Peter_in_Hungary

Hi Crashcage
Don't get confused between the price for the sewage connection which should be defined and fixed and the cost of any other ancillary works needed to make that connection which will usually be extra. E.g. laying pipe work to connect existing sewage pipe to mains pipe. Sometimes trades people have a different price for natives and foreigners. I always avoid these types of bushiness. It is best to get several quotes for any work.

If the whole village is being connected then often an all-in price is negotiated as part of the fit up but this should be the same for all houses, ask at the mayors office.

Once connected don't forget water in = sewage out. So you are charged for sewage on any water used in the garden so a well can be useful for external use or otherwise you can request a 'garden tap' which will have a separate meter and is not charged for sewage. You would have to do the costings about the payback time etc. to see if/when it will be worth the expense.

Rural Hungary

I think the agent meant the sewage connection as the OP says the owner has already paid it all bar one payment. Sounds like a bit of fluff on the agents part.

fidobsa

In my case I was treated differently to a Hungarian but the overall cost of my contribution was the same. Locals were allowed to spread the cost over (I think) 4 years and pay it monthly. They were expecting me to pay the whole lot in a lump sum but my neighbour thought that was unfair so she negotiated a deal on my behalf. I could pay it over the extended period but had to make yearly instead of monthly payments. They allowed this on the understanding that the contract remained in the neighbours name (she is also the previous owner of my house) and I would, in effect, pay her bills. This has actually changed again, since she now has a new partner and has bought another house in the street. They would not allow her to pay up the sewage contribution monthly because of the existing contract on my house. She therefore asked me to pay up the final 2 years in a lump sum, which I did.

Pollypaprika

Hello again,

Apart from the helpful posts here already...does anyone else have any good guidance re pumps for wells? I.e. best place to buy, any problems etc

Many thanks

Peter_in_Hungary

Hi
First I would say do not use the cheap vibrating diaphragm pumps, they are fine for water butts or cisterns but the vibrations are transmitted to the water and from there to the ground and can collapse delicate waterways in a well.

After that you can't suck water up for more than 9m and about 6m is generally a practical limit. deeper than about 6m (from the water surface in the well) you will need a submersible pump. (you can put a surface pump down a well on a shelf (hung on a chain?) if you want to avoid a submersible pump but provision will need to be made for priming)

Then what do you want - just water out of the well controlled by switching on/of the pump or do you want a 'mains tap' like experience where you turn the tap /hosepipe on or off or the loo cistern is full then the pump stops automatically. For the former, just a pump, for the latter you will need a pressure vessel and pressure switch as well as the pump.

For pump types - my experience is Grundfos for the bore hole type submersible pump, I have 2, one in each bore hole, working daily (no mains water here!!) for 17 and 10 years respectively. For dug wells there is a different type of submersible pump that usually has a float switch built in to prevent dry running. Submersible pumps are generally more expensive than surface pumps. For surface pumps I use Pentax PM series pumps and have no complaints although the surface pumps don't last as long as the submersibles in my experience (but about 1/3 the price).

For the quick fix (and IMO not continuous use) you can get a water pump/pressure vessel combinations for about 25K -30k HUF at most DIY sheds or larger garden centers /agricultural shops. Get one of these, on the input side put 3/4" hard plastic water pipe with a non return valve and filter on the end in the well and connect what ever on to the output side, prime the system - switch on - and enjoy.

The DIY sheds or larger garden centers will sometimes have cheaper submersible pumps with float switches that don't need priming

Please remember dry running is the death of most water pumps.

For commercial quality pumps look at http://szivattyuwebaruhaz.hu for occasional use pumps then DIY sheds or larger garden centers.

Pollypaprika

Thank you so much Peter in Hungary!! That is great information,will let you know how we get on

richardmc

Yes thank you Peter I was just thinking of buying this year

gcroft

Apologies if this was known to everybody but me:
Prompted by Peter's comments on having a garden tap and the forecast of no significant rain for ages, I went this afternoon to our local water office to enquire about getting one.
It turns out to be quite expensive compared to the total cost of water but they have given me a new contract which takes 10% off all water costs between the beginning of May and the end of September.
That seemed quite a good offer to me.

Rural Hungary

Do you mean a mains garden tap?

gcroft

That is what I went for with a separate meter.
But 10% off mains metered costs instead.

Rural Hungary

Ah, a separate meter - now I understand why it might be expensive, I was thinking it was just a feed from the mains

Peter_in_Hungary

So you went for a garden tap with a separate meter and they offered you a 10% reduction on your metered usage, sewage charges included in the 10% off as well I presume!
Is the metered tap still an available option? If so time to do some estimates and sums. Whilst we have a big veggie plot I know that in the summer the kitchen garden uses more that the house does by quite a bit so for us a 10% reduction would not make up for the additional cost of paying for sewage on the garden watering. (that is if we paid for either by meter in the first place)