Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem

   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #21  
I agree with the recommendations to replace the pump as it doesn't owe you anything after these years of service.

Things are a wee bit different where I'm at but, I would recommend that, if you can, you go to a store/shop that specialises in pumps... around here, that would be an irrigation and/or pool supply place. I say this because the advances in water pumps has advanced over the years/decades since your last pump was installed.

My household water pump carked it last February (after 20 years!) and I was all set to simply replace it with a similar model, one with a reservoir. Well, times have changed and after answering their questions about my house (two storey/ two bathrooms/ two toilets/ laundry/ etc...), for A$600 I bought a modern non-'bladder' pump from a reputable company (an "Orange", made in Australia) that is out-performing what I had; or would have bought if I were just going to replace it with what was there before.

Shop around. BUT shop around in the right shops is what I'm advising.
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #22  
Good advise..!!! THATS what "I" would have done, just replace it w/ the 1 that came out.. The old man "said" "this one is better" but I cant tell any difference.. It still shuts off at 30-32psi..
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #23  
Good advise..!!! THATS what "I" would have done, just replace it w/ the 1 that came out.. The old man "said" "this one is better" but I cant tell any difference.. It still shuts off at 30-32psi..

Yep, and I wouldn't have known to question replacing the old pump with something the same or similar if I hadn't have asked for advice from a couple of farmer friends of mine. (Much like what the 'couple of lady farmers' are doing here on TBN)

I mentioned that the old pump was a "Davey" (Aussie brand), but that I might go with an "Onga" (another Aussie brand that was locally available)... Well, my mate said,"Davey was a great pump 'back in the day' but the bloke who built them had sold his company years ago and that "Davey" just builds the same old pumps as they used to. The same bloke then started a new pump company called "Onga" and, after building that company up with quality pumps, sold that company on. A few years after that (and with the "Onga" brand beginning to falter) he started up this new pump company called "Orange"! That's the pump that you need to buy." I had to go all the way into Launceston to a specific irrigation/pool shop, but they were very knowledgeable and sold me the right pump for the job.

My pressure is spot-on for the house now. No water-hammer. I couldn't be more pleased.

I did get a local plumber in to set it all up. Not because I couldn't do it myself but I reckoned that he had all of the right tools to hand whereas I'd probably have to go into town at least twice to get pipe connections/stuff. (which I did for a side job that I asked him to do, seeing as he was here :)) The plumber was done in a fraction of the time it would've taken me.
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #24  
I just replaced my well pump this weekend. Everything was fine then no water. 8 years ago I called in a professional and they replaced the control box and pump for $1800. I watched them and realized it is not rocket science and if I ever had a well problem again I was going to fix it myself. If you are tripping breakers, your pump may be bad. Failing pumps draw more current than they should. I started with the pressure switch which controls when the pump turns on and off. $12, but no dice. Then I replaced the control box which provides starting current and running current to the pump for $65. That did not solve it, so I pulled the pump which is 205 feet down. It was all rusty and corroded, so I replaced it at $310. Still no water. So I pulled the pump again and checked the wire. 240 volts at top, 0 at bottom. So I replaced the wire for $200. Now I have a brand new system for 1/3 the cost of hiring a professional! Lesson learned - test the wire before replacing the pump!

Continuity.
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #25  
Do not rule out a weak breaker that trips too easily. Bad connections at a breaker can cause excessive heat to develop and the breaker will react to that by opening up. Use a volt meter at your pump switch (on both sides of the switch) to check if you have proper voltages to the pump when it is running. Do not throw money at a pump if it is not the issue as a new pump may well act the same way if the power supply is the problem.
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #26  
I have 6 wells and way too much experience with replacing pumps.

A pump requires no maintenance, there isn't really any that can be performed. Some of the above points about waterlogged tanks and leaks are good.

