Water for Cabins and Cottages: Picking the Right Pump

Depending on the source of water and the power available, your choice of pumps ranges from an old-fashioned pitcher, or lift, pump and the equally venerable wind-powered pump to modern electric jet and submersible models.

The least expensive, most easily in stalled pump is the pitcher pump, consisting of an iron cylinder fitted with a leather-rimmed piston, a handle to move the piston, and a pipe running from the cylinder to the water supply. A pitcher pump works only if the water level is less than 25’ lower than the pump.

Among the power-operated pumps, which raise water any distance necessary, the one most often used with surface sources is the jet pump, which pulls the water to a pressure tank. The power pump most popular for deep drilled wells is the submersible type (9), which pushes water up to the tank. If you can't plug into utility power at or near your building site, you will need a generator—4,000 watts or more— to power a jet or submersible pump.

If you do not plan to use your cabin in winter, open all of the valves and drain- cocks in your water system—disassembling pipes if necessary—to let water out and air into parts of the system that will be exposed to freezing temperatures.

106 Mounting the pump indoors. Run 1” flexible pipe from your source of water up through a 2” hole cut in the counter next to your sink. Thread a 1¼-to- 1” reducer bushing into the 1¼” fitting in the bottom of the pump and join the pipe to the bushing with a 1” male pipe adapter and hose clamp. Screw the pump to the countertop.

Before you work the pump handle to draw water up, pour a cup of water into the top of the pump to wet the leather seals inside.

Installing a Jet Pump

A jet-pump layout. The installation shown, capable of raising water more than 25 feet, consists of two major parts: an electric pump in a sheltered location at a cabin; and an ejector unit near a source of surface water. (Simpler models, designed to raise water less than 25 feet, house both components in a single installation at a cabin.) The pump draws water up a 1” intake pipe, through the ejector, and up a 1¼” suction pipe. Part of the water returns to the elector unit through a 1-inch pressure pipe; inside the unit, this let of water squirts through a nozzle, expands in a flared tube, and creates a partial vacuum that can help suck water to the pump from depths as great as 120’.

At the pump, the water that's not returned to the ejector flows through an outlet pipe to a pressure tank, from which it's drawn for use in the cabin. As the tank empties, its pressure drops; eventually, when the pressure falls to a predetermined point, a pressure switch mounted on the pump closes to run the pump until pressure is restored. During periods when the pump is not running, a check valve located between the intake and the ejector unit closes to keep water trapped in the system.

Connections at the ejector. Start the assembly by screwing a nipple—a short piece of 1-inch pipe, threaded at both ends—into the single- ended intake of the ejector; then screw the check valve onto the nipple, with the flow-direction arrow of the valve pointing toward the ejector.

Connections at the pump. Using flexible pipe adapters and hose clamps, join the pressure and suction pipes to the matching openings on the pump. Attach ¾” plastic pipe to the pump outlet with a ¾” adapter and a clamp, and run this pipe to the pressure tank.

Screw a flexible pipe adapter into the other end of the check valve, insert the adapter into the intake pipe and fasten it there with a hose clamp. At the double-ended openings of the ejector, use adapters and clamps in the same way to hook up the suction and pressure pipes.

108 Connections at the pressure tank. Begin these connections by screwing a special four-arm T assembly, available from the pressure-tank dealer, into the threaded opening at the base of the tank. Screw a standard T fitting onto one side of the assembly; and screw a drain valve, used to empty the tank whenever necessary, into the middle of this fitting. At the remaining opening, install a 1” nipple and a gate valve, which controls the flow of water to the cabin. Into the middle arm of the four-arm I, screw a pressure-relief valve, which automatically bleeds excess pressure from the tank.

To link the tank with a jet pump, seal the two small openings at the top of the four-arm T with pipe plugs, and fit the remaining opening with a 1” coupling and a 1-to- reducer bushing. Connect the bushing to the pump line with a flexible pipe adapter and a hose clamp.

