How to Choose a Well Pump?

A well pump is an electromechanical piece of equipment that gets installed after drilling or digging a well. Its purpose is to pump the water from your well into your house. Using centrifugal force, a well pump shoots water from its underground reservoir up to your home for use. The depth at which your well sits will determine which style of well pump you'll need. An electric motor drives an impeller or centrifugal pump, which pushes water from your well through a jet or pipe. In this article, you'll learn about how to choose well pumps.

How to choose the depth of well pump?

When choosing the right pump for your well, the single most crucial factor is your well’s depth - that is, how far the water must travel to get to the surface of the ground.

• If your well is less than 25 feet deep, you should use a shallow well jet pump.
• If the depth of your well is between 25 and 110 feet, you should use a deep well jet pump.
• If the depth of your well is between 110 and 400 feet, use a four-inch submersible well pump. Remember, you can also use a submersible pump for wells as shallow as 25 feet.
• To determine your well’s depth, look at the report provided by your well driller. If no such report exists, you can also determine it yourself. Find a long piece of string, attach a fishing bobber to one end, then lower the bobber down until you feel it floating. Mark the string once you remove the slack.

What Size Well Pump Do I Need?

You will also need to determine the best pump size, depending on your water home needs. Pumps are rated in GPM (gallons per minute). A typical 3- to 4-bedroom home requires 8-12 GPM. When determining your home water needs, add one GPM for every water fixture in your home. Such fixtures include clothes washers, dishwashers, faucets, refrigerators, showers, and outdoor water spigots.

Although you’ll need a large enough pump to meet your home water needs, an oversized pump will create energy inefficiencies and reduced performance. When replacing a pump, you should choose a unit with the same horsepower. However, additional horsepower may be necessary if you are adding new appliances or family members. The longer the distance to transport water, the more horsepower will be needed.

If replacing a pump, you can check the identification plate on your pump to determine the horsepower. Keep in mind that submersible pumps may require either three wires or two wires, so you’ll to determine how many wires your replacement pump will need.