What Pressure Does a Deep Well Pump Produce?

Deep well water pumps can make underground water reserves accessible.

In rural areas where public water systems may not be available, homes often rely on well water supplies for everyday use. In some cases, well water can reside at a fairly deep level below the ground surface. To access this supply, deep well water systems are specifically designed to extract available water reserves.

Identification

Well water supplies can reside as far down as 100 to 300 feet below the earth's surface. In order to pull this water up into a home plumbing system, a pump system must generate enough pressure to push and pull an ongoing supply of water up to the surface, according to Inspectapedia, a construction and building resource site. Electrical submersible pumps are commonly used within deep well water systems, because of their design and method of action.

Function

An electrical submersible water pump sits at the bottom of the well, which enables it to push available water supplies upwards rather than pull them along like other pump systems do, according to Inspectapedia. Water pressure between the pump and the home plumbing system is maintained by a gauge on a storage tank that sits in the basement of the home. Once the tank is full, the pump stops running. As the storage tank empties, its water pressure drops. Once it falls to a certain level, the well pump comes back on.

Impeller Action

Deep well pump systems are shaped like long cylinders that sit inside the well casing, according to Inspectapedia.com. An electric motor contained inside a sealed compartment in the pump feeds an impeller rotor that spins water upwards. Each blade on the impeller is capable of generating a certain amount of water pressure, which is how the water is pumped. In effect, the amount of pressure a pump can generate depends on the number of impellers on the rotor.

Pump Capacity

As different types of plumbing systems have varying capacities, deep water well pumps are designed according to different capacity levels, according to Inspectapedia.com. Pump capacity is determined by the width of the impeller vanes, or blades. The wider the vanes, the greater the pump capacity is. Most electrical submersible pumps are designed for wells that have at least a four-inch side diameter. Pumps designed for smaller diameters are typically much more expensive.

Considerations

The design of a submersible deep well pump makes it an efficient device that can handle high capacity loads, according to Inspectopedia.com. Purchased new, a pump can last as long as 20 years with minimal maintenance requirements. Potential problems to look out for include water well supplies that contain sand, gravel or high concentrations of dissolved gases. Sediment debris can cause serious damage to the pump's impeller vanes and result in malfunction. Excess gases in the water can work to damage motor components as well.

References

• Inspectapedia: Submersible Well Pumps for Drinking Water Wells

Resources

• Troubleshooting Residential Submersible Pump Systems