HELP! no water

last night i noticed the pump to our shallow well would keep coming on periodically even when no water was being used. today i went in the cellar to check it out and unplugged it...I could hear a slight air leak. know the pump will not prime, every time its full it burps a air bubble up and i can just keep adding water and it will do this over and over and never fill, just lets out the air bubble and drops back down. what should be the first thing i should look at. Im not to failiar with wells and pumps but very mechanically inclined...its gonna be a long night!

You probably have a leaking foot valve in the well but it could be anywhere between the pump and well. Until you fix the leak, you won't be able to prime the pump. So check the foot valve first, which means pullng the pipe(s) up out of the well.

Do you have a galvanized tank with an air control screwed into the side of it?
The air control would have a copper or plastic tube running to the suction of the pump.

bob...

being all is dry down there today im going in the basement now to se whats going on. Im not sure about the air control ill have to look, but the pump is a GE 1/2hp on a 42 gal. flotec pre charged tank. the bladder seems to have only 15 psi, is this ok? is it possible to dissconnect the line at the pump to fill with water to see if the foot valve is ok? should hold water, right? also ive heard someone at work say it could be flooded.?. im in the dark on that one....boy am i frustrated, I just a shower after a long day at work thanks guys, hope i can figure this out today. Ill post back in a hour or so to let you guys know what happens.

take care
Jason_L

With the pump off and the tank basically empty, the air pressure should be adjusted so it is 2# less than the pressure when the pump turns on. SO, if you have a 20/40 switch, it would be set at 18#; 30/50, 28#.