No pressure, pump runs constantly

[vic214]

Hi all. The other day, I went to make a pot of coffee and I didn't have hardly any pressure. I went down to my outbuilding and the pump was running constantly and the motor was hot. I checked my well (hand dug 22 ft. deep) and seen that it was low. The water level was right at a joint so I thought maybe I had a leak there so I shut off the pump and waited a few days for it to rain. The well is now up to normal but I can't get more than 20 lbs. of pressure. It's set at 30/50 so of course it won't shut off. I had a leak but I fixed that. It just runs and runs with no more than 20 lbs of pressure. Any ideas? Thanks!

Jim

[Gary Slusser]

Running the pump with no water may have damaged the impeller. Or there is something blocking the pump inlet at the foot valve or the jet/eductor in the pump. Or you still have a air leak in the suction pipe.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

[speedbump]

Does it pump any water at all or does it just run and does nothing?


bob...

[vic214]

Yes, it pumps water but not more than 20 lbs. I've got water in the house but the pump won't shut off.

[speedbump]

It sounds like crud in the impeller or a slightly nuked impeller. If the jet were plugged, you would usually get more than 20 lbs. More like 28/29 lbs.

Are you sure the gauge is reading right? If it is more than 6 months old and you paid less than 10 bucks for it. It's probably bad.

bob...

[vic214]

Well, actually the gauge froze up last winter so it did say 100 but I fixed it. I zeroed it out so it should be pretty accurate now. I would hate to spend any money on this thing. I won't be living here much longer. I already sold the house but I'm staying for maybe another month or two so I don't really want to have to call anyone. Well, I guess I'll try and take the pump apart first thing and go from there. Thanks for the help.

Jim

[speedbump]

You zerowed a $3.00 gauge??? I'll bet it's real accurate now.