Here’s a quick guide on different types of well water pumps…
Piston pumps make a pleasant “thump thump” sound as they operate, and most include a couple of visible rubber drive belts connected to an electric motor by exposed pulleys. Shallow-well piston pumps are great if you have situations in which you are raising the water no more than about 20 vertical feet, with no more than 300 feet of a horizontal draw.
Jet pumps are a popular choice because they’re inexpensive and can work in both shallow and deep wells. A jet pump makes a kind of whooshing, turbine type of sound — most models are rather loud. Jet pumps need to be primed before they’ll work, and even a small amount of air in the lines will stop them from working.
Submersible water pumps aren’t cheap, but they are our favorite. They move more water than other pumps of a given horsepower, and they never need priming because the pump itself sits below water level. With a submersible water pump, there’s no pump to be seen anywhere — water simply flows from an incoming pipe, noiselessly.
Hand pumps are an option for any homestead, although most families need more water than hand pumps can practically supply. Shallow-water models are inexpensive, widely available and easy to install. Deep-water hand pumps are more complicated because they have a pumping cylinder that sits below the water surface in the well. To protect deep-well hand pumps from freezing, drill a quarter-inch-diameter hole in the intake pipe 4 or 5 feet below ground level before installing the system. This will allow water to drain back below the frost level after a pumping session. Traditional water-pumping windmills transmit the rotation of spinning blades to rods and shafts that operate the same kind of pumping mechanism used in hand pumps — it’s just that the wind does the work and not your arm.
Mike’s Pump and Well Service is a local, family owned and operated business in West Central Florida proudly providing customers with quality pump repair and water well drilling services. We have drilled thousands of wells as well as installed and repaired thousands of pumps since 1976.
For 4 generations Mike’s Pump and Well Service has been serving West Central Florida. Our first well was drilled in 1956 and still provides water to the current resident. Mike’s Pump and Well Service has been family owned and operated since 1976 and continues our tradition of excellent customer service, well drilling, pump installation and repair.
Having your own well system has its advantages over using the municipal water supply. The main one being lower monthly costs of having fresh clean water easily accessible in your home. With these benefits comes the responsibility of also having more technology to maintain and repair to keep a clean water supply running through your faucets. From major issues of a shallow well pumps to the more common...
