Contents
Individual water supply of a private house or cottage can be from two sources – a well or a well. To automate the supply of water to the house, as well as to create a stable pressure, it is necessary to install a pumping station. It consists of a pump, a hydraulic accumulator, a pressure switch and a safety group (manometer and drain valve). The advantage of this idea is that any household appliances can work with such a water supply scheme, another good news is that connecting is not a very difficult task, if you wish, you can install and connect a pumping station with your own hands.
Choosing an installation site
Pumping stations are installed near a water source – a well or a well – in a specially equipped pit – a caisson. The second option is in the utility room in the house. The third is on a shelf in the well (such a number will not work with a well), and the fourth is in the underground.
How to determine the depth of suction
When choosing a place, they are primarily guided by technical characteristics – the maximum suction depth of the pump (from where the pump can lift water). The thing is that the maximum lifting depth of pumping stations is 8-9 meters.
Suction depth – the distance from the water surface to the pump. The supply pipeline can be lowered to any depth, it will pump water from the level of the water mirror.
Wells often have a greater depth than 8-9 meters. In this case, you will have to use other equipment – a submersible pump or a pumping station with an ejector. In this case, water can be supplied from 20-30 meters, which is usually enough. The disadvantage of this solution is expensive equipment.
If you are only a meter away from being able to install conventional equipment, you can put the station in a well or above a well. A shelf is attached to the wall in the well, in the case of a well, a pit is deepened.
When calculating, do not forget that the level of the water mirror “floats” – in the summer it usually goes down. If your suction depth is on the verge, there may simply be no water during this period. Later, when the level rises, the water supply will resume.
Security Considerations
Another point to consider is the safety of the equipment. If the installation of a pumping station is supposed to be near a house with permanent residence, there are fewer problems – you can choose any option, even in a small shed. Only one condition – it should not freeze through in winter.
If this is a dacha where they do not live permanently, the matter is more complicated – it is necessary to arrange a room that is not striking. The safest way to install a pumping station is in the house. Although they can carry it away in this case.
The second place where you can install a pumping station is a buried camouflaged caisson.
The third is on a shelf in the well. Only in this case, the traditional house for the well is not worth doing. You need a steel lid, which is locked with a reliable lock (weld loops to the ring, make slots in the lid, on which to hang locks). Although, a good cover can also be hidden under the house. Only the design must be thought out so that it does not interfere.
Convenience and operating conditions
Installing a pumping station in the house is good for everyone, except that the equipment makes noise during operation. If there is a separate room with good sound insulation and it is possible according to the technical characteristics, there is no problem. Often they make a similar room in the basement or in the basement. If there is no basement, you can make a box in the underground. Access to it is through a hatch. This box, in addition to sound insulation, must also have good thermal insulation – the operating temperature range starts from + 5 ° C.
To reduce the noise level, the station can be placed on thick rubber to dampen vibration (created by a cooling fan). In this case, even installation in the house is possible, but the sound will certainly still be there.
If you stopped at the installation of a pumping station in a caisson, it must also be insulated and also waterproof. Usually, ready-made reinforced concrete containers are used for these purposes, but a caisson can be made of concrete rings (like a well). Install the ring with the bottom down, the ring with the lid on top. Another option is to lay it out of brick, pour concrete on the floor. But this method is suitable for dry areas – the groundwater level should be lower by a meter below the depth of the caisson.
The depth of the caisson is such that the equipment is installed below the freezing level. Expanded polystyrene insulation. Better extruded. Then you also get waterproofing at the same time.
For a caisson of concrete rings, it is convenient to use a shell (if you find a suitable diameter). But you can also slab polystyrene foam, cut into strips and glue it. For rectangular pits and structures, slabs are suitable that can be glued to walls using bituminous mastic. Lubricate the wall, apply insulation, you can additionally fix it with a pair of nails / dowels.
Connection of a pumping station
Choosing equipment and a place for installation is half the battle. You also need to correctly connect everything into a system – a water source, a station and consumers. The exact connection diagram of the pumping station depends on the chosen location. But anyway there is:
- Suction pipeline that descends into a well or well. He goes to the pumping station.
