Water pump size for household

[Exmasonite]

Hey everybody... so, the well guys were out at the house to check out the water system and says our water tank is shot and needs to be replaced.

It's a Wellxtrol 32gallon tank as seen here:
http://www.aquascience.net/amtrol-pressure-tanks/index.cfm?id=503


The well specialists are recommending we upgrade to a larger tank, a 44gal
http://www.aquascience.net/amtrol-pressure-tanks/index.cfm?id=505

Here is the situation/background info:

4 bedroom two story house, 3 full bath (2 bath tubs, 3 showers), Tank is located in basement. I THINK the pump is in the well but am not sure. Per the guy's notes, the pump is either 1/3 or 1/2 HP and checks out ok w/ amps, etc. (As you can tell, plumbing is not my forte).

So, couple of questions:

1) What size tank should we get? (There are 2 adults in the house... not looking to expand beyond that in foreseeable future)

2) From some cursory reading, the pump appears rather underpowered... a 3/4-1 hp would be nice but i just don't want to replace that unless absolutely necessary. So, do i want to go with a smaller tank given the smaller pump?

3) Got an estimate from the company for $1250 to install larger tank and fittings, etc. Seems high as the tank retails for $440 online but again, i have ZERO plumbing experience so this won't be a do-it-yourselfer. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance and let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

-Matt

P.S. Any advice on plumbing/well specialists in northwestern CT is welcome!!

 

[heat seeker]

In my experience, which is limited, pump and well companies are way overpriced!

A larger tank means the pump will run less often, although longer each time. That means fewer starts for the motor, which should increase its life.

This house, which is comparable to yours, with only two adults at present, has had a ½ horsepower pump for many years with no problems.

For reference, 6 years ago I paid $800 to have a new 32 gallon tank installed and the old galvanized tank removed. That old tank was just about nothing but a chunk of rust, no wonder it leaked.

 

[Exmasonite]

Thanks for the info! The well pump is one of the devices hooked into the back up generator so I am wondering if they (previous owners) went with a little pump to save strain on the genny... not the best argument but only thing i could come up with other than them being cheap idiots... which is also entirely possible/likely.

Called up the contractor from yesterday... they said staying with the 32 gal is fine as well... $1091 vs $1230 for the larger tank. Going to get some local quotes for that as well.

Thanks!

-matt

 

[Bad Wolf]

Its really not that hard. If you can sweat a pipe you can do it. Put a union in the line coming off the bottom so that next time you have to work on it you don't have to cut the line.
Pumps are a little harder depending on how deep it is. I replaced mine a few years back. Just screw a length of pipe into the top of the pitless fitting, yank and have someone walk away with it as you pull the pump up hand over hand. Great for the upper body strength.

I have a 36 gallon tank and I think a 1/2 hp pump. Might be 3/4 I'll have to look tonight. 4br 3 1/2 baths 2-5 people. Never had a problem with water supply.
36 gallon tank is $219 and the 53 gallon is $267 at Lowes. I've replaced mine twice (I've got very acid water) Takes about an hour or two mostly draining the tank.

'fraid I don't know anyone up your end of the state.

As a side note, I've got a 7550/11500 watt generator and it runs the pump just fine, lugs just a little bit when it kicks in then away it goes.

 

[Retired Guy]

We had a shallow well for years with a small galvanized tank and a 1/2 hp pump. Our issue was very fine sand clogging the well point. Went with a drilled gravel packed well about 12 years ago. Installer looked the flow and recommended a 1/2 hp Jacuzzi deep well pump. We have the smaller of the two tanks that you showed. and have never had an issue with quantity. It seems to me that the capacity, and depth of the well determine the size pump needed.

 

[semipro]

A larger tank also means you have more water reserve when the power goes out or the pump dies.

 

[Gary_602z]

If you go to the web site for the tank manufacture they should have formula for sizing your tank(Iknow Wellmate does) and it should be the same. I just replaced mine last week. Bought a tank at Menards for about 240.00 + 50.00 for fittings, glue etc. Took me about 2 hours and it would have taken a plumber about 45 minutes.

