Will a shallow jet pump work for this?

[Yankeesouth]

Okay.... When replying just think of a yellow book titled "Well Instruction for Dummies" because I know very little about wells.

I found a well head, or maybe cistern, on my property about 15 feet from the cabin.  It is about 8" in diameter with a cap containing two 1 inch-ish hole. The pipe appears to be cast iron.  I ran a line to measure the water depth and I hit water at about 17 feet.  I do not know how deep it goes.  My question is: Would a shallow well jet pump with a 10-15 gal pressure tank work for supplying the cabin with water?  Would a ½ horsepower pump be able to lift the water and maintain pressure? I see a lot of these pumps saying  (max 25ft head ot lift) If so this will eliminate all my questions about holding tanks and freezing lines.   If anyone has a pic or diagram of how this would look that would help.  Remember other than what I read on the internet, which must be true, I know nothing about wells or and very little about how a pressure tank works. 

Going to camp this weekend so I may have pics come Monday.

[Alan Gage]

I don't know much about wells either but with water at only 17 feet down I'd certainly have it tested before I went much farther.

Alan

[MountainDon]

I don't know much about wells either, but when I was looking at hand pumps I discovered that shallow well pumps were limited to raising water to something like 22 feet. That is at sea level. As altitude increases the depth of the pumps capacity decreases. Going by my sometimes faulty memory I believe it was maybe a foot loss per thousand feet of elevation. I would think that limitation applies to powered shallow well pumps as well as hand pumps. But I don't know for sure.... just a question to be asked.

[Yankeesouth]

one more thing.....the well pump is a pump/pressure tank combo.

[glenn kangiser]

A shallow well jet pump appears to work to 25 feet.  Some have a added eductor for deeper pumping  but it won't fit down a 2 inch pipe.
Depends also on the capacity of what I assume is a well point well if only two inch.  Could be good though.

Could that be a lost pipe in an 8 inch well?  Cast iron is not normally used as well casing or even for pumping through.  Indications of a hand pump or wind mill base there?

You can take a mirror and angle it to direct sunlight down the well hole for a better view if you can't see down in it.    Flashlights cannot compare with sunlight directed down hole with a mirror.

[considerations]

Maybe its black gold, Texas tea.....water would float on top of it.