- Station itself.
- The pipeline going to consumers.
All this is true, only the strapping schemes will change depending on the circumstances. Let’s consider the most common cases.
Water supply from a well for permanent residence
If the station is placed in a house or in a caisson somewhere on the way to the house, the connection scheme is the same. A filter (most often a regular mesh) is installed on the supply pipeline lowered into a well or well, a check valve is placed after it, then a pipe already goes. Why the filter – it is clear – to protect against mechanical impurities. A check valve is needed so that when the pump is turned off, water under its own weight does not flow back. Then the pump will turn on less often (it will last longer).
The pipe is brought out through the wall of the well at a depth just below the freezing level of the soil. Then it goes into the trench at the same depth. When laying a trench, it must be made straight – the fewer turns, the lower the pressure drop, which means that water can be pumped from a greater depth.
To be sure, you can insulate the pipeline (lay sheets of polystyrene foam on top, and then fill it with sand, and then with soil).
At the entrance to the house, the supply pipe passes through the foundation (the place of passage should also be insulated), in the house it can already rise to the installation site of the pumping station.
This method of installing a pumping station is good because if everything is done correctly, the system works without problems. The inconvenience is that it is necessary to dig trenches, as well as bring the pipeline out / in through the walls, and also in the fact that it is difficult to localize damage when a leak occurs. To minimize the chances of a leak, take proven quality pipes, lay a whole piece without joints. If there is a connection, it is desirable to make a manhole.
There is also a way to reduce the volume of earthworks: lay the pipeline higher, but insulate it well and additionally use a heating cable. This may be the only way out if the site has a high level of groundwater.
There is another important point – the well cover must be insulated, as well as the rings on the outside to the freezing depth. It’s just that the section of the pipeline from the water mirror to the outlet to the wall should not freeze. For this, insulation measures are required.
Connecting the pumping station to the water supply
Often a pumping station is installed to increase the pressure in the water supply system with centralized water supply. In this case, a water pipe is connected to the inlet of the station (also through a filter and a check valve), and the outlet goes to consumers.
It is advisable to put a shut-off valve (ball) at the inlet so that if necessary you can turn off your system (for repairs, for example). The second shut-off valve – in front of the pumping station – is needed to repair the pipeline or the equipment itself. Then it also makes sense to put a ball valve at the outlet – in order to cut off consumers if necessary and not drain water from the pipes.
Well connection
If the suction depth of the pumping station for the well is sufficient, the connection is no different. Unless the pipeline exits at the point where the casing pipe ends. A caisson pit is usually arranged here, and a pumping station can be installed right there.
As in all previous schemes, a filter and a check valve are installed at the end of the pipe. At the entrance, you can put a filler tap through a tee. You will need it for the first start.
The main difference between this installation method is that the pipeline to the house actually runs along the surface or is buried to a shallow depth (not everyone has a pit below the freezing depth). If the pumping station is installed in the country, it’s okay, the equipment is usually removed for the winter. But if the water supply is planned to be used in winter, it must be heated (with a heating cable) and insulated. Otherwise it won’t work.
Starting the pumping station
In order to put the pumping station into operation, it is necessary to completely fill it and the supply pipeline with water. For this purpose, there is a special filler hole in the body. Pour water into it until it appears. We twist the plug into place, open the tap at the outlet to consumers and start the station. At first, water goes with air – air plugs come out, which formed during the filling of the pumping station. When the water flows in an even stream without air, your system has entered the operating mode, you can operate it. If you filled in water, and the station still does not start – the water does not pump or comes in jerks – you need to figure it out. There are several possible reasons:
- there is no non-return valve on the suction pipeline lowered into the source, or it does not work;
- somewhere on the pipe there is a leaky connection through which air is leaking;
- the resistance of the pipeline is too high – you need a pipe of a larger diameter or with smoother walls (in the case of a metal pipe);
- water mirror is too low, not enough power.
To prevent damage to the equipment itself, you can start it by lowering the short supply pipeline into some kind of container (tank of water). If everything works, check the line, suction depth and check valve.