My wife and I are trying to get to the bottom of a high electric bill. One of the things my wife heard was that if the well pump is not properly primed it can dramatically increase an electric bill. How can I tell if the pump is properly primed? It is an in-ground, submersible pump. The pump head says Martinson LP6. I live in the Rockies so I surmise I have a deep well , but have no idea how deep. Once in a while when we run water in more than three places in the house at once or if I run something for a half hour or more (water garden), I can bottom out the water supply and pump shuts itself off. I reset in the house by resetting the breaker. I also have a concern about the pressure tank. It is about 5 feet tall and two across. About as big as my hot water heater. It seems like a bladderless tank, is/was this common. A plumber said it was an old tank. The water intake is low on the tank and the air valve is embedded in the pipe coming from the pump on the pump side of the pressure switch housing. The air valve has leaked occasionally but I think it seals itself with water impurities. I do get water through that valve though. When the pump has shut itself off and I reset it, I can hear the water rushing in the pipe until it reaches the tank. Any insight is appreciated. Especially in the area of lowering my electric bill......I know water and elctricity don't mix very well, but....... Thanks, pommie

I am new to forum and I am totally inexperienced with wells. Last week my pump would not shut off. I called a plumber and he changed the pressure valve switch. he said the pump was still struggling to reach pressure and lowered psi it turned off at. He suggested I call a well company because he thought my point might be going bad. He said they might be able to reabilitate it without me drilling a new well. I called a company and they said I needed a new well without even looking at it. They wanted 100$ just to come out to my house.They also quoted me a price of 5000$ for a new well. The point was installed in 1993 by the previous homeowners and I replaced the pump in 2001.I really don't want to dig a new well at this time because the town is putting water in my area this spring. I still have water but I would like to try to hold off losing it for as long as possible. Is there anything I can do to prolong the life of my point? Someone suggested having my pipes clened of sediments. Is this practical? Thanks for any suggestions