Stumped by well jet pump
#1
06-17-18, 06:44 PM
Stumped by well jet pump
Hi everybody,
Pump runs every 2 minutes with no water usage, here is what I have done.
- shutting off the main to the house, pressure still drops. That takes the house out of the equation.
- drained the pressure tank, made sure pressure is at 28psi (30/50 switch)
- because this happened in the winter I installed a check valve between the pump and the well, that solved the pressure dropping, but when it called for water it obviously brought a lot of air with it and the pump sometimes lost prime (very annoying)
- Dug up well and replaced foot valve (old one looked fine, just missing the screen)
- replaced the barbed 90 degree elbow (old one looked ok, just quite rusty)
and I'm still having problems. I did not replace the pipe from the elbow to the foot valve. I looked at it quickly and it seemed ok. I figure nothing could happen to a straight piece of abs pipe anyway. I should mention that there is a 1/2" - 3/4" secondary pipe that runs through the wall and into the well. I have no idea what its for. it's almost looks like a overflow pipe. It runs straight under the 1 1/4" pipe into the well. The part in the house has a 90 degree elbow that is open ended, nothing on it.
Sorry for the long post, does anybody have any ideas? Thanks for you help.
Pump runs every 2 minutes with no water usage, here is what I have done.
- shutting off the main to the house, pressure still drops. That takes the house out of the equation.
- drained the pressure tank, made sure pressure is at 28psi (30/50 switch)
- because this happened in the winter I installed a check valve between the pump and the well, that solved the pressure dropping, but when it called for water it obviously brought a lot of air with it and the pump sometimes lost prime (very annoying)
- Dug up well and replaced foot valve (old one looked fine, just missing the screen)
- replaced the barbed 90 degree elbow (old one looked ok, just quite rusty)
and I'm still having problems. I did not replace the pipe from the elbow to the foot valve. I looked at it quickly and it seemed ok. I figure nothing could happen to a straight piece of abs pipe anyway. I should mention that there is a 1/2" - 3/4" secondary pipe that runs through the wall and into the well. I have no idea what its for. it's almost looks like a overflow pipe. It runs straight under the 1 1/4" pipe into the well. The part in the house has a 90 degree elbow that is open ended, nothing on it.
Sorry for the long post, does anybody have any ideas? Thanks for you help.
#2
06-18-18, 04:54 AM
Group Moderator
It sounds like a leak if you are loosing pressure. It is possible for the pipe down in the well to develop a leak.
Does your pump have one or two pipes going to the well? I assume it's two since you say there are two pipes at the well.
Does your pump have one or two pipes going to the well? I assume it's two since you say there are two pipes at the well.
#3
06-18-18, 02:40 PM
No, there is just one. That second pipe is a smaller one, and it just comes through the wall of the well. That's it, it just sticks out maybe 6 inches, like I said, i am not sure what that second one is for.
I suppose I could change the pipe in the well, couldn't hurt.
I suppose I could change the pipe in the well, couldn't hurt.
#4
06-22-18, 08:41 AM
Member
FWIW, I had a similar problem with my shallow well about 12 years ago. The pump kept coming on even with the main outlet valve to the house turned off, and the pressure would drop. To make a long story short, it turned out to be the 1 1/4" plastic pipe from the well to the house that was leaking. Over the years several rocks has punctured the pipe and it was leaking. I had to have my front lawn dug up and the pipe replaced. What the plumber did (he was a friend of mine) was to enclose the new 1 1/4" pipe in a larger corrugated plastic pipe. The corrugated pipe acts as a "shield" to protect the actual water pipe. Hopefully, I won't have that problem again.
In your case, let's hope it's just the vertical pipe inside the well, as that's relatively easy to replace and doesn't require any digging.
In your case, let's hope it's just the vertical pipe inside the well, as that's relatively easy to replace and doesn't require any digging.
#5
07-10-18, 02:20 AM
So just a follow up. It was the pipe that leads from the pump to the well. Same problem as Bob14525. Lucky for me that second pipe, from what I assume, was from a previous 2 line jet pump. So I just threw on a couple of reducers in the well and at the pump and used that line. Good to go!
