mystreba
New Member
Type of pump: Submersible_not sure what kind. I took pictures of it when a plumber pulled the pump to rewire it last year (it was shorting out). On one part is says Goulds Submersible Pump model 7GS05412. On another part is says Franklin Electric Submersible Motor model 2145059004.
Two or Three wire?__Unsure. The Franklin pump says 3-wire, but there are only two wires leaving the house to the well.
Wire Size: 12 awg .
Wire Length: ~65’ in the water well itself.
Size of Pump: 1/2 HP, 5.0 Amp
Pump Model # Goulds 7GS05412 / Franklin 2145059004
Date Pump Installed: unknown – I’ve owned the house for 7 yrs
Depth of well: unknown – pump is 65’ down
Depth to water: 15’ below ground
Pump Setting: don’t know what this means.
Drop Pipe: 1†Poly
House pipe: 1" PVC
Well Recovery Rate___unkown____gpm
Well Casing Diameter__unknown_____â€
Rock Well__unknown________ Sand Well__________ Other______________
Date Well Drilled: unknown – likely 50+ years
Well Casing Material - unknown
Pressure Tank: Flotec 85-gallon with bladder
Air charge in top of tank: 40 PSI
Pressure Switch Setting: On 40, off 60
Pump Control Method? Not sure what this means – it’s a 7-stage pump
Pump Protection: Not sure what this means. There is a Franklin Electric relay model #2801054915 between the pressure switch and the well pump.
Filters or Softeners: none
Water Used For: House
Number of baths: 2
Number of People: 7
High Flow Showers_______gpm? Unknown – I use water-saver shower heads.
Do you have, and know how to use an Ampmeter and Voltmeter? Yes
Describe Problem:
I recently upgraded my pressure tank when the old tank developed leaks. I went from very small Welltrol 20-gallon tank on 20/40 to a large Flotec 85-gal tank on 40/60. I relocated the tank at the same time – old tank 5’ from well, new tank 20’ from well. I built a new tee with check valve before the tank.
After installation I loaded the tank with no problem – it went from empty to fully pressurized at 60+ in about one minute. System worked well for about a week until I noticed I was hearing the pump run continuously. I checked the tank and saw the pressure slowly dropping as people used water, even though the pump was running.
The first thing I wanted to do was check if the well pump was working. Fortunately the pipe coming into the house from the well has a diverter that I installed in order to run faster tests on the new tank prior to cutting over. The diverter allows the well pump to feed in two directions (old tank, new tank), each of which has a cutoff valve. With the old tank gone I can now use the diverter to switch the well pump from the new tank over to the open pipe from the old tank – meaning I can draw water directly from the well (say, into a bucket). It appears fine – lots of water.
I figure the problem is in one of two places:
1 – At the pump, either:
-The pump is not generating sufficient water flow to load the new tank, even though it appears to be drawing plenty of water at the diverter.
(failing pump or leaking well pipe)
-The pump is incorrectly sized for the new system (although it did work at first).
2 – At the pipe between the diverter and the tank, either:
- There is a clog in the pipe.
- There is a problem with the check valve.
One strange thing I noticed is that the pump-side supply pipe on the tank appears to be draining between fills. I'm pretty sure this is the case because when the pump kicks on I can hear the water coming, swishing around in there with sound building until it goes silent once the pipe fills. I expected that pipe to remain full of water after the pump kicks off. This leads me to think there may be a leak in the pump or well pipe that allows the supply pipe to drain back into the well.
So, a few questions, in order of magnitude:
Is my pump correctly sized for the tank installation?
If the pump is correctly sized, and I can eliminate blockage, that would seem to indicate I need to pull the pump for inspection. One thought I had for eliminating blockage was to shut the well off, drain the tank, turn the pump back on and see what comes out of the drain valve – if it looks similar to what comes out at the diverter, that would seem to eliminate blockage. I recognize it isn’t a one-for-one comparison since some of the water entering the tee will go into the tank, but that should eventually stabilize so what I see coming out of the drain valve is what’s coming from the well.
