Well Mystery Explained

[SPIKER]

New one to me on the CLOG never seen it... One that hit one of my old companies was the day shift Electrical Maintenance crew decided the Main Pump went bad. They were on phone calling well company (1000 bucks to pull the pump) We pumped well over 4 million gallon a month there with a 3 phase 50hp submersible pump set at an astounding 65 feet.! It ran off 480 3phase inverter with soft ramp up and a air over water bladder tank that was 20 some feet high and probably 14' across. That thing would push gravel size of marbles thru the lines Anyhow they all yelling no water plant gonna have to have NEW pump put in (note it was only 4 months old pump as they said it went bad on same shift while prior.) Now me and my other 8hr 2nd shift electrician went to looking. Pulled voltage readings under the VFD and they were all over. Something not right for sure, maybe bad VFD so more looking on top side of BIG VFD Voltage all over... Ok lets head backwards. the issue ended up being a Bus Bar (Plug in Fused Disconnect) 200+ feet away. It had BURNT off the buss bar contact points, luckly we could move it backwards one point install a new one and back up and running... We had to CAN a un-used disconnect from different part of the plant but the wiring all worked out and had it back running in 2 or so hours. The other guys could have had a real reaming but we (other 8hr electrician and I) covered for them & said it was really hard to find... :/
Mark

 

[hawkeye08]

It doesn't help when there are dishonest drillers and pump service guys running around over charging and cobbling things up.

 

[creekbend]

Thanks for posting.

 

[daveshoot]

In my case, the pump quit pumping over the Christmas holiday with the whole in-law thing going on here at the house. Got the voltmeter out, power good, nothing frozen, wtf?

I called a local service guy on a Saturday, and the first thing he suggested was the contactors on the relay (not a VFD). He didn't want to drive out here on Christmas Eve, and I don't blame him, but a whole house water outage couldn't be caused by something that simple. I was having trouble buying that BS, partly due to the timing, and associated wifely hysteria.

Well, it was... piece of grass had grown up into the relay housing, and darn if it wasn't stuck between the mechanical relay contacts. The guy wouldn't take a dime for his time, just happy he had diagnosed it correctly and didn't have to drive up in the hills. Said 90% of his calls were similar. Wished me a merry and hung up.

Me = :banghead:

He will be the first guy I call if I ever have a real problem. I overthunk it and simple experience won the day.

My pump story.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Yep, one time I had a bunch of earwigs crawl up into the pressure switch and foul the contacts. Learned to plug the holes after that. I only have to call the service guy if it's something down in the hole. I'm not equipped to handle that.

 

[PhysAssist]

I never had the burning desire to see how everything works, but have learned a lot through life, out of necessity. Luckily, I wa a tomboy and followed my dad around when I was a kid, and he was a master mechanic. Gave me a foundation to build on. Wish I had learned more from him, though.

Ditto what the nice farm lady said, well, except the tomboy part, but given my name (Thomas) and the fact that I was then a boy, I guess you'all can overlook that too.

My da had been: a licensed electrician, stockcar driver/mechanic, part-time mold maker/machinist, a miner, and chief cook and bottle washer (he also tells of washing spitoons as punishment) for his mom's tavern from age 7, when he left his blacksmith apprenticeship because his da died suddenly, and I wish I had paid more attention to all the things he had me "help him" wit while I was growing up.

I did learn some skills and philosophy about troubleshooting and problem solving from him, which has helped to no end even in my medical career.

To make this fit the well mystery subject of this thread, those "well technicians" that "helped" the OP so much should be the ones to eat the new pump cost, given that they never apparently proved it was faulty and the cause of symptom in the first place.

When we started to have some flow problems a few years ago, after only 15 years in our house (the pump and well were maybe 20 years old at most), our well specialist tested the pump and as the OP suggested, the bearings were pretty gritty, and it made the grinding noise I could hear in the well casing.

We bought the pump he suggested, and kept the old one (I thought maybe I could use it for a pond fountain, if I re-lubed and decalcified the bearings), and hopefully this one will outlive it's 25 year warranty, and I will not have to replace it again (not 'cause I'll be ded, but hopefully will have moved somewhere warmer and sunnier).

