What is the best way to find out how many gallons per minute my well can pump out? I am looking at putting in an iron filter, but I don’t know if my well has enough flow to backwash it right? I called my well guy and am waiting to hear back from him.
- Bill
Bill,
This is a good question and comes up a lot. If you have a standard well with a pressure tank and pressure switch, you can use the steps below to determine your well’s flow rate in gallons per minute.
This type of system turns on the well
pump at one pressure and off at a higher pressure, usually about a 20 PSI
difference.
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| Standard Well with Pressure Tank and Pressure Switch |
If you have a variable speed
pump, or ‘constant pressure’ type pump, that keeps the pressure in the house
the same all the time, then this type of method won’t work. For a
constant-pressure type system, consult your well contractor or send us the
specifications on your system and we can help you find out what it might be.
 |
| Well Diagram For A Typical Household |
Calculate Your Well Flow Rate:
It is easy! All you need is a 1
or 5 gallon bucket and a watch or clock! It takes just a few minutes. Just
follow these steps:
1. Open any hose bib or faucet
until well pump turns on.
2. Close hose bib or faucet and
let pump fill up pressure tank until well turns off.
3. Using a 1 or 5 gal. bucket,
open faucet, collect and measure all water discharged until pump turns
on.
You do not have to fill the
buckets as fast as you can, simply measure the water.
4. When pump turns on,
immediately close faucet and start timing pump cycle in seconds until well
shuts off.
5. Divide the number of gallons
collected in Step 3 by the number of seconds in Step 4.
6. Multiply the answer from Step
5 by 60.
7. The answer in Step 6 is the
average pumping capacity of the pump in gallons per minute (GPM).
If you are still experiencing trouble, try our easy to use pump flow rate calculator on our website!
We hope this information helps you solve your
problems, if you have any further questions, or would like to update us
on your progress - we love pictures and
testimonials! - you can reach us at support@cleanwaterstore.com or on Facebook. Thanks for the letter!
