Pressure washer ran well dry, washing tractor

[k0ua]

Well I guess I ran the well dry, running the pressure washer for over an hour, had no water pressure, Tested the pump with resistance tests, and the start and run capacitors tested ok. the relay kicked. but hardly any water would pump. Called the "well man" said he would be over in the morning to pull the pump, said likely a stripped impeller in the pump. So I went out and changed the oil and hydro/HST filters in the tractor (50 hour service). Came back in and flipped the power back on to the pump and it pumped right up to 65 lbs and kicked off. We now have water. cycled it a couple of times still have water.
Called the pump guy back, and he asks. "were you using a lot of water before?" Then I told him about the pressure washer, and he says "there is your problem!, happens every fathers day, when the guys get pressure washers, and run their wells dry." Has anyone else run into this problem? I have run it for quite a while before, of course we have had almost 2 months of dry weather, just got some rain last week. tho. I dunno.. cant find anything wrong now, but am really worried about this "weak" well. Tell me of your experience.
James K0UA

 

[Willl]

Not the pressure washers fault, you were just using more then the well could supply.

Same thing could of happened watering your yard.

 

[k0ua]

Yeah, I guess the dry weather did not help, We have lived here for 8 years, and never had this problem before, but "I guess you don't miss the water until the well runs dry!"

 

[clemsonfor]

Pressure washers dont use that much water, you would use more with a spray nozel on the hose. But yes it has been really dry in a lot of places including my house, and yes a lot of constant water usage will run it dry or a lot of clothes washing at once can do it till it seeps back into the well.

I am glad that i am on city water for this reason, ours cost only several dollars/thousand and we get our water out of the lake so there is plenty even in the worst droughts. I have a well but have not hooked up the old well (its on a different meter) to see if it works but the plan is to use it to water the lawn in the summer once i hook it up and it works, that and water the garden, wash trucks boats and tractors.

 

[jinman]

I love what my well driller said to me when I asked him how much water I could pump out of my well. He said, " How much electricity can you afford?" My well is 386' deep and my pump sits around 360'. In the hot summertime, I've watered my garden and large yard for 6-8 hours at a time with no degradation of the well water. The aquifer here is very good and covers a huge area. It's easy to take water for granted; I feel lucky to have it.

Perhaps your solution might be a large/larger storage tank to give you more of a reserve during high demand hours.

 

[flyingcow]

Obviously wells are not created equal. I have a 4 gal a minute pressure washer, no problems. But I've also water the garden for hours on end, and the household users didn't slow down, and never had any problems. Partially filled my 30,000 gal pool etc. But i have a well thats 220ft deep and the water level in casing is not far down.

I will ask, how big is your tractor that you pressure washed for an hour?

 

[k0ua]

I will ask, how big is your tractor that you pressure washed for an hour

Well the tractor is not really all that big,(L3400) but the caked and dried on mud was. Picture caked and dried Clay mud, with gravel imbedded in it. It still is not all off of the wheels . Pressure washer is 2700 psi, and was working well, This was some really good mud. (soil/clay/fill dirt was trucked in) Even the bucket was horrible to get the mud off and out of it. Well seems to be working ok today, The usual showers/laundry etc, and no problems so far. I will pray for more rain. Drought is broken, but could use more rain. Funny thing is if you go 30 miles north or south, no problem they have had lots of rain, it just keeps missing us until the last couple of weeks and that wet up my fill. ( hey I never got stuck tho, with R4's but came pretty close a couple of times) Tnx for suggestions/comments
James K0UA

 

[MarkV]

Sounds like you will be OK. There is a lesson to be learned by the experience. Your well isn't strong enough for drought times so you need to conserve where possible. We have a well at our weekend home that is 400+ feet and only gives 3 gallons per minute. That works for most of the time. Georgia went through a long drought and a running toilet one ran us dry. We try to be more careful now.

With just 2 months of dry weather and an hour with a pressure washer it sounds like you could be on the edge if you ever get a long drought. Might still be worth getting the well guy out to look things over.

MarkV

 

[Egon]

It would appear that the down hole pump is oversized!

 

[BotaBigot]

You exceeded well "draw down." When driller hits aquifer, pumps water out and determines how quickly refills...that's your flow rate in GPM. Flow rate determines how much farther hole is drilled to provide reservoir. If water is pumped out faster than flow rate and level in drilled reservoir "draws down" below pump...no water. Since pumps usually require water for cooling, running it dry can cause damage.

Sometimes, aquifer conditions can change, lowering flow rate and/or height of standing column of water in reservoir. Depending on how close pump is to bottom of drilled hole, may be possible to lengthen pipe and lower pump in column of water, increasing draw down. Won't restore flow rate, but can increase safety margin for normal use.

Pressure washers can be water hogs, depending on GPM and how long used continuously. Saw 3600GPM washer run water storage tank dry and suck garden hose flat...