We just moved into a house that is on a well. I have never lived with a well. How am I supposed to know how far down the well is or if the pump is submerged?
There is a well head in the yard that is slightly below ground level and has a meter cover over it (like for city water) but there is a closet on the outside of the house that has a blue tank in it and the switch is in there. Does the blue tank in the close mean the pump is not submerged? I wanted to install a manual hand pump like the old tiers have in case of power failure we could still get water from the ground. Service people ask me questions and I don't know how to answer. Any help is most appreciated!

Most likely the pump is a submersible. If there is not a pump near the pressure tank, then it must be in the well. To find well depth, you would need to pull the pump and gauge the well.

And,

I don't see how you could add a manual (pitcher) pump.

You might be able to add a pitcher pump if you could get another pipe down the well casing but the maximum depth a pitcher pump will work is approximately 20" feet. That means you are getting surface water which the well casing prevents.

P. S.
You know if you have a submerged pump is electrical wires go down the well.

The manual pump would not work if your water is more than about 25' feet down, which it almost surely is.

It really doesn't make much difference how far down your submersible pump is, so long as it is providing ample water.

Also, if you really want the manual pump for emergencies( power outages), I believe you would be better off investing in a good gas generator. IF you get a big enough one, you could have it set up to run essentials in the home i.e. heating system, water pump, fridge, lights.

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Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

most likely the pump is a submersible. If there is not a pump near the pressure tank, then it must be in the well. To find well depth, you would need to pull the pump and guage the well.

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Ok so the blue tank in the closet on the deck is the pressure tank? I don't see anything that resembles a pump. But what do I know.
Maybe 20 ft. out in the yard is a meter box. But there is no meter in it. There is a white tube that is enclosed. There is a small piece of rope? Coming out of it and that has silicone on it I was told to prevent groundwater from getting in the well. I know I don't even now enough to be dangerous and cannot imagine dismantling the components to gauge a well!

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Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

Aslo, if you really want the manual pump for emergencies( power outages), i believe you would be better off investing in a good gas generator. IF you get a big enough one, you could have it set up to run essentials in the home i.e. heating system, water pump, fridge, lights.

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Yes, that would be ideal. But they want A LOT of money to do that in an all electric house. And in case of EMP the generator may be affected and become useless. I wanted to get a generator just for the water closet that has the heater tank and the pump? But they want $2k just to do that and install a generator switch. I thought a manual pump would at least give us potable water. And I found one on eBay for under 200.

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

And,

I don't see how you could add a manual (pitcher) pump.

You might be able to add a pitcher pump if you could get another pipe down the well casing but the maximum depth a pitcher pump will work is approximately 20" feet. That means you are getting surface water which the well casing prevents.

P. S.
You know if you have a submerged pump is electrical wires go down the well.

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Maybe that is what the silicone is around. I just thought it looked like rope. I guess it could be wiring?
So the water has to be 20' from the surface in order to install a hand pump? Sheesh this is more complicated than I thought.

Would be a lot cheaper to store water in 5 gallon containers. If EMP hits, then it could very well knock out your generator as well.

OK, I'll show my ignorance. What's EMP?

Electromagnetic pulse. It is a type of weapon which can, at least in theory, disable all electronics within some distance, perhaps miles, of the use of the weapon.

Would lightning cause this effect?

Well if you are trying to prepare for that kind of disaster you should have a cave, a thousand gallons of potable water, a years worth of MRE and several thousand rounds of ammo.

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

OK, I'll show my ignorance. What's EMP?

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Sorry I put that in wrong spot. Supposedly if a nuke attack happens over an area an EMP is created. And everything electronic within it's reach will be rendered useless. That's why I was going to try and install a pitcher pump over the well, it has no circuit boards. Faraday cages have to be grounded so the energy goes around the car, generator etc and into the earth. But they are more complex than they sound.

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Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

would lightning cause this effect?

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No, I don't think lightening will do this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

Well if you are trying to prepare for that kind of disaster you should have a cave, a thousand gallons of potable water, a years worth of MRE and several thousand rounds of ammo.

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If I could install a manual pump I may have the water part covered. :)

Get a small generator, build a small plywood box for it and line the box with lead. Electromagnetic waves won't penetrate lead.

OR buy two or three gallons of water every time you go to the grocery store. Get some 5 gallon cans and fill up one a week. In a few months, you'll have enough water to ride out a disaster. Be a lot cheaper than pumps and generators.