Can I operate a well pump with no pressure tank by using the breaker as a switch?
Working on my cabin. Have a drilled well about 100 feet away (maybe a bit more, uphill). 1 inch black PVC well pipe comes into dirt crawl space, pier construction, under cabin. I brought it upstairs so only 10 feet is exposed in crawl space. Wrapping heat tape today on well pipe. I don't have the pressure tank and such set up. Any reason I can't just power up the well for now and turn it on and off with breaker, then have a pipe with water that comes out ?
Thanks.
electrical switch circuit-breaker well well-pump
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
add a comment |
Working on my cabin. Have a drilled well about 100 feet away (maybe a bit more, uphill). 1 inch black PVC well pipe comes into dirt crawl space, pier construction, under cabin. I brought it upstairs so only 10 feet is exposed in crawl space. Wrapping heat tape today on well pipe. I don't have the pressure tank and such set up. Any reason I can't just power up the well for now and turn it on and off with breaker, then have a pipe with water that comes out ?
Thanks.
electrical switch circuit-breaker well well-pump
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
add a comment |
Working on my cabin. Have a drilled well about 100 feet away (maybe a bit more, uphill). 1 inch black PVC well pipe comes into dirt crawl space, pier construction, under cabin. I brought it upstairs so only 10 feet is exposed in crawl space. Wrapping heat tape today on well pipe. I don't have the pressure tank and such set up. Any reason I can't just power up the well for now and turn it on and off with breaker, then have a pipe with water that comes out ?
Thanks.
electrical switch circuit-breaker well well-pump
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
Working on my cabin. Have a drilled well about 100 feet away (maybe a bit more, uphill). 1 inch black PVC well pipe comes into dirt crawl space, pier construction, under cabin. I brought it upstairs so only 10 feet is exposed in crawl space. Wrapping heat tape today on well pipe. I don't have the pressure tank and such set up. Any reason I can't just power up the well for now and turn it on and off with breaker, then have a pipe with water that comes out ?
Thanks.
electrical switch circuit-breaker well well-pump
electrical switch circuit-breaker well well-pump
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
edited Feb 15 at 19:30
Machavity
7,58111837
7,58111837
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
asked Feb 15 at 15:20
House DiYHouse DiY
163
163
add a comment |
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
Not really.
You can do that if you only turn on the pump when you're consuming water. You don't want the pump running if no water is moving. You'll wear it out.
The point of a pressure switch is to prevent just that, and the point of the pressure tank is to reduce the frequency of pump startups (along with stabilizing pressure during usage).
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
add a comment |
As isherwood noted, never run the pump unless the water has somewhere to go. Also, running the pump for only a few seconds at a time is probably not ideal.
If you're pumping out through an open pipe into some sort of large receptacle (e.g. a 5-gallon bucket or larger), that's probably fine.
(I chlorinate my water, so my well pump feeds an open pipe that empties into a 120-gallon tank. I'd guess this draws somewhere between 5 and 60 gallons in a "cycle". The pressure tank is fed by a secondary pump in the tank.)
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
2
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
add a comment |
It won't hurt the breaker any. All modern breakers are rated for use as switches.
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Not really.
You can do that if you only turn on the pump when you're consuming water. You don't want the pump running if no water is moving. You'll wear it out.
The point of a pressure switch is to prevent just that, and the point of the pressure tank is to reduce the frequency of pump startups (along with stabilizing pressure during usage).
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
add a comment |
Not really.
You can do that if you only turn on the pump when you're consuming water. You don't want the pump running if no water is moving. You'll wear it out.
The point of a pressure switch is to prevent just that, and the point of the pressure tank is to reduce the frequency of pump startups (along with stabilizing pressure during usage).
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
add a comment |
Not really.
You can do that if you only turn on the pump when you're consuming water. You don't want the pump running if no water is moving. You'll wear it out.
The point of a pressure switch is to prevent just that, and the point of the pressure tank is to reduce the frequency of pump startups (along with stabilizing pressure during usage).
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
Not really.
You can do that if you only turn on the pump when you're consuming water. You don't want the pump running if no water is moving. You'll wear it out.
The point of a pressure switch is to prevent just that, and the point of the pressure tank is to reduce the frequency of pump startups (along with stabilizing pressure during usage).
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
answered Feb 15 at 15:31
isherwoodisherwood
48.4k456122
48.4k456122
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
add a comment |
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
Understood - this would be a temporary 1 month setup until I have less concerns about the pressure tank (inside cabin) freezing. I just want water for cleaning and such...
– House DiY
Feb 15 at 15:37
add a comment |
As isherwood noted, never run the pump unless the water has somewhere to go. Also, running the pump for only a few seconds at a time is probably not ideal.
If you're pumping out through an open pipe into some sort of large receptacle (e.g. a 5-gallon bucket or larger), that's probably fine.
(I chlorinate my water, so my well pump feeds an open pipe that empties into a 120-gallon tank. I'd guess this draws somewhere between 5 and 60 gallons in a "cycle". The pressure tank is fed by a secondary pump in the tank.)
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
2
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
add a comment |
As isherwood noted, never run the pump unless the water has somewhere to go. Also, running the pump for only a few seconds at a time is probably not ideal.
If you're pumping out through an open pipe into some sort of large receptacle (e.g. a 5-gallon bucket or larger), that's probably fine.
(I chlorinate my water, so my well pump feeds an open pipe that empties into a 120-gallon tank. I'd guess this draws somewhere between 5 and 60 gallons in a "cycle". The pressure tank is fed by a secondary pump in the tank.)
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
2
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
add a comment |
As isherwood noted, never run the pump unless the water has somewhere to go. Also, running the pump for only a few seconds at a time is probably not ideal.
If you're pumping out through an open pipe into some sort of large receptacle (e.g. a 5-gallon bucket or larger), that's probably fine.
(I chlorinate my water, so my well pump feeds an open pipe that empties into a 120-gallon tank. I'd guess this draws somewhere between 5 and 60 gallons in a "cycle". The pressure tank is fed by a secondary pump in the tank.)
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
As isherwood noted, never run the pump unless the water has somewhere to go. Also, running the pump for only a few seconds at a time is probably not ideal.
If you're pumping out through an open pipe into some sort of large receptacle (e.g. a 5-gallon bucket or larger), that's probably fine.
(I chlorinate my water, so my well pump feeds an open pipe that empties into a 120-gallon tank. I'd guess this draws somewhere between 5 and 60 gallons in a "cycle". The pressure tank is fed by a secondary pump in the tank.)
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
answered Feb 15 at 20:21
MatthewMatthew
1411
1411
2
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
add a comment |
2
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
2
2
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
I agree--The short cycle of the pump is your biggest problem. You could put a large barrel or something up high, pump it full of water then use a gravity feed--That's not a terrible replacement for a pressure tank (although be sure to have a pipe that will take overflow water outside instead of spilling it all over your attic, you are bound to over-fill at some point).
– Bill K
Feb 15 at 20:30
add a comment |
It won't hurt the breaker any. All modern breakers are rated for use as switches.
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
add a comment |
It won't hurt the breaker any. All modern breakers are rated for use as switches.
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
add a comment |
It won't hurt the breaker any. All modern breakers are rated for use as switches.
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
It won't hurt the breaker any. All modern breakers are rated for use as switches.
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
answered Feb 15 at 17:30
HarperHarper
71.3k447143
71.3k447143
add a comment |
add a comment |
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