Recommended water pump/tank size
Hello,
I own a 2 story 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home with 2 adults and 5 children (4 girls). We have a private shallow well and we are having water pressure problems. I have researched as much as I could to ensure intelligent questions here. I have a GE 1/2 hp jet style pump and Champion water tank CH6000 (26 gallon cap.) I am assuming based off the dimensions. My pressure settings are 40/60 and based off that my drawdown is 7.6 gallons. My pump seems to turn on and run for the minimum 60 sec recommended time.
However, when I shower in my bathroom with is the furthest and highest from the pump I get 'ok' water pressure if that's the only thing on. I do get a high pitched screeching sound coming from either the pipes or the fixture for a few minutes then as long as no other water is running it will go away.
The problem is if someone turns ANYTHING else on, my water pressure dies. If its just a toilet flush then I can still continue to shower but the screech comes back. I do get less pressure but not horrible. If someone turns on the kitchen sink my pressure just about gets cut in half. If there are 2 other items on... its practically nothing and rather annoying with the screech.
The house is only 10 years old and does have a water softener on the house side of the water pump. I do change the filters at least every 3 months. That sometimes helps. If I bypass the water softener all together it is better, but that's not an option in my area as the well water is quite full of hydrogen sulfate and can get quite rusty.
I have tried to find a guide to tell me if I need to boost the size of tank/pump that is currently in use. I found a table that suggested I need "peak 7min" time of 1 GPM per fixture which would total 13 GPM, and another table based off the number of bathrooms that indicates 17 GPM. I am suspicious that this 1/2 hp pump - 26 gallon tank is providing that kind of water delivery. Please advise further on recommended upgrades if any. I was thinking of going with an 86 gallon tank from WellSaver and a 1hp pump, prob the Gould J10S Thank you.