Pump House

[jwellsnh]

My family camp is relatively old, 1971, and we still pull water from the Lake. My current system is underneath the camp within a 4 foot high crawl space which I am sure seems luxurious to some. I would like to move the pump, pressure tank and water filter out from that area into a pump house so as to ease access and maintenance.

If anyone has a design and/or photos they would like to share, please do.

Our camp is seasonal, opens in May and gets shutdown in October. Would also like to hear how you start you water system for the season and turn it off in the Fall.

Some specifics, the pump needs to pull about 10 feet above the Lake. Just one bathroom and currently no dishwasher. The water level off of our place is shallow, so currently I pull the water line out from the Lake each season.

Thanks in advance. :)

[fatlazyless]

Why not put it in the kitchen right next to the refrigerator? If you use a 30-gal vertical tank with the 1/2-hp electric pump mounted on top, this setup needs about 18" x 18" of floor space, and is very easy to access if you want to pull the electric plug out of the 110-v outlet. A 1/2-hp pump should be able to draw about 32' vertical in raising up water, and different pumps vary quite a bit as to how much noise they create. The pumps made by www.simerpumps.com seem to be pretty quiet.....and are sold at Heath's Hardware in Centre Harbor.


To make it look like it belongs in the kitchen, just paint everything all one color; tank, pump, and tubing all one neutral color like semi-gloss beige or grey or light green or something, and you will be a happy camper! It's a good idea to have the 50-lb pressure guage up on top of the pump so it is easy to see, and you can watch it migrate down to 30-lbs and then crank it back up to 50-lbs.....something to do when home alone ..... after a couple of beers.....u-know.....stay home alone and have a beer along-side your trusty water system........cheers!

[IslandRadio]

A pumphouse would be easy to set up, and you could put it anywhere.

There may be advantages to having it under your cottage as it is now - it probably stays a little warmer in the cold (although you could actually put a 100W light bulb or something to "heat" the pump house during iffy months), and of course where it is now you can probably hear when the pump is running, so you know if there's a problem.

Ours is under the cottage (but only by a foot or so), so it's not too bad to work on. How far under your house if the pump? If it's way under there, I can see where this would be a pain.

[Slickcraft]

We have all of the items under the camp: pump, tank, two filters and UV purifier.
If I were to redo the system, I would consider a submersible pump. That would eliminate the need for priming the system each spring. Don't know if your shallow water will allow for such but I suggest that you look into it if you redo the system.

If you don't have a UV purifier, suggest that you add one.
http://www.ultraviolet.com/proreswater.htm

[jwellsnh]

A pumphouse would be easy to set up, and you could put it anywhere.

There may be advantages to having it under your cottage as it is now - it probably stays a little warmer in the cold (although you could actually put a 100W light bulb or something to "heat" the pump house during iffy months), and of course where it is now you can probably hear when the pump is running, so you know if there's a problem.

Ours is under the cottage (but only by a foot or so), so it's not too bad to work on. How far under your house if the pump? If it's way under there, I can see where this would be a pain.

Yes it is advantageous to have it under the camp to prevent freezing but after 42 years of bending over that stuff, I want it moved to the fresh air, natural light and to a place where I can stand to work on it versus stooping.

[jwellsnh]

We have all of the items under the camp: pump, tank, two filters and UV purifier.
If I were to redo the system, I would consider a submersible pump. That would eliminate the need for priming the system each spring. Don't know if your shallow water will allow for such but I suggest that you look into it if you redo the system.

If you don't have a UV purifier, suggest that you add one.
http://www.ultraviolet.com/proreswater.htm

I am considering a submersible pump but need to research more on how that connects to waterline and how you can leave the pump in the Lake while not freezing.;)

[jwellsnh]

Thanks everyone for your replies but still looking for that perfect design for a pump house. Pictures and videos are welcomed. :D

[IslandRadio]

Interesting on the UV purifier. I've always wondered about any dissolved inorganic compounds, chemicals, etc. that could be in the water.

It would be great to not have to haul water out to our place on Rattlesnake!!!

I've never seen a water test on the Lake. Maybe the water is very clean, and only organic purification is required.

I'm quite interested!

[tis]

The lake water is clean generally and tests fine most of the time. There is a thread about this somewhere. The problem is there could be something that happens to go by your water line. That's why you need the UV. We have used lake water for 30 years and I would never want to have to use another source. It was by mistake that we started using it temporarily until we could get a well but once I used the lake water I didn't want to give it up then and I don't want to give it up now.

[Slickcraft]

Interesting on the UV purifier. I've always wondered about any dissolved inorganic compounds, chemicals, etc. that could be in the water.

It would be great to not have to haul water out to our place on Rattlesnake!!!

I've never seen a water test on the Lake. Maybe the water is very clean, and only organic purification is required.

I'm quite interested!

We have a sediment filter and a granular activated carbon filter in front of the Sanitron UV unit. http://www.amazon.com/Pentek-GAC-BB-Drinking-Water-Filter/dp/B004VN9W24
We have the water tested every year at the Laconia Water works, never a problem.
We keep a jug of water from home in the frig in case a visitor balks at the lake water. Us, we use the treated lake water just like our well water at home.