For hand installation, especially with lower flow rates, my go-to solution, mentored to me by Windy Dankoff, was SDR9 high-pressure (140 psi max if I’m remembering correctly) flexible polyethylene pipe with bronze SDR9 compression couplers and connectors to MPT. They all used a stainless steel inner sleeve that fit inside the poly pipe. I carried the fittings in 3/4” and 1” sizes.
Contact me off list if you’d like some of these fittings as I described. I’m retired and no longer need them.
Allan
al...@sindelarsolar.com
On May 26, 2024, at 12:39 PM, Bradley Bassett via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
Ray,
Do you have a US supplier for either of these fittings? The Jentro fitting looks great, the Blueseal16 does not look like it would have much of a pressure rating. I did not find a specification.
What do you all use for drop pipes for well pumps? I have a 260ft deep well with galv, but the first batch corroded through, must have been a really bad batch. The second batch has been fine for many years. I can't bring myself to use PVC which is most common, I just have seen too many issues with it. Stainless is really expensive and hard to find threaded lengths, so I used very high pressure Poly. When it's rated for 300psi it has a very thick wall and is hard to get onto fittings, but is light weight and moderately flexible.
I've seen a lot of leaks with barb fittings on poly pipe. I just
replace most of the poly plumbing at my place, because I just
couldn't get it to stop leaking. Black poly pipe is the lowest
cost per foot, but not quite bomb proof. Barb fittings are
really more suited for irrigation under 40 psi, where leaks are
just part of the irrigation system. Also, if the pipe is exposed
to sunlight, it can degrade and split open. Your described setup
would have sections above 100 psi, and that will really drive
leaks. There are compression fittings for the poly pipe, which
are better. Here are some examples:
Barb fittings would probably be fine towards the top at the
storage tanks, where the pressure is much lower, but at the pump,
and top of the well, where the pressure is over 100 psi, I'd be
using something better.
Good Luck,
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 5/26/2024 10:12 AM, Bradley Bassett
via RE-wrenches wrote:
Yes, lots of possibilities for leaks. I will be
exploring them today. Thanks for the tips for finding the
location. This setup uses 300psi 1" black poly pipe on a 25 ft
drop, and then about 1200 ft run of the same pipe up 220ft
elevation to the tanks up the hill with the house about 36ft
below the tanks with only gravity feed (16 psi). All connections
on the poly pipe are made with long stainless barb fittings with
T-bolt clamps, pretty bomb proof stuff. There is a pitless
adapter into the well casing, I will check that for sure under
pressure. I'll also fix the check valve in the pump house. I
seem to have a lot of issues with check valves, do they really
fail so often? We do not have high mineral water. I've
especially had issues with spring check valves and no longer use
them. The one in my pump house is a swing check valve
which I thought was pretty reliable. If I remember correctly,
the check valve in these pumps is not replaceable. Fortunately,
we actually have two wells, each with a 3SQF-2 pump that we can
alternate for supply. I'll let you know what I find.
Way back in the '90's we had a customer with a solar pump
that just would not perform. Even with a new pump, new
control, check this and that, it just would not pump much
water. It pumped fine when out of the well. The drop pipe
did not have any obstruction. They finally ran the pump
while it was out of the well with the drop pipe connected
and under pressure, and discovered a crack in the PVC pipe
that did not show up except under pressure. So leaks can
indeed be hard to find.
Yes the pump won’t go backwards but it’s
possible there could be some leakage through the helical
coil.
But both check valves have to fail which is a
low probability.
I’ve seen pipe broken due to someone closing
a valve and not having a pressure relief valve. Not
knowing what kind of pipe/fittings are being used it
could be corrosion has made a hole.
Not knowing the layout it might be possible
to split the plumbing and see if the leakage is above or
in the well.
Windy might chime in at some point to back me up on
this but I see no way for that pump to turn backwards.
Reverse flow is likely a leak at the pump, the down
well piping or at the pitless adapter if there is one.
Roy....
Another old time solar and wind guy, hoping to be
retired someday :-).
Roy Butler
Four Winds Renewable Energy, LLC
8902 Route 46, Arkport, NY 14807
Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.
“The less people know, the more stubbornly they know it.”
Although no trees were killed in the sending of this message,
a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
On 5/26/2024 10:10 AM, Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
via RE-wrenches wrote:
Hey Brad,
Sometimes shooting is best if you tell more on
what you have done so far like using the SQF
shooting guide, especially on a holiday weekend😉
Assume there is a CU200 controller and pump is in
ground still, must be with 100ft head, sorry
With 2 check valves leaking I’d look for a broken
pipe or a corroded fitting.
If there is anyway to isolate between the 2 check
valves then you could measure the pressure drop on
both sides which should point to the direction of
the leak.
I have a water system with a Grundfos SQFlex
SQF3-2 pump. I'm getting water flow in reverse
either through the pump or a leak up to the
pump. My question is if the check valve on the
top of the pump is not sealing, will the
progressive cavity pump allow water to flow
through the pump in reverse? I'd think that with
a positive displacement pump it would not,
except very slowly or if it turned the motor
backwards which I think would be very unlikely.
There is about 100 psi head on the pump.
I think it's most likely I have a leak somewhere
in the plumbing, and of course another failed
check valve farther up in the plumbing. It's
possible to get failures even with redundant
protection if you have two concurrent failures,
which I must have here.
Brad Bassett
Old time solar guy who used to do solar pumping
back in the '80's and '90's. Mostly retired now.
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