$1,500 for replacing foot valve at well? Possibly cheaper fix?

[newfarmer]

Relatively newbie homeowner of an older 70s home with a pump and compressor tank and two hoses (one large, one smaller) that go down to the well. It's noisy, when the pump kicks in, sending out a high-pitched whining noise that can be heard on the 2nd floor. Not great water pressure and loud, but it's been working okay for a few years.

Flash forward to last week. We lost power for four days from a snowstorm, which meant I had to prime the pump, which I've done before. It seemed to take a lot of water to accomplish this time, but it eventually kicked in (though seemingly not as dramatically as it did the other two times I've had to prime it). It was pouring rain all day when I did this, incidentally, so the cellar was pretty damp and the ground outside the house was soaked from the rain and melted snow.

The water that came out when the pump kicked in from priming was really dirty, but I thought that was maybe because of the rain runoff or something. Everything seemed to be working okay: water pressure, color didn't seem to be bad.

However, the pump started to cycle on every time we turned on the water and for as long as we ran the water. Sometimes it would kick on by itself but literally only for a second and then shut off. I changed the water filter. Read a bunch of websites. Checked over the tank. The pressure gauge never seems to change, always reading about 44 psi (measuring the water pressure or the air pressure? I don't know).

I called the plumber. He diagnosed a bad foot valve at the pump. Hiring someone with a mini excavator to dig it up and having the plumber fix it will total probably $1,500, worst-case scenario, he said.

Any suggestions? I'm wondering if the really dirty water didn't clog the compressor gauge sensor or something? A bad tank? But I looked over as much as I could with my very limited experience and the tank seems rusty but okay.

Any thoughts?

 

[Reach4]

How big is the pipe going into the ground? 2 inch ID, 4 inch ID, or what?

A new well may be a decent investment. Depending on what you have.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[newfarmer]

Thanks. I would say it's a 2" hose, the bigger one, with another probably 1" running along with it. They both attach to the pump.

Egad, I hope I don't need a new well itself! I'm assuming that would be more than the $1,500.

 

[Reach4]

Yes. A new well would let you use a quiet submersible pump, and filter out crud via screening on the casing surrounded by properly selected gravel, but it would cost way more money.

Why would he need an excavator to change out the foot valve? Is the top of your well buried?

 

[LLigetfa]

There could be more to it than just a bad foot valve. Probably a partially clogged jet orifice. The way you describe two pipes going to the well, the jet is down in the well. If the well casing is 2 inch, then you have a packer jet. There is no lower cost option except perhaps to DIY.
If you don't trust your pressure gauge, go buy a new one. They are not expensive. You could even get one with a garden hose thread that you can install without tools.

 

[newfarmer]

After the plumber left today I returned from work and heard the pump cycling every few minutes. I suddenly remembered that a month or two ago we began hearing chattering from the plumbing in the basement. I went down and traced the sound to a pipe near the furnace. See picture with white arrow. I turned the handle (yellow circle) and the chattering stopped. Incidentally, I remember that the pipe to the left of the handle was really hot.

So, anyway, I remembered the chattering sound, which I now think was the pressure switch. Out of curiosity, I went down to the basement and turned the handle back and heard water swoosh someplace. But to my alarm, the pump started to cycle even faster, every 20-30 seconds!

I turned the handle back off and went over to the tank. I noticed the plumber had put on a new pressure gauge. This one certainly worked, bouncing up past 40 psi when the pump kicked on, falling down fast to about 20 psi after it shut off, then repeating. On and off, rise and fall.

Bad pressure switch? Why the chattering last month? Or is this and the new faster cycling pointing toward a bad foot valve at the well?

I’ve also attached a picture of the tank and the pump. View attachment 61602View attachment 61603View attachment 61602 View attachment 61603

 

[newfarmer]

Incidentally, what is this red thing called? I noticed one next to the handle when I turned it to stop the chattering last month. Could this be part of the problem??

 

[Valveman]

Your pressure tank is bad. That is what causes the rapid cycling. Normal cycling when the tank is good will damage a foot valve, but rapid cycling when the tank is bad will damage a foot valve even quicker. A two pipe jet pump should be able to build much more pressure tank 20/40. I would replace the tank with a PK1A kit using a 40/60 switch and the CSV set to deliver strong 50 PSI constant. The higher pressure will probably make the pump more quite, and the 50 PSI constant pressure will just blast the dirt off in the shower and you will no longer even need soap.

Stopping the pump cycling and getting the dirt cleared up may make the foot valve work properly. But after fixing the cycling problem that cased all this, if the foot valve is still leaking back when no water is being used, it will need to be replaced.

 

[Jadnashua]

Most pump systems have a pressure tank. This allows the well to store some water under pressure in the tank so for a small draw, the pump doesn't have to turn on each time you use some water. Depending on the type of pressure tank you have, if it's an old one, it may need to be drained so it can let some air in. Those don't get used that often anymore, and the type used is a bladder tank. That has a flexible bladder in it that gets precharged with air. WHen the pump comes on, it pushes water into the tank, compressing the air on the other side of the bladder, and once it reaches the high point the switch is set to, turns the pump off. To keep the water in the tank, there's a check valve, and in this case, it's the foot valve that prevents water from leaking back into the well from the bladder tank. If the bladder is shot, or not pressurized properly, the pressure in the pipes will go up almost immediately, but when you use any water, since there's none 'stored' under pressure, the pump will need to turn on.

 

[Reach4]

Incidentally, what is this red thing called?

I don't know. Often red would be associated with a sprinkler system. What does that label say?

 

[Bannerman]

The red device appears to be a Bell and Gossett manual Flo-Control valve for your hydronic boiler system.

The thing you call a compressor tank is actually your water well pressure tank. It will have a rubber bladder or diaphragm to separate the air chamber from the water chamber. The air chamber appears to be at the bottom so there is likely an air valve directly at the bottom or on the lower side of the tank, where a tire gauge can be used to check the precharge pressure. If you press in the centre of the valve to let air escape, no water should come out. If water is ejected, then the bladder or diaphragm is damaged and the tank will need to be replaced as Valveman stated.