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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.
Brad
On Sun, May 26, 2024 at 11:17 AM Ray Walters via RE-wrenches
<re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>>
wrote:
Hi Brad;
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:
[PE pipe compression fitting for drinking water? Choose Blueseal16 - SAB
spa][Jentro Fittings sdr11 klem draadstuk]
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.
Brad
On Sun, May 26, 2024 at 8:17 AM Jay via RE-wrenches
<re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>>
wrote:
Hi all
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.
Lots of fun possibilities
Jay
On May 26, 2024, at 9:03 AM, Roy Butler via RE-wrenches
<re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>>
wrote:
Brad,
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
No high amps? It runs, How old?
--Dave
Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
<http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/> https://offgridsolar1.com/
<http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>
e-mail offgridso...@sti.net<mailto:offgridso...@sti.net>
text 209 813 0060
On 2024-05-26 4:26 am, Jay via RE-wrenches wrote:
Hi Brad
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.
Jay
On May 25, 2024, at 7:41 PM, Bradley Bassett via RE-wrenches
<re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>>
wrote:
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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