Alternative to shallow well jet pump/pressure tank combo on cistern?

Agreed, short cycling is not good at all.
But as for extended run time...I'd take more (or longer per cycle) rather than less...as in oversize pressure tank, not as in broken water line.

 

barter yeah!

 

Thats barter yet!

 

yup thar evn mor betterah!

 

Late to the party, but here is the setup we installed a few years ago. Our well is slow to recover, so with a family of four and lots of guests, we were frequently running out of water. Our submersible feeds our 400 gallon tank, but we also haul city water if when needed. I also have a 425 gallon transport tank I can slide into the 1 ton. There is a float in the tank to shut off the submersible when it is full. There is also a low pressure/timer panel to control the submersible. Also, we can shut the well pump off and only run city water. Comes in handy when we shock the well.

Once water is in the tank, a jet pump and pressure tank takes over. We have a simple low pressure switch on the pump. If the pressure drops to 15psi (I think) the pump shuts down. You have to reset it manually when you have water in the tank. We also have a "cycle stop" to keep pressure up in the house while two people are showering or other high demand use. Personally, I love it. I've heard some say it will burn a pump out prematurely, but it's been several years and honestly, if the pump burnt up tomorrow, I'd install another Cycle Stop. It's that convenient for us.






We were opening a window and running a hose to the tank. That got old. I added a 3" PVC filler line and ran it from the tank to the garage. Back the truck in and unload. The other thing, I like is the ability to switch the jet pump to 120v. We can use our little Yamaha 2800w inverter to run our house in the event of a power outage. In the country, that happens at least once a year. Especially during our ten year ice storms. If needed we can pull out the 25kw PTO gen, but it's a pain.

Hope this helps.

 

Hmmm - update wildwest ?

 

Hi Casper, you have exactly the set up we are intending to put into our house. I've been at a loss on how big a pressure tank I should get. The main thing it needs to handle is a washing machine. The new front loading ones are very finicky with their water pressure requirements and info is hard to find. Are you running a front loader on your set up?
Our water supply like yours can be intermittent. We build a hydraulic ram pump that pumps our water from a spring on the other side of the hill to our 300 gal barrels. Spring time is the only time we can fill the barrels. The water is very clean then but it gets murky later when the water level drops until it stops for the summer.

This forum is awesome. I get answers to questions i haven't even asked yet.

 

We have a Speed Queen top loader so I can't answer anything related to the front loader stuff. I think our pressure tank is 15 gallon? I'd have to check on that though. As i said, we have a Cycle Stop installed on our pump. Once a certain low pressure is hit, the pump stays on until water demand is stopped. We can have two people showering at different ends of the house, someone can flush a toilet and not drop pressure for someone in the shower.

I don't know if cycle stop would be a great idea if you're conserving water. We have a bulk account and I can fill my 425 gallon tank in my truck anytime of day or night if we need water. The location is a metered hydrant in front of a local village hall that offers bulk water.

If you need specs, let me know.

 

Thanks Casper, I think a cycle stop is a great idea, even though it's just the two of us as a rule. My current water supply runs to about 6500 gal and i'm getting a few more barrels. We'll only hook up 2 x 300 gal tanks at a time that should avoid water loss in case of broken pipes etc. Although a pain in the winter.