Submersible Well

Water Well Pump:  How Does It Work

A few hundred years ago, people draw water from wells by the use of rope and bucket tied to a pulley.  The bucket is thrown into the well then the pulley lifts the bucket up.  Today, a system is invented to draw water from the well and bring it into the house automatically.  The most important part of the system is the water well pump.  The most common types of water well pumps used for the houses are jet pumps and submersible pumps.  A jet pump is installed above the ground using suction and air pressure to lift water while a submersible pump as the name suggests is submerged in the water inside the well.

A jet water pump is used for shallow wells with depth of up to 25 feet.  The most important parts of a jet pump are the electric motor, impeller, jet, Venturi tube and the check valve.  The system also needs a water storage tank.  The storage tank is where the house gets its supply of water after the pump drew it from the well.  The tank is connected to the pump by a pipe.  Inside the pump is where the electric motor, impeller and jet assembly are. 

A pipe goes from the pump to the water underground.  The electric motor moves the impeller to draw water from the well.  The water goes to the jet which produces the suction so that water continues to come up.  The Venturi tube and the check valve act to make sure that there is enough air pressure and that the water will not come back down to the well.  This system is called single drop jet pump.

For a deeper well, a double drop jet-pump system is used.  In this system, two pipes are used and the jet assembly is brought down in the water well.  The electric motor and the impeller are still in the pump housing on the ground while the jet injector is submerged 20 feet below the water in the well.  One pipe in this pump system puts water down to the jet assembly.  A vacuum is produced in the jet causing water to rise up in the second pipe.  The water going up through this pipe will continue to go to the storage tank.

When the well is too deep, the best pump to use is the submersible pump.  The electric motor, impeller and the jet assembly are all housed in an enclosed casing under the water.  Instead of sucking the water so that it will go up, submersible water well pump lifts the water up.  The upper part of the cylindrical pump has the motor which is connected by wires going up the ground.  The lower part has all the impellers that push the water up.

Whether your water well needs a single drop jet pump system, double drop jet pump system or a submersible pump, you should consult a reputable plumbing contractor before replacing your pump or buying a new pump.  It is not cheap to install pump but these days, it is the most popular way or drawing water from your well.