*Lifting Water Through a Deep Well Pump*
When the house was built, the well driller put in a deep well submersible pump about 35 ft down. Over the years the setup has worked fine, including when run on generator power. The water table is about 15 ft below the surface – shallow enough for a hand pump. That lead me to wonder: Is it possible to lift water through a deep well pump? That could be a very handy thing during an extended power outage.
I did some re-plumbing in the basement to add a valve, coupling, and various lengths of pipe as you can see in the pictures. The valves are arranged so that “A” is open during normal operation, allowing water to flow from the well up to the house plumbing. Valve “B” is closed so that the basement doesn’t get flooded. With the plumbing done it was time for the big test. I turned the AC power to the deep well pump OFF, then opened a faucet to drain pressure from the red bladder tank and system. I closed valve “A” to avoid pulling air from upstairs, and opened valve “B”. After only a few cycles of the hand pump, I had a good flow of water. Success!
A few notes:
• A fancy hand pump like the one shown is not needed. The initial tests were done with a cheap model, and it worked fine.
• Water can be lifted only about 20-25 ft. This approach probably won’t work if your static water table is much lower.
• Make sure to close valve “B” and open valve “A” before going back to the deep well pump!
In my opinion, this setup is well worth the cost and effort involved, if your situation allows. It’s great to have an aquifer as part of your water storage plan.
Happy Pumping,
ReadySet
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