Wiring a pressure switch. For a jet pump, run 14-gauge cable from a power source to the terminals of the pressure switch, and screw the power wires (black and white in a 120-volt cable, black and either white or red in a 240-volt cable) to the outside switch terminals, which are marked line.” Attach the bare or green ground wire to the grounding screw.

Priming a jet pump. Open the drain valve of the pressure tank, remove the plug from the priming port, then loosen the lock nut and tighten the stem of the control valve, which regulates water pressure. Pour water into the port until the pump is completely full, then wrap the threads of the port plug with pipe-joint tape and screw the plug loosely in place. Turn the pump on. Air bubbles will pop from the priming port; when they stop, tighten the plug and loosen the stem until the needle on the pressure gauge is at the mark specified by the manufacturer—generally 20 to 25 pounds per square”. Tighten the lock nut and close the drain valve.

On some jet pumps a hexagonal-head bolt regulates the water pressure. To set the control valve in these models, turn the bolt according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

A Submersible Pump for a Drilled Well

Developed over 80 years ago for mines and oil wells, the submersible pump has become the type most widely used in private water systems. It is silent, invisible and virtually maintenance-free.

The professional who drills your well and installs its steel casing will recommend the size of pump you need; accessories for the installation are available from pump dealers and plumbing suppliers. If your well is less than 400’ deep, you can install the pump yourself, by attaching it to flexible plastic pipe (ask the well driller to specify the length and grade of the pipe). In wells that are deeper than 400’, the pump must be fitted with heavy sections of galvanized-steel pipe, joined every 20’ with couplings—a job best left to the professional.

109 A submersible-pump layout. Hung from a well pipe into the water of a drilled well, this submersible pump has just above it a flexible “torque arrester” that fits tightly against the well casing to keep the well pipe from moving when the pump starts. The pipe itself is attached to an opening in the casing with a fitting called a pitless adapter, which seals the opening around the pipe; from this point, water flows through a supply pipe to a pressure tank.

A pair of waterproof pump wires, threaded through disks called cable guards, runs up from the pump alongside the well pipe. At the top of the casing, these wires run into an electrical junction box, where they are spliced to the wires of UF cable, designed for burial beneath the ground. The UF cable runs down the outside of the casing inside a length of plastic conduit, then goes underground to a pressure switch mounted on the pressure tank.

Installing a Submersible Pump

1 Putting in a pitless adapter. Dig a trench just below the frost line from the house to the well casing and , working at the bottom of the trench, install the adapter assembly in the side of the casing. Begin this part of the job by cut ting a hole to fit the adapter nipple in the casing, using a hole saw made for cutting steel and a 3/8- or ½” electric drill. Slip the inner gasket of the adapter over the threaded nipple, fit the bracket of the nipple onto the slider plate and se cure the plate temporarily to a T-shaped handle, assembled from plastic pipe and fittings.

From above, lower the T-shaped handle down the casing until the nipple is at the level of the hole you have cut. Have a helper at the bottom of the trench pull the nipple through the hole and se cure it in place with the outer gasket, retainer ring and nut. Pull the slider plate up from the bracket and out of the casing.

2 Attaching cable guards to the well pipe. Slide cable guards over the well pipe, with the first guard 5’ from the bottom and the others at 15-foot intervals. Wrap electrical tape around the pipe just above and below each guard to keep the guards from slipping.

3 Linking the pipe and the pump. Slide a pair of hose clamps over the bottom of the well pipe, and screw a flexible-pipe adapter into the opening at the top of the pump; then tighten the adapter with a pipe wrench. Slip the pipe over the adapter and tighten the clamps.

4 Linking slider plate to well pipe. Screw a flexible-pipe adapter to the free end of the slider plate you removed from the pitless adapter (opposite, Step 1), and attach the well pipe to the adapter, using two clamps, one behind the other. Grease the rubber gasket in the plate with the lubricant supplied by the manufacturer and seal the opening within the gasket temporarily with tape to keep out dirt.

