Red Lion Clean Water
Red Lion well pumps for shallow wells, deep wells and pressure boosting, stocked with the parts to service them.
Not sure which you need? Water within about 25 feet of the surface takes a shallow well jet pump. Deeper than that needs a convertible or a submersible.
Tell us your static water level and the fixtures being served and we will size it with you. Most models and their wear parts are on the shelf, not drop shipped.
For household supply, our guide to choosing a water pump for a house covers sizing.
A Red Lion well pump moves clean water from a well, a cistern or a pressure tank into the house, the barn or the irrigation line.
This range covers the two designs that do that job: jet pumps that sit above ground, and submersibles that hang in the well itself. Pressure tanks and boosting systems hold steady flow once the water is up.
Which Red Lion well pump do I need?
If your water sits within about 25 feet of the surface, a shallow well jet pump is the simpler and cheaper choice. Below that depth a convertible jet pump or a submersible does the work. Submersibles push rather than pull, so they reach wells a jet pump physically cannot.
Jet Pumps and Submersibles Are Not Interchangeable
This is settled by physics rather than preference.
A jet pump sits above ground and pulls water up by suction. Atmospheric pressure caps how far any pump can lift that way, which is why roughly 25 feet is the practical ceiling. A convertible jet pump adds a downhole ejector and stretches that to around 90 feet.
A submersible sits underwater and pushes water up the pipe. There is no suction limit to fight, so depth stops being the constraint.
The trade is access. Servicing a submersible means pulling it from the well. A jet pump can be worked on where it stands.
Shallow Well Jet Pumps
The RL-SWJ series in cast iron is the workhorse, with the RJS-XX-PREM premium series above it. Both are single pipe designs for wells inside that 25 foot window.
The RJS-75SS is the stainless steel version. It costs more than cast iron and earns that back in water with mineral content, where a cast iron body will eventually pit.
Convertible Jet Pumps
A convertible ships able to run either way. Configured shallow it behaves like a single pipe pump. Add the deep well ejector kit and it reaches wells far past that.
If you are replacing a pump and are not certain of the static water level, this is the safer buy.
Submersible Well Pumps
The 4 inch submersibles fit standard well casings and are the default for deep wells. Stainless steel versions resist the corrosion that shortens pump life in aggressive water.
They run quietly because the well muffles them, and they prime themselves by definition.
Pressure Tanks and Boosting Systems
A pump alone cycles every time a tap opens, which wears the motor and the switch. A pressure tank stores water under air pressure so short draws come from the tank instead.
Red Lion pump and tank systems ship matched, which removes the guesswork of pairing a pump to a tank that suits its cut-in and cut-out settings.
The RBSS-75FC boosting system is a different tool. It raises pressure that is already there but too weak. A booster will not solve a supply problem, only a pressure one.
Sizing a Pump Without Guessing
Two numbers decide it: how far the water has to travel upward, and how much you need at once.
Total lift is the vertical distance from the water surface to the highest outlet, plus friction loss along the pipe run. A long horizontal run adds meaningfully to that figure and is the most commonly skipped part of the calculation.
Demand is measured in gallons per minute, and it is calculated for simultaneous use rather than a single tap. Tell us which fixtures are being served and we will work it out with you.
A pump that looks adequate on its rated flow can fall short once real lift is added, because published figures are quoted at low head. Read the curve, not the headline number.
When a Red Lion Pump Is Not the Right Answer
If the water carries sand, silt or solids, a clean water pump is the wrong family. Grit destroys the close tolerances these pumps depend on, and the failure is usually measured in weeks. Debris laden water needs a trash or semi-trash pump, and our wider Red Lion pump range covers those.
If groundwater is entering a basement rather than being drawn from a well, the job is drainage rather than supply. Those installations call for Red Lion sump pumps sized to the basin.
And if the well itself is failing to recover between draws, no pump fixes that. A larger pump on a weak well simply runs dry faster.
Parts and Service
These pumps are serviceable rather than disposable. Seals, impellers, pressure switches and ejector kits are all replaceable, and a pump losing pressure is far more often a worn seal than a dead motor.
We stock replacement parts for the series listed here, so a fifteen year old pump that still runs is worth repairing. Give us the model number stamped on the housing and we will confirm the part.
Order From a Stocking Distributor
Ken's Distributing is a master stocking distributor, so the common models and their wear parts sit on the shelf rather than being drop shipped with a lead time.
If you are unsure whether your well needs a shallow jet, a convertible or a submersible, tell us the static water level and the fixtures being served. Compare the models below and order, or call for help specifying one.