Hello all,

I'm a complete newbie to all this, so forgive me with pestering all of you with a bunch of questions. I've been browsing this forum for a while & I've still got a bunch of questions. First some background info:

I live in Andover, MN and my soil is extremely sandy. I'm looking to sink a shallow-well for my irrigation system. Running around through my 7 sprinkler zone, I've added up my sprinkler heads and they show total gpm of roughly 10.5 psi-15.5 psi. The water table is fairly high on my land (matter of fact, you go back 50 ft from my house, it drops off into a protected wetland/prarie grass area). When I built my deck, I found water at about 40 in. My house is built on a hill and I'd be looking to sink a well from behind my garage (roughly 4-6 ft higher than my backyard) - so I'd be expecting to hit water around 8-12 feet.

Okay, now onto the questions:
1) Pump recommendations: Manufactures to look at? Manufacturers to avoid? What size (hp) would you recommend?
2) Well points: What diameter? Again, any specific mfr. to look at/avoid?
3) Do I need a tank? Most diagrams I've seen doesn't have them?
4) Would I need a pressure switch? How does the pump turn itself on/off?
5) On pumps that are switchable between 115/230, is there a difference to their performance depending upon what voltage you wire them at?
6) Can I drive the well-point with a drive-cap and a sledge-hammer -- or do I really need to purchase/rent one of those 'driving tools' (you know: the can with handles on it <- yes, I don't know the name of the tool, go ahead, laugh away at me).
7) Being that I'm in Minnesota, what do I need to know about draining/winterizing this setup? Should I plan on removing the pump/storing inside in the winter?
8) Is there anything else you feel I show know, or anything else you could recommend (resources, personal knowledge, etc)?

Thanks to all!
Chris Mattson