is only replenishing itself at the rate you are seeing. A couple of options I can think of, dig the well deeper, or get a smaller pump that matches the output of the well. Also you could probably put a orifice in the discharge of the pump to reduce it's output to match the well.

 

[Valveman]

Your water comes from the well and pump, not a pressure tank. Running wide open that pump will try to put out 15-20 GPM and is probably pumping the well dry in the first 10 seconds. Then is it just pumping as much as the well is producing. When running sprinklers or a pressure tank/pressure switch there will be 40 PSI or so extra on that pump and it will only produce 8-10 GPM, and the well might be able to keep up. Put a ball valve on the discharge of the pump and choke it back to maybe 2-3 GPM. If it holds there for a while open the valve to 4-5 GPM and try again. Determine what the well can produce this way and just don't put on more sprinklers than the well can supply.

 

[pkarl]

Thanks RS and Valveman. I appreciate your time and attention to this--i think you're both right. I have been running this without a tank because i wanted to test the output. The output is disappointing but a ball valve and pressure tank seem good. The pump has an installed pressure valve and is intended for use with a tank. Given the production level of the well, it would take quite a while to fill the tank for a reliable flow. That could be OK since much of what i intend to run off this system is drip/soaker systems which dont take much. Tree drips, flower beds, etc. I am unlikely to try to run much in the way of sprinklers on this. We had a bad and early cold front roll in here so not sure i'm going to work on this till spring. I'll save your comments and thanks again.

 

[Valveman]

You will need a Cycle Stop Valve before the pressure tank to keep your pump from cycling to death when using small flow rates like a drip system. Even small jet pumps are made to pump 8-10 GPM, and if pumping less will cycle on and off until death if not fitted with a CSV.