Anyway, I'm glad the OP has good water, and think what it woulda cost ya if you did have a dry well......

A thought occurred to me as I read about the cow doodyish stuff, etc, that came from the source of your drinking (i.e., life-sustaining) daily water source: Do you disinfect your well on any regular basis with chlorine or the like, if not, consider doing so, it's relatively easy and cuts down on the rust and sulfur creating bacteria that can develop. Not to mention the toxic or infection-causing kinds...

A search here or on google will give some go easy to perform protocols for shocking wells and/or springs. (You might try looking for a North Carolina Cooperative Extension page titled "Protecting Water Supply Springs").

...and a big thanks to the Farm Lady (gurl) for reminding me of how much and how hard my dad tried to beat knowledge into my head, and how much the little he got in there has helped me over my whole life.

Thomas

 

[TheGoose]

I had one awhile back where the water level had dropped to about even with the pump intake. I couldn't figure it out at first, it would pump a little and then quit...pump a little and quit. Never seen anything like it. When I pulled the pump (set at 120', plenty deep for our area) I found nothing wrong with the pump. I then went to check the water level, which I expected to be about 80', and my 100' tape never made splashdown. I then went in with a longer string and discovered the water level trouble. We were in a bad drought that year and in that particular location the water levels dropped more than most.

It wasn't something I was used to seeing so it was easy to not have a good idea on what was happening.

By the 2nd or 3rd one I knew immediately what the problem was.

You should have had the well guys blow the well with an air compressor to clear it of any debris. That same debris is probably still lodged in the pump intake screen and it will continue to clog.

As for the poster with the bad wires a simple ohmmeter check (with either a megger or analog Simpson) would have showed the status of the bare wires.

 

[troutsqueezer]

To make this fit the well mystery subject of this thread, those "well technicians" that "helped" the OP so much should be the ones to eat the new pump cost, given that they never apparently proved it was faulty and the cause of symptom in the first place.
Thomas

I should have mentioned that after we pulled the bad pump from the well, we separated the pump from the motor. The motor spun freely just using your fingers. The pump however, would not turn at all using fingers, had to use a big screwdriver and even then it was tough. I was surprised the motor would turn the pump at all. Clear evidence of the problem right there, and the technicians ignored it, even after I pointed it out. As I stated, they seemed to be panicking because they couldn't come up with an explanation of why the motor was running but there was nothing coming up.

As for shocking the well, I look at it this way. Manganese typically can be found in wells and poses little, if any, health risk. The well is deep enough so that Giardia and other harmful organisms are less of a danger as well. Lastly, I've been drinking water from this well since 1978 and it ain't killed me yet.

 

[troutsqueezer]

You should have had the well guys blow the well with an air compressor to clear it of any debris. That same debris is probably still lodged in the pump intake screen and it will continue to clog.

Fortunately, the sludge came from the poly pipe which is situated after the pump intake. There is also a check valve at the output end of the pump, so none would have slid back into the pump itself.

 

[downsizingnow48]

In my case, the pump quit pumping over the Christmas holiday with the whole in-law thing going on here at the house. Got the voltmeter out, power good, nothing frozen, wtf?

I called a local service guy on a Saturday, and the first thing he suggested was the contactors on the relay (not a VFD). He didn't want to drive out here on Christmas Eve, and I don't blame him, but a whole house water outage couldn't be caused by something that simple. I was having trouble buying that BS, partly due to the timing, and associated wifely hysteria.

Well, it was... piece of grass had grown up into the relay housing, and darn if it wasn't stuck between the mechanical relay contacts. The guy wouldn't take a dime for his time, just happy he had diagnosed it correctly and didn't have to drive up in the hills. Said 90% of his calls were similar. Wished me a merry and hung up.

Me = :banghead:

He will be the first guy I call if I ever have a real problem. I overthunk it and simple experience won the day.

My pump story.

Our 28 year old well pump motor quit on Thanksgiving with in-laws. Had to bail out to a motel. This is a useful thread on the things that might go wrong other than the well pump motor.