Question on dual-purpose pump

[JohnK93]

Hey All,

Due to a high water table in my area, my well head is filling with water, so when I use a lot of water quickly (like watering my lawn or chilling 5 gallons of hot wort, for example) the rusty water in the well head seeps into the well and turns our house water brown. So I need a small pump to pump the water out of my well head. Not an actual well pump, just a pump to clear out the water that is above the well seal.

Since I have to buy a pump anyway, do you think I could use a Chugger or March pump to pump my well head? I'm guessing I'll have to pump about 40-50 gallons from time to time until the water table falls back to normal level. A Chugger could get the job done pretty quickly, then I could add this to my brewing equipment (after a good cleaning, of course.)

I don't currently use a pump in my brewing but I'm sure I could put one to use. Since I have to buy one anyway, do you see any reason not to use a brewing pump?

John

 

[day_trippr]

Beer pumps are not self-priming, but if you include a foot valve on the suction side it should keep the pump head filled between cycles. On that basis it should work, though a Chugger in this application seems pricey...

Cheers!

 

[JohnK93]

Good point, and I'd also need to filter the water, so a foot valve would do it.

The way I see it, I could spend $50-$100 on a pump that'll only pump my well head, or I could spend a little more and have another piece of brewing equipment. Or maybe I can find a cheap way to start a siphon.

John

 

[JohnK93]

After going to Home Depot and seeing that even small pumps are $100, I put my brain to use...cheapness is the mother of invention. Turns out I had a hose long enough to run the outlet to a lower point than my well head so I was able to fill the hose with water and star a siphon. Well head was drained in less than a half hour.

Once in a while I still put my engineering degree to use.