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catfishhoward

Can air pump be use to suck water up 100' deep well?

5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago

I've been told no water pump can suck water up to itself through a single 5/8"-1" hose 100' down well casing, within 1500 watts at least. I guess they are made to push water not suck water?

I found this video that claims he does it with air instead. If possible I need to figure what air pump and air hose size that will deliver the correct psi/cfm down 100' hose. Ideally would love to get 7 GPM 24/7 at the top casing that would then gravity flow down to the lake.


LINK TO AIR PUMP VIDEO


The 4" casing already has 1-1/2" pipe in it for my home water supply pump.



Comments (4)

  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    The process you've described is called an "airlift pump". They do work but are inefficient and you'll have little chance of rising 7 gpm. They work through a process in fluid mechanics call two phase flow where the air carries a liquid through a pipe as droplets. Cubic feet of air pumped in the bottom of the pipe along with other variables worked into a formula will determine net volume of water you could achieve using a airlift pump.

    Google the terms, study the mechanics behind it and determine if it's worth the expense involved to pump the water over a much more efficient method of delivery such as your submersible pump.

    You may not want to even attempt this for safety reasons. opening your well head will introduce contaminates and jeopardize the quality of your house water. Oxygen and other contaminates introduced in the well casing will allow bacteria to grow that will make your water smell bad, taste bad and a slim possibility of making it toxic.

    catfishhoward thanked kevin9408
  • 5 months ago

    I agree probably not worth the risk of changing my existing well with oxygen or contaminates. Just hate running my 2000+ watt pump. If the submersible pump could run at variable speeds that would be great but as far as I know it's the same wattage$ running it at the max flow of 17 GPM vs what I need to maintain the pond level of 7 GPM running 24/7.


    But if it was variable speed 7 GPM or say 1000w would be around 35 psi on my pressure tank just before the switch would turn the pump off at 40 psi so when I us the water inside my house it would need to bump up to 2000w for the pressure I would want to take a shower, etc. But it also might not pump water up from the depth using only 1000w so it might have to be 2000w?


    Think I might need to look into solar but I've never thought the cost would ever pay for itself. If I ran my submersible pump on a timer valve at 17 GPM it would run 8+/- hours during the night to maintain the pond lever and cost me $ 1200+/- a year.


    I'm going to call a well company to come buy to look over the system but want to be more knowledgeable first.

  • 5 months ago

    Your well pump is oversized and 17 GPM is more than an average home on a well needs. The average is 6 to 12 Gpm but I don't think it's worth changing out the pump, just remember this when the pump needs replacing. 1 HP = 746 watts, your 2000+ watt pump is a 3 hp pump (2238 watt's to be exact). The motor size could be reduced to just 1 HP and you'd still get about 12 GPM and more than plenty. It's a 30% reduction in water volume but a 66% reduction in electricity so you'd have a net savings of about 36% in operation costs if I figured it correctly. Ask your well guy about this if the well pump is a dinosaur replace it. The savings are assuming the pump was replaced with the exact same quality pump and motor in it. There is a difference in well pumps and motor design used between brands or models, and like saying all 6 cylinder cars are the the same. It's all in the specs with the best pumps running into the 1000's.

    There is another option and depends on how deep your water table is. If the water table is no more than 15' or so deep a shallow well pump on a sand point well would be a great option. A sand point well is easy to sink and you would have no problem pulling 8 to 9 GPM with a 1/2 HP motor (373 watts), and up to 15 to 17 gpm with a 1 hp motor. To get this number you'd need a quality pump from an actual pump company and not from the junk from big box stores, it's all about specs, and prepare to spend $500+ on the pump.

    If the water table is lower, say 35' your well company could pop you a shallow well and you could use a convertible jet pump to get your water with the same 1/2 HP pump. both types of wells are dependent on your state and local laws regulating wells. Some states require a permit and some don't care if it's less than a certain depth. Again ask your well company about these options if interested.


    catfishhoward thanked kevin9408
  • 5 months ago

    "How high can an airlift pump lift water?



    This configuration has been used most often to lift anywhere from 400 to 2000 liters of water per hour to a height of
    1 to 4 meters, making it a very useful technology for a wide array of systems."

    catfishhoward thanked Stax
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