No water, where to look?

[jayste]

I've pulled several and it wasn't too bad if you have some help. I've seen the folks that are in the business have a (1 ton) truck mounted crain to assist them and I've heard of the method I've used as well which is a couple of wide shouldered country boys method...well, in my case it's me and another country boy who happens to have wider shoulders! Anyway, it can be done with a 280' well. CurlyDave mentioned not dropping it and that is important but all of the wells around here have a "well rope" tied on to the pump and tied off at the top for just that purpose of not dropping it back in the hole. Poly-something-or-rather or commonly called "ski rope" is used for this. I guess it will last longer than most in these kind of conditions. As far as the 12-4 wire issue all "pump wire" I've used is either 12-3 or 12-4 and all conductors are "sheathed" including the ground. 12-4 being used if your control switch (not to be confused with the pressure switch) is at the pump and not top side with the pressure tank and pressure switch. I've got two wells and they are of each type. One has a top side control switch and the other has the control switch at the pump in the hole. Anyway, just sharing a little experience.
Also, something that comes to mind that is similar to the "original problem" of this thread is with pressure and flow in the house. Occasionally I will have a situation where while taking a shower or running water in general the pressure will slowly decrease to the point where no water flows for a couple of seconds and then comes back on. When this happens I've found the problem to be in the 1/4" nipple underneath the pressure switch. Originally, I replaced the pressure switch thinking that the problem was there but that didn't do anything but replace my old ugly switch with a new shiny one and cost me around $20! I've found that by removing the switch and taking off the nipple and cleaning out the nipple of build-up of minerals (a nice way of saying crap in the nipple) then all is back to normal.
I hope all this rambling helps clear up a few questions that you might have or save you some headache the next well problem you have.

Jay

 

[turnkey4099]

Amen to that 1/4" pipe going to the pressure switch. Mine was so bad I had to drill it out the first time. Now I have a shiny new one to swap in the next time I need to clean it.

No-one seems to have answered the question about a bigger pump. Frankly I am rather surprised that a 3/4 horse would have been installed with static at 104 ft. That is a lot of 'head' to overcome on each start (around 45 psi) just from the water in the pipe to the top to say nothing of any additional rise from the well head.

Yes, you can increase the pump size. No, increasing pump HP will not autmatically increase output rate. You have to look at the pump ratings.

No: Unless you have a big bore well there will be no room for a second pump with all the associated pipe, wiring etc.

On pulling the well - there are wells that have galvanised pipe vice the flex tubing. Those are fun as you need a 'derrick' of some type to pull the pipe up and unscrew it a section at a time. I was surprised to find that my well (new about 15 years ago) was done with galvanised.

Harry K

Harry K

 

[turnkey4099]

Amen to that 1/4" pipe going to the pressure switch. Mine was so bad I had to drill it out the first time. Now I have a shiny new one to swap in the next time I need to clean it.

No-one seems to have answered the question about a bigger pump. Frankly I am rather surprised that a 3/4 horse would have been installed with static at 104 ft. That is a lot of 'head' to overcome on each start (around 45 psi) just from the water in the pipe to the top to say nothing of any additional rise from the well head.

Yes, you can increase the pump size. No, increasing pump HP will not autmatically increase output rate. You have to look at the pump ratings.

No: Unless you have a big bore well there will be no room for a second pump with all the associated pipe, wiring etc.

On pulling the well - there are wells that have galvanised pipe vice the flex tubing. Those are fun as you need a 'derrick' of some type to pull the pipe up and unscrew it a section at a time. I was surprised to find that my well (new about 15 years ago) was done with galvanised.

Harry K

 

[RobertN]

Just some stuff that has happened to me over the last 14 ears of being on a well.

- We have had wires wear thruy in the well. Had to have the pump pulled a couple times for that. When the latest pump was put in, they added another shock abosorber. When the pump turns on, it wiggles a bit. The shock abosorbers keep the wires from rubbing on the rock

- We have pretty yucky water straight from the well. It has clogged the inlet to the pressure switch, and the guauge right next to the pressure switch. The well did not work right; a little cleaning took care of that

- A tiny tree frog got inside our pressure switch. It electrocuted itself across the switch. Well worked, but barely. I made sure the one I installed had all the covers ect installed; the original had one small hole exposed.

- We were having supply issues. We decided to add a 2500gal tank with a booster pump. Works great. However we still needed a wire fixed in the well. When they pulled the pump, they found it was in bad bad shape. A newer, more efficient pump pumped tons mre water; turns out we could have gotten away without the tank. I like having 2500gal of water in reserve though(the well company replace the pump first; it was two weeks before they could come install the tank).

- irrigation does not work well, unless the well is turned on. Your flow when running drip or sprinklers, has to be enough to runn the pump constantly. Or, you need a relay to activate your pump from the irrigation controller. Cycling a pump on/off will wear out the pump. They are fine if they just run and run and run. It is the on/off/on/off... that wears them.

- The pressure tank is suppssed to have air pressure in the bladder when it is drained. If that pressure drops too low, the pressure tank loses efficiency and will cycle the well. Have to check with the pressure tank manufacturer for that pressure. That is why there is a little inflator on them, just like a car or bicycle tire.

- Bigger pump=bigger $$$ to run, and will require bigger wire to handle the extra current=$$$. Then you need a bigger breaker, and on down the line. You mention you have #12 wire going to you well; it must be a really short run. I think we have #6, bercause we have a ~350 run from the panel to the well, and then the pump sits at 425' in a 450' well...

When our well was put in 16 years ago, it was rated at 12gpm. 450' deep.