5 Extending the pump wires. Splice the pump wires to extensions running the full length of the well pipe. Begin this step of the job by threading a pair of submersible-pump wires through the cable guards, leaving 10’ of slack at the upper end of the pipe. Slide a greased boot—a rubber cylinder used to protect a splice—over one of the pump wires, strip ½” of insulation from the ends of the pump and extension wires and splice the two wires in a metal crimp connector with an electrician’s multipurpose tool, then slide the boot over the crimp. Splice the other pump and extension wires in the same way and fasten both splices to the pipe with tape.

6 Installing the torque arrester. Around the well pipe just above the pump, loosely clamp the halves of a rubber torque arrester. Force the ends of the arrester toward each other, expanding the middle until it matches the inside diameter of the well casing. Hold the arrester in this position while a helper tightens the clamps.

7 Installing the pump and junction box. Pad the edges of the well casing with rags to protect the pump extension wires, then lower the pump into the casing as a helper feeds pipe to you. When your helper comes to the T-shaped handle, un-tape the opening in the slider plate of the pitless adapter and lower the plate until it slips into the bracket fastened inside the casing. Twist the handle to secure the slider plate, then push the handle down firmly and unscrew the handle from the plate. Join 1” flexible plastic pipe to the pitless-adapter nipple with a plastic pipe adapter, run the pipe to the pressure tank and attach it, following the procedure used for the jet pump with two exceptions: substitute a check valve for the 1” coupling, and install a pres sure gauge and a pressure switch in the small openings on the T assembly.

8 Assembling the conduit. Assemble a curved plastic conduit section, a straight length of plastic conduit and a plastic fitting called a C body, which serves as an electrical junction box, adjusting the length of the straight section so that the box is just below the top of the well casing and the curved section lies at the bottom of the trench. Run UF cable from the pressure switch along the trench, through the conduit and into the junction box. Push the ends of the pump ex tension wires down into the box.

Drill a ¼” hole 2” from the top of the casing near the junction box and use the hole to attach an aluminum grounding block inside the casing with a nut and bolt.

9 Connections at the wellhead. Strip 8” of plastic sheathing from the UF cable and join its black and white wires to the pump extension wires with wire caps. Run the bare ground wire of the cable through the top of the junction box and over the well casing, and secure it with the setscrew of the grounding block. Install the cover of the junction box and seal the casing with a well cap that fits over both the casing and the junction box.

At the pressure switch, connect the power wires of the underground cables to the inside switch terminals marked “load.” Connect the wires from your power source as you would those of a jet pump, but leave the ground wire free. Use a wire cap to join the ground wires of both cables to a short jumper wire, and connect the jumper to the grounding screw.

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Pumping Water with Wind Power

Until the 1930s, when electric power lines spread over most rural areas, the towering windmill of a water pump was a familiar sight across the American landscape. Today, as vacationers go farther and farther afield in search of cabin sites, windmills are becoming popular again for the same purpose.

To determine whether a windmill- powered pump is a practical way of bringing water to your cabin, you must first make sure that you have enough wind. A typical windmill such as the one at right requires a wind speed of at least 7 mph to operate. For information about the wind conditions that prevail in your area, call the local weather ser vice station listed in the telephone directory under the U.S. Department of Commerce, Transport Canada or Environment Canada.

If there is enough wind to power a pump, have your well drilled by a professional; then install your own footings or piers. If you have experience in working at heights, you may want to assemble the windmill itself, which goes together like the parts of a giant Erector set; generally, though, this is a job for professionals.

Most windmills come in a kit that includes a mill assembly and steel tower. The tower should be at least 10’ taller than any obstructions within a 400-foot radius (in hurricane areas, you may need to install a hinged “Gulf States” tower, which can be tipped down and anchored before a storm). Installed on a platform atop the tower, the mill assembly is composed of a wheel spun by wind-catching sails and mounted on a shaft and a gearbox. A long tail, or vane, keeps the wheel turned into the wind.

Suspended inside the well at the end of a galvanized-steel well pipe is a force-pump cylinder containing a piston and a pump rod. The end of the rod is connected to a pole that runs up the tower gearbox. When the sails catch the wind, the wheel’s rotary motion is converted to an up-and-down motion that moves the pump rod and piston, and the pump draws water to an outlet at the top of the well.