Cistern Question

[MTY]

I placed a 2100 gallon cistern 50 feet above the well head. I am just getting it plumbed in. Water will pump from the well to the cistern and gravity feed to the house. I have a float ball for the cistern that will shut the pump off when it floats to approximately 45 degrees. I have to tether it 30 inches below the lid of the cistern. The ball cannot be attached to the floor unless it is tethered to a solid riser. I do not want to drill holes in the floor of the cistern.

When the ball drops to 45 degrees the pump turns on, so there is a 90 degree arc the ball floats in. What can I tether it to? Ideas? This is next Sunday's project. I have a 1.25 threaded insert in the lid for wire. I am thinking of threading a piece of schedule 80 into it from the inside, running the lead down the pipe and tethering the ball float to it. If anyone has a better idea, I am open to suggestions.

 

[Bad LP]

On 3 cisterns I installed 2, 20k and 1, 40k gallon units we installed the float switches hanging off the 10x10 PVC splice can that was mounted to the riser that held the 24”CI
Cover. The wires are held in place with liquid tight connectors.
You just have to be sure the floats don’t get tangled up. In our case there are 3 floats. Pump on. Pump off. Tank low alarm. These were for the Fire Department so the alarm light is when the level was 10” down from full tank.

The 1k gallon pump chamber for my septic system was redone when the pump was replaced. The company that did it just hangs the floats off a 10’ length of 1” PVC pipe. They used SS hose clamps on the float wires IIRC. The pipe sits on the pump chamber floor and the other end is in the riser. Works perfect.

 

[Bad LP]

I should have added sending a block of cement or any heavy object down to the bottom with the float attached.
Tie a SS chain or synthetic line to it and attach it in the riser.

 

[MTY]

Thanks for the ideas. I will not have a chance to get in the tank until Sunday. At least at this point the idea meter has moved off zero.

 

[MTY]

I have a 1.5" galvanized pipe in the top of the cistern. It sticks up outside and is flush inside. I hooked a 1.5 LB to it, sleeved a piece of 3/4 schedule 80 to fit inside of the 1.5 schedule 80 attached between the galvanized and the LB and attached the float ball to the 3/4 inside the tank. I ran the cord up through the 3/4. It looks like it will work.

The cistern was placed in the fall of 2019, and there has been quite a bit of settling around it. It is supposed to freeze hard Monday morning, so I will run the mini up to it and backfill again. I can run on the frozen ground better than in mud with little damage to the grass.

Then I can fill the cistern and have running water in the house. I let the new well pump through the frost free I recently placed with flow shut off going to the cistern. The water started out milky, but cleared up in about 15 minutes. It looked as if the bentonite the pipe was sealed with was what was coloring the water.