Help getting water supply to shed please

[JBuck]

Hello,
I have recently bought a house that is not connected to mains water. The water supply to the house comes from a spring and is pumped uphill for about 150 metres through a 1/2" pipe. When it enters the house it goes to a header tank upstairs and all water around the house then comes from this tank. The pump is activated by a float switch in the header tank. This system appears to work fine at the moment.

The house came with some sheds which currently have no proper water supply. In the past, however, as I understand, the water from the spring was pumped to a header tank in the shed and from there a seperate pump pumped water to the house. I believe this was changed in favour of the current system because of problems with water in the tank or pump in the shed freezing.

I would like to have a water supply to the sheds re-established and my query relates to how I might do this.

Helpfully I think, as a remnant of the old system, there is a water pipe that goes to the entrance to the shed. This is bunged and when I remove the bung a little water flows but then it stops. If I run water in the house to make the float switch activate the pump at the spring, water again begins to pour from the pipe by the shed and no water runs to the header tank in the house at this time. When I again bung the pipe by the shed, water starts to flow to the header tank in the house. So it appears to me that the pipe coming from the pump at the spring at some point splits, with one pipe to the house and one to the shed. Only from the header tank in the house is there a means of telling the pump at the spring to pump. When that signal is given and the pumping begins, the water comes out of the pipe by the shed first because this is lower than the header tank in the house.

My query is: how can I set things up so I can use the pipe to the shed without having to run water in the house to send the signal to the pump at the spring? I have had two ideas but, being a complete plumbing novice, I don't know if they are sensible or not and would greatly appreciate all help. The first is that I might just put a pump on the pipe by the shed and use this to forward the water to where I want it in the sheds. The second is that I might put a tank and a switch on this pipe also ie replicate what I have in the house.

Again, all feedback greatly appreciated.

Regards,
JBuck.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Could I ask if any of this water is going through any sort of filter system B4 you drink it ?? Have you had it tested ??

 

[JBuck]

No, it goes through no filtration of any kind. I haven't had it tested but the previous owners and a neighbour who shares the same water supply had it tested a few years ago and it was fine (not because they were concerned I think but for some reason that I can't understand it was a condition of getting some renovation grants from the local council).

Thanks.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Ok but keep an eye on any copper pipe work / hot water tanks etc well water will corode it.

 

[stevetheplumber]

without seeing the whole layout its difficult but would it be possible to get a wire from existing float switch or the cable to it to the shed if so you could have a overide type switch added to allow you to manaually switch the pump on or even use a preasure switch so when you open the tap the pump would cut in
as im typing im thinking you may be able to acheive this using wireless rather than having to run cable theres all sorts of wireless switches and sockets out there now
you should be ok with this system as you say the water to the main tank stops when you open the pipe to shed
if once you have a tap on there you find the main tank is filling or even overflowing you may have to add a ballvalve as well as the float switch as a failsafe
it wil ldepend on the chemical composition of the water weather it will eat the copper or deposit scale or neither

 

[stevetheplumber]

just thought you could use a wireless room stat as a manual switch depending on the electrical load on the pump if to high you could use the stat to switch a relay to handle the current all thi is going to depend on existing wiring layout

 

[JBuck]

Thanks for that Steve, that is very helpful and reassuring. I have just followed the line of the cable from the float switch in the tank in the house and when it leaves the house it returns to the shed, goes into a junction box, out again and then goes to ground. This now makes sense because as I said the original layout of the water system here had a tank in the shed, presumably with a float switch in it. When they changed to having water pump directly to the house, they must have extended the cable for the new float switch from the existing cable. Presumably it will be easy for me (well, my brother-in-law the electrician) to put in a manual switch like you describe at the junction box in the shed to turn on the pump when I open the tap on the water pipe to the shed. Thanks again, you've actually helped to solve a few mysteries relating to random cables and pipes here.

 

[Ged Simpson]

From what you say, when pump runs it will preferentially feed the shed, so if you install a ball float valve to the inlet of the shed tank it will fill this until the ball valve shuts off, then fill the main tank.

 

[stevetheplumber]

if its just the one tap in the shed then a tank wont be necessary the op said they had trouble with the shed freezing