What Are The Most Common Types Of Water Bore Pump In Perth ?
There are mainly two types of bore pump commonly used in Perth, these are:
Concrete Well Centrifugal Pump Water Bores; or
Submersible Pump Water Bores.
How Do I Know Which Type Of Bore I Have ?
A Concrete Well Bore should be easily identifiable by a tin witches hat located in your garden. These wells have concrete liners with a ladder which goes down to the bottom of the well. These wells can range in depths from 2 meters to 25 meters in the ground, depending on your location.
A Submersible Well Bore are small in size and are usually located at the front of your house under an easy access green irrigation type cover lid, pictured. The pump is fully submerged under water usually between 25 and 40 meters below ground.
How Does A Concrete Well Bore Work ?
A Concrete Well Bore has what's called a Centrifugal Bore Pump which is visible above ground.
Concrete Well Type Bores located in Perth can be greater than 40 years old. Although some bores have been well maintained with new pumps installed over the years,
many pumps are reaching the end of their life particularly with the on set of corrosion which can cause issues with the pump, pipework and
more importantly the bore screen below the ground which prevents the sand and debris entering the system.
Many of these older type setups have a manual contactor box controlling the motor similar to the one pictured here to Start / Stop the watering cycle.
How Does A Submersible Well Bore Work ?
A Submersible Bore usually has a starter box assembly with the start capacitor and contactor located adjacent to the switchboard or reticulation controller or occasionally in the roof space above the switchboard.
Most submersible bore pumps in Perth are between 25 to 40 meters below the ground and pump the water to the surface using a flexible pipe.
This pipe when full of water in conjunction with a check valve assembly, pump and cabling can make them very heavy and difficult to lift. Lifting of these submersible pumps is generally done with assistance from an electrically operated winch or crane setup such as the one pictured.
Why Is My Bore Pump Losing Prime ? Pump Runs But No Water !
There are a number of reasons for your bore pump losing prime including an air leak, check valve damaged or sticking, check valve has sand in it, or corrosion around pump seals. More often than not this will be on the suction or inlet side of the pipe work. Sand or debris can also obstruct the check valve seals or foot valve assembly.
Organise your bore repair service today with your bore pump repair specialists in Perth, Verlek Electrical & Bores, we will diagnose the problem and offer a free quotation to repair your bore promptly.
How To Prevent Debris Or Sand In Your Sprinklers ?
If your bore has only small amounts of debris or sand in your sprinklers or bore, you may be able to fit a bore water filter. The bore water filter will be on the outgoing feed pipe work from the bore pump and prevent sand and other debris reaching your sprinklers and solenoid valves.
Installing a bore water filter to prevent sand in your sprinklers will result in a more efficient system and reduce the areas of dead or yellowing grass due to lack of water and blockages causing the sprinklers to have an uneven water jet.
An example of a filter for bore water can be seen here.
Why Is My Bore Running Out Of Water ?
Even though the depth of the bore is sufficient and the submersible pump or suction line is well within the water table, sometimes bore wells do not give the required water yield and can momentarily run out of water.
This is caused by the bore not replenishing the water flow being pumped out quickly enough. This can happen with older bores or bore suffering from sand, debris ingress, iron oxide or bacterial build up around the bore screed.
The screed consists of a section of bore casing that has many holes or slots cut into it allowing the water to flow freely from the surrounding ground water into the bore casing itself.
When this bore casing screen becomes clogged with debris, the water is not being replenished as quickly as the pump is extracting the water. This causes the water level in the bore casing to drop to below the inlet of the pump, causing a temporary loss in water.
What Is A Collapsed Bore ?
A collapsed bore is similar to the issue above with debris clogging the screed, however this is usually completely corroded / collapsed and the casing has filled with the surrounding sand / debris and has stopped the flow of water into the bore casing. This is usually the end of the line for older bores, as disturbance can usually make things worse. Re-bore with a modern Submersible pump is usually the solution.
What Can I Do To Address Poor Water Yield ?
Poor water yield can occur in older bores and can sometimes be fixed by air developing the water bore. This process uses compressed air injected down the bore casing to lift any sand and debris that may have partially blocked the screed. If the bore is found to suffer from iron oxide build up or bacterial build up then Eco Friendly chemicals are added to the bore beforehand. This aids the breakdown of the debris deposits and build up within the bore and makes it possible to lift and clear out of the bore. Borehole repairs can be undertaken to increase the yield of the bore water to a usable flow rate.
For this process to take place however, the existing bore pump needs to be safely disconnected and the cabling and pipe work need to be removed from the bore. This should be undertaken by bore repair system specialists Verlek, who are fully qualified electricians.
What Is The Process For A Re Bore ?
The re bore usually takes place in a location that is easy and convenient for the bore drilling truck complete with drilling rig to access the property. The drill rig essentially drills a hole large enough and deep enough to reach adequate water flow for your area.
The depths required can change depending on the topography and material make up of the bore during drilling, rock, clay and other substrates can determine the final depth required to achieve the desired water flow and quality.
Generally though, this is usually within 5 meters or so of the proposed drill depth at the time of quoting. The water depth is obtained from water depth charts and local knowledge of the area.
The re bore is also positioned in a convenient place for the existing reticulation system to be hooked up to the new submersible bore pump. The new bore pump then feeds the original main water feed line of the reticulation system and out to the solenoid valves.
This re bore process for that reason is generally a cost effective solution to a collapsed bore beyond repair.
Here at Verlek we can arrange for the full re bore process to take place. As fully qualified electricians and bore repair specialists, we can provide the full one stop shop approach to your re-bore. We will coordinate the drilling, electrical installation and reticulation pipe work alterations and main line hook up.
How Much Will My Re Bore Cost ?
Generally speaking, for the average domestic reticulation bore, the cost will be between $3500 and $5000.
Verlek is usually very competitive with this as we can provide the one stop shop solution of coordinating the project internally, rather than multiple contractors and staged timings.
How Do I Find My Submersible Bore ?
Finding your submersible bore can be a tricky exercise if the rough location is not known. Generally these smaller bore covers / lids can be overgrown with the surrounding grass making it difficult to spot.
Understanding where the solenoids are located or likely to be located can help, this normally identifies the main water feed line coming from the bore and can be traced back to the bore well itself. It can be difficult to the inexperienced eye where the bore could be located.
Finding the bore location can also be done by the use of an electronic scanner, these scanners can trace the power cable to the bore from the contactor control or starter box assembly. The scanner is setup up to fire a test tone down the cable and the scanner using electromagnetic technology can pick up this tone and identify it from other electromagnetic sources in the area.
This can be a little tricky in built up areas or with cables that are under driveways / pathways or deeper material that can mask the signals.
Our experts at Verlek are very experienced in the use of scanning equipment and can usually locate the bore and solenoids quickly, saving time, money, sweat and tears trying to find a well hidden / overgrown bore cover. Contact us today.
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