Your pump appears to be inexpensive (cheap), the electric motor in it is wearing out. You got your money's worth from it, it's probably time to replace it. While I cannot see for sure, it also looks like there are 2 hoses on it making me think it's plumbed as a deep well jet pump. Take a flashlight and a weighted string out to your well. See if you can see the end of the pipe(s) and the foot valve. Drop the weighted end of the string to the foot valve, measure the distance, then drop it to the bottom of the well, measure again. If it's more than 14 feet to the foot valve you have a convertible jet pump (deep well.) A shallow well pump can only lift water 14 feet. If it's a long way to the bottom of the well, then it's almost certainly a deep well (why dig 40 feet for a 14 foot pipe?)

It isn't rocket science to replace a pump, but the first one I did required some guts and a few trips to the hardware store for more 79 cent parts. Watch a few youtube videos to see what's involved. I would also suggest upgrading to a better quality pump, you should get many years of service from it.
Replacing the pump isn't all that difficult if you pay close attention to how you remove the old one, the new one should go in the same way. After all, you do call yourselves farmers. Breaking the old piping loose after 10 years is the hardest part, after you remove the corroded clamps a hair drier will expand and soften the pipe enough to pull it off without breaking (much). You have plastic pipe which is easy to work with. If you are afraid of the job, perhaps you have a handyman. If not prepare to pay a plumber a kings' ransom.

I think your numbers are off about 10'. FloTec FP4012-10 Flotec FP4012 - 8 GPM 1/2 HP Thermoplastic Shallow Well Jet Pump 115V/230V
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #27  
Pumps really are pretty simple and have not changed much over the years. What has changed are the controls. You have a very simple pump and fancy controls really are not needed in this case IMHO. As others have said, by the looks of the pump it has done it's job and served you well. Without any ability for me to troubleshoot the system, I would probably replace the pump and switch at the same time. The switch is cheap and that well pump should be rather easy to replace and inexpensive as well. Good luck and please let us know more and what the outcome is.
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #28  
Back in the 1970's a brownout killed our submersible. We called a plumber and he was good and explained what he was doing every step of the way as he pulled the pump, worked on the pressure switch and resoldered some wires. When it died a few years later I pulled it and swapped in a new submersible from Sears. When we came north I installed a shallow well pump in the house. It was a pain to prime, but it worked well. My mother and her husband needed a new pump and tank - jet pump and I swapped out the old one with a new one from the local hardware store. The peace of mind that comes with replacing old stuff rather than troubleshoot it is worth it. Fixing often takes as much time as replacing. Then you know you are good for another 20-30 years!
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #29  
Breaker is ONLY serving the pump? Breakers weaken if they've done a lot of tripping; you then end up with a breaker that's tripping at lower amperage. This is an issue that needs to be address first! (electrical feed/circuit)

If I had to make a fairly blind guess I'd think that the pressure tank is messed up. (it's a bladder type, yes?) Check the air pressure: there should be a Schrader valve toward the top of the tank; there's a general pressure that it should read, but I'm not sure what that is (around the 35 psi mark I believe). This will result in a lot of pump cycling: and a lot of pump cycling might be heating up the circuit enough to cause tripping (indicates there is likely a weak spot- breaker or...)

Bad blades/impellers (if there's a lot of sand/grit being pulled up then this might be the case- one should look to raise the pump up a bit to get it further off the bottom) can cause a pump to struggle to build up enough pressure.

Might be a bad check valve in the line. One should exist between the pump output and the pressure tank (usually placed right on the output side of the pump, attached to the pump).

I rehabbed a well from scratch. Only thing I didn't do is bore the hole. My well is shallow, only 38', and I'm running a 1/2hp 10 gal/min pump (well was assessed at 30 gpm), and the pump (I bought it used) have been working flawlessly for 5 1/2 years now.

If one is running a lot of water then a stop cycle valve might be of help. Pumps that cycle a lot tend to have shorter lives: best to just keep them running for as long as you can/need.
 
   / Help a couple of lady farmers with wellpump problem #30  
^^^^
Pressure wants to be 2PSI lower than the "cut-in" of the pressure switch.
That much I do know, and just copied it out of the manual for my pump.
 

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