Can/should I install a pressure gauge at the diverter to see what the pump is producing directly? How would I interpret the result? If I pull the pump for inspection, how would I determine if the problem is the pump or a leaking poly pipe?
Just looking for ideas. Thanks
Two or Three wire?__Unsure. The Franklin pump says 3-wire, but there are only two wires leaving the house to the well.
Wire Size: 12 awg .
Wire Length: ~65’ in the water well itself.
Size of Pump: 1/2 HP, 5.0 Amp
Pump Model # Goulds 7GS05412 / Franklin 2145059004
Date Pump Installed: unknown – I’ve owned the house for 7 yrs
Depth of well: unknown – pump is 65’ down
Depth to water: 15’ below ground
Pump Setting: don’t know what this means.
Drop Pipe: 1†Poly
House pipe: 1" PVC
Well Recovery Rate___unkown____gpm
Well Casing Diameter__unknown_____â€
Rock Well__unknown________ Sand Well__________ Other______________
Date Well Drilled: unknown – likely 50+ years
Well Casing Material - unknown
Pressure Tank: Flotec 85-gallon with bladder
Air charge in top of tank: 40 PSI
Pressure Switch Setting: On 40, off 60
Pump Control Method? Not sure what this means – it’s a 7-stage pump
Pump Protection: Not sure what this means. There is a Franklin Electric relay model #2801054915 between the pressure switch and the well pump.
Filters or Softeners: none
Water Used For: House
Number of baths: 2
Number of People: 7
High Flow Showers_______gpm? Unknown – I use water-saver shower heads.
Do you have, and know how to use an Ampmeter and Voltmeter? Yes
Describe Problem:
I recently upgraded my pressure tank when the old tank developed leaks. I went from very small Welltrol 20-gallon tank on 20/40 to a large Flotec 85-gal tank on 40/60. I relocated the tank at the same time – old tank 5’ from well, new tank 20’ from well. I built a new tee with check valve before the tank.
After installation I loaded the tank with no problem – it went from empty to fully pressurized at 60+ in about one minute. System worked well for about a week until I noticed I was hearing the pump run continuously. I checked the tank and saw the pressure slowly dropping as people used water, even though the pump was running.
The first thing I wanted to do was check if the well pump was working. Fortunately the pipe coming into the house from the well has a diverter that I installed in order to run faster tests on the new tank prior to cutting over. The diverter allows the well pump to feed in two directions (old tank, new tank), each of which has a cutoff valve. With the old tank gone I can now use the diverter to switch the well pump from the new tank over to the open pipe from the old tank – meaning I can draw water directly from the well (say, into a bucket). It appears fine – lots of water.
I figure the problem is in one of two places:
1 – At the pump, either:
-The pump is not generating sufficient water flow to load the new tank, even though it appears to be drawing plenty of water at the diverter.
(failing pump or leaking well pipe)
-The pump is incorrectly sized for the new system (although it did work at first).
2 – At the pipe between the diverter and the tank, either:
- There is a clog in the pipe.
- There is a problem with the check valve.
One strange thing I noticed is that the pump-side supply pipe on the tank appears to be draining between fills. I'm pretty sure this is the case because when the pump kicks on I can hear the water coming, swishing around in there with sound building until it goes silent once the pipe fills. I expected that pipe to remain full of water after the pump kicks off. This leads me to think there may be a leak in the pump or well pipe that allows the supply pipe to drain back into the well.
So, a few questions, in order of magnitude:
Is my pump correctly sized for the tank installation?
If the pump is correctly sized, and I can eliminate blockage, that would seem to indicate I need to pull the pump for inspection. One thought I had for eliminating blockage was to shut the well off, drain the tank, turn the pump back on and see what comes out of the drain valve – if it looks similar to what comes out at the diverter, that would seem to eliminate blockage. I recognize it isn’t a one-for-one comparison since some of the water entering the tee will go into the tank, but that should eventually stabilize so what I see coming out of the drain valve is what’s coming from the well.
Can/should I install a pressure gauge at the diverter to see what the pump is producing directly? How would I interpret the result? If I pull the pump for inspection, how would I determine if the problem is the pump or a leaking poly pipe?
Just looking for ideas. Thanks