Failing Pump?
#1
09-29-14, 07:46 AM
Failing Pump?
Hi,
Purchased our home about 4 years ago, artesian well, state records show depth of 345ft, recovery 1.5gpm. Had issue earlier this summer, no water. I thought pressure switch was bad, changed switch & pressure gauge, everything worked fine. Couple weeks later the issue repeated, this time happening later in day, turned off power to pump and waited till the morning, everything fired up fine and we had water.
Haven't had any problems for about 2 months till 3 weeks ago. I turned off power to pump and waited about 2 hours, had water again, no issues since.
I dropped a string with a weight on it and hit water at aprox 80' this was the same day the last issue occurred, so I don't think its a dry well.
Can a pump begin to fail and cause an issue like this? Pump was installed in 1999 3/4hp.
Thanks,
Scott
Purchased our home about 4 years ago, artesian well, state records show depth of 345ft, recovery 1.5gpm. Had issue earlier this summer, no water. I thought pressure switch was bad, changed switch & pressure gauge, everything worked fine. Couple weeks later the issue repeated, this time happening later in day, turned off power to pump and waited till the morning, everything fired up fine and we had water.
Haven't had any problems for about 2 months till 3 weeks ago. I turned off power to pump and waited about 2 hours, had water again, no issues since.
I dropped a string with a weight on it and hit water at aprox 80' this was the same day the last issue occurred, so I don't think its a dry well.
Can a pump begin to fail and cause an issue like this? Pump was installed in 1999 3/4hp.
Thanks,
Scott
#2
09-29-14, 08:32 AM
Group Moderator
Is the pump running and you aren't getting any water or you don't even know if the pump is running when you don't get water ?
#4
09-29-14, 10:59 AM
Group Moderator
How many wires go to your pump? Do you have a pump control box or is it directly wired to your pressure switch?
When the pressure switch is closed (pump should be running) I would check at switch contacts and at the well head to confirm you have power. If you have juice at the switch but not at the well head you may have a broken wire. If power is making it to the well head then it is possible the pump is dying or was run dry and it's thermal overload kicked in and needs time to cool.
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I would not call your well artesian. Technically it may be artesian to some extent but generally the term is used when water is naturally forced all the way to the surface. If your well is 345' deep with a static water level of 80' I'd just call it a normal well.
When the pressure switch is closed (pump should be running) I would check at switch contacts and at the well head to confirm you have power. If you have juice at the switch but not at the well head you may have a broken wire. If power is making it to the well head then it is possible the pump is dying or was run dry and it's thermal overload kicked in and needs time to cool.
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I would not call your well artesian. Technically it may be artesian to some extent but generally the term is used when water is naturally forced all the way to the surface. If your well is 345' deep with a static water level of 80' I'd just call it a normal well.
#5
09-29-14, 11:07 AM
It is direct wired, no control box. Pump has been running fine for last 3 weeks, I'll check power readings on everything tonight. All of the times it stopped, it just quit, water was clean the whole time, no air, dirt, mud, or sediment.
#6
09-29-14, 03:53 PM
Might want to "invest" in clamp-on meter. They are cheap now, less than $20 at Harbor Freight. A clamp-on meter can see the number of amps the pump is pulling when it is running. That way you will know first if the pump is running and how well.
#7
09-29-14, 09:15 PM
Checked the wires at the pressure switch with my multimeter, have steady power both going to the the switch and from the switch to the well when switch is turned on. Plan on making a trip to Harbor Freight this weekend for a clamp meter to see what its pulling when running. What numbers should I be looking for when pump is running?
#8
09-30-14, 08:53 AM
Group Moderator
Do you know the manufacturer of your pump? If so look them up and see if they have the info available. With that you could check the resistance of the motor's windings in addition to it's running current. If you don't know who's pump you've got you can search the web for some approximate numbers. Still, if you've eliminated everything else as a possible cause and everything is pointing to a bad pump purchasing a clamp on meter is just additional time and expense. It would help confirm if it's the pump pulling to much current or a dry well though.