Do you have a buddy that could help you out?

Gary

 

[seige101]

On our 3rd pressure tank since the house was build 31 years ago. First time had the well company do it it was close to $1000, 2nd time had our plumber neighbor do it for 600 bucks, 3rd time i did it my self for about $400 for the tank and parts (i replaced the pressure switch and check valve and ball valves), it's pretty easy, only had to sweat 1 or 2 fittings the rest was all threaded. As others have said the tank is about $250 at the local big box store.

 

[flyingcow]

1/2hp pump is all you need. If it's been working fine, don't mess with it. Can't really recommend what size tank to put it, but the old size has worked good? Big thing is to drain down your tank every so often and check bladder pressure, best way to keep system working properly.

 

[Jack Straw]

If you replace the tank I know that it is very important to check the pressure adjustment of the switch. My tank says what psi the switch should shut off at.I would replace the pressure gauge, they get goofy after a while. I must be lucky, we have been here 20yrs w/the same tank.

 

[Ehouse]

Shark bite fittings will make it even easier.

Ehouse

 

[peakbagger]

A large tank bladder type tank cant hurt, basically the bigger the better. It compensates for simultaneous water demands that usually are what convinces people ot go with a large pump. Thing to consder is how much reserve does your well have? My well is 360 feet deep in solid granite. the recharge rate (the amount of flow from the surrounding water table is only 1.5 gallons per minute, so if I want to water the yard for long periods, I really only need a 1.5 gpm pump or I could pump the well dry. The well is 330 feet deep but when there is no demand the water level is around 40 feet deep, so for short term demand I can pull the level in the well quite a bit and get more flow. Of course that is dependent on the well pump as it has to be sized for the maximum elevation difference. Everytime the pump goes on and off it jerks the system around. You are far better off going with a big tank and small pump so the pump runs longer each cycle. Plus it helps out if you have a generator.The other thing to consider is install flow restriction on high water demand uses so they dont pull down the house pressure. Low flow shower heads dont use much flow and there is really no need to have a toilet tank fill up instantaneously, so crank down on the shutoff valves and slow the flow to the toilets. Of course low flow toilets are another way fo reducing demand.

Other things to consider is your piping configuration. Older homes have the water users branching off one supply line, its easy to have one water demand screw up another one when there is a change in demand. Many new homes have seperate water supply pipes from a common manifold in the basement to each demand. Most wouldnt want to retorfit the house, but consider looping the water supply so that the sources are fed from two directions. Basicaly run a new line to feed the end the water supply piping.

 

[Exmasonite]

hmm... thanks for all the info everybody. Am almost wondering if this is a task i could take on myself or just find somebody with some plumbing know how. That being said, i'm leaving on an out-of-state job assignment starting in July (3 months gone, 1 month back) and i will NEVER hear the end of it if there's a water/flooding issue while i am away.

 

[Gary_602z]

Shark bite fittings will make it even easier.

Ehouse

Probably a little pricey though when you get up to 1-1/4" or 1" ! Once you have your pipes measured and cut it is fairly simple to glue PVC together.

Gary

 

[Ehouse]

If you're just changing out the tank, it's only a couple of fittings, so only a matter of 15 or 20 bucks over the cost of sweating or gluing, plus not even those simple skills are required. Also with shark bites you can join copper to pex to pvc in any combo and also work with wet lines. Go down in the basement and stare at the tank fittings for 15 min.. If you don't think you can do it, call a plumber.

Ehouse

 

[Bad Wolf]

It looks like there is already a 90 coming off the bottom. Drain the tank, cut the line between the 90 and the next fitting probably a “T”. Unscrew the cut piece from the old tank; install a union on the two cut ends. Probably 1”. Screw it back into the new tank with some Teflon tape, position it and connect the union.

It shouldn’t need any pressure adjustments and if you do, the directions included with the tank are pretty good.

Plenty of time between now and July to see if there are any problems.

Too bad you’re at the other corner of the state, otherwise I’d swing by.






Greg