Filling pool with Well water without running well dry

[Bullbythehorns]

Sissy,

I filled mine out of the well over the course of a week. I would put the hose in and turn the hydrant partially on. If you turn it on full bore then your well will cycle more often and may not allow adequate rest time for your pump. Another option might be to see if your local fire department fills swimming pools.

[shrike]

your pool builder should be able to recommend a pool filling company.

[Poconos]

Sissy,
Welcome to the forum.

First some questions:
Vinyl liner?
Filter type?
Do you have access to another pool pump or can you temporarily move the one you have? Or even rent something for a day or two?

You may not have the luxury of being able to wait days to fill a new pool. First, nothing wrong with pond water if it doesn't resemble a swamp. You're going to shock the heck out of the water anyhow. I have a stream that I use for fill whenever necessary. You could always test the pond water beforehand for metals, bacteria etc.
If you go the pond route, have a sand filter, and an extra pump (or move the real one temporarily), you can pump from the pond into the waste port of the filter, set the valve to BACKWASH, and the filtered water will come out the skimmer. The water will be flowing in the right direction for filtering. 1.25" PVC pipe is cheap so you could even jury rig a temporary line from the pond to the pool without permanently bonding the joints. Just pound the joints together with a short 2x4 and they won't leak.

On the well pump...they don't need a rest and the easiest mode of operation is to let it run continuously. Starting and stopping puts a torque on the pipe and additional use of the starting circuit. Does it make a difference??? Who knows. When I initially filled my 22K gal in 1997, before I figured out the stream, I had 3 hoses from the pump so it wouldn't cycle. Pump sucked a lot of silt and mud but over the Winter it settled. Never dried up.
Al

Edit: If you're really ambitious you can do like I did and bury the pipe. My stream is 140' from the pool and I use it to either fill or discharge. I use either an old Jacuzzi pump for bulk fills, like the leak last year, or a tiny Flotec submersible for slow fills. Bury a couple electrical lines too.

[SissyH]

Hi,

thank you so much for the response.

Yes it is a Vinyl liner
Filter type...........hmmm I have to check why???

The Pond is spring fed approx 4 acres, no swamp,with lots of fish and turtles.
If we could use the pond water as well that would be great!!!!

thanks Sissy

[MarkC]

I toasted a well pump filling my 2500 gallon seasonal pool one year. It failed a week after I filled the pool. Coincidence? I do think the cycling was what killed it.

[duraleigh]

At what rate will your well replenish itself?

My 350' deep well produces 1.5 gpm......filling a pool is out of the question.

I filled from the pond using my existing sand filter (similar setup to what Poconos is describing) and had the water crystal clear in five days.

Search this forum for well water problems.....you'll find a ton of them. I'd sure price trucking it in first, pond water as my second choice, and well water dead last.

[Poconos]

Sissy,
The reason I asked about the filter is if you have a lot of crud to filter from the pond, a sand filter is much easier to clean if you have to do it often during the fill. Sounds like you have a nice pond so use it.
Jo,
As long as the pump is submerged it should get adequate cooling so it could run continuously. When I filled my 22K gal pool in 97 it was an original pump maybe 22 years old. Ran continuously for almost a day as I vaguely recall. Still working fine almost 9 years later. Maybe I shouldn't brag.
Al