Last week we suddenly had no water in the house. We have a well. Called the plumber who found the capacitor had blown. He found a used one in the shop put it on and there was water! That was Wednesday.

Have had water ever since. Was told that because the capacitor was bad the pump is likely bad too....and I should replace capacitor, pump and cable. When I asked for pricing I was told we might want to think about a new pressure tank too.

Starting to feel like I am being over sold....but I know nothing about this. System is likely around 16 years old. Anyone have any insights or recommendations?

 

Pump could be going but replacing the capacitor on a water pump is not unheard of.
A pump cycles quite frequently and can wear the staring components.

Is this a submersible pump?
If so there will be an electrical box on the wall where the capacitor is located.
If the capacitor went it would be a good idea to replace the relay and second capacitor if there is one.

If you locate the relay box you can either post a clear picture of the tag with the specs and model number or just post the numbers.
Might be able to tell you what you have.

 

It sounds like you have a three wire submersible pump with a control box. At 16 years any parts of your system may be near there end so the advice you received might not be bad. But, you have several parts to your system and all probably do not need to be replaced. If you replace the pump now you might be faced with replacing the pressure tank or switch tomorrow or in several years.

The bulk of the price will be for the well pump since it's way down a hole in the ground. So, everything else is relatively in comparison money wise. But first I would be suspicious that your service person installed an old, used capacitor. That is one electronic component that doesn't live forever. Because your original capacitor died may or may not indicate a motor/pump problem without doing a little further testing.

Often your gut can lead you in the right direction. A reputable person probably would explain each part of your system and what it does. While they all don't go bad at the same time if the expensive part (the pump down in the well) goes then it might be prudent to replace the other parts of the system that are near death. A shady character might just come in and say replace everything. The end result might be the same but the reputable person's advice could be wise and I would trust them to do better work. I have seen people charged for a new well pump when it actually was not replaced. It might not be a bad idea to get a second opinion. It also does not hurt to become educated about your system and be present when the work is performed so you can be assured you are getting what you are being charged.

 

Thank you GregH....appreciate your insight!

 

Thank you Pilot Dane. This is a submersible pump and they did replace the entire capacitor box with a used one. I thought it was meant to be a band-aid for a day or so, and I know there is no guarantee it will last, but since the pump has not kicked it out and it has been 4 days, I am not sure the pump is what blew the capacitor. Initially they told me that a malfunctioning pump likely caused the capacitor to blow, which is why they recommended the pump and cable be replaced also.

 

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Hiring someone to do all the work you listed will be expensive enough that it would be smart to actually do some test to confirm if the pump motor is dying. Baring that replacing the capacitor in the start box with a NEW one would be my next try since that would be relatively inexpensive.

And again following what GregH said... capacitors are a component that have a limited life span. Even though they have no moving parts they do go bad. Capacitors can be checked with the proper meter to confirm if they are good or bad.

 

If the motor capacitor blows, that does not necessarily mean the pump needs replacing.

It is not possible to tell whether the pressure tank needs replacing just by looking at it (unless it is leaking). There is a battery of tests that can be performed to determine whehter the pressure tank needs replacing or whether it just needs some adjustments.

How often does your pump start? After everything has been sitting still for at least 15 minutes, how much water can you draw before the pump starts? How large is the pressure tank (in gallons)?

It would be quite unusual to get an expert to drive out to your house and talk things over with you without your having to pay him.