Pressure Running Out

[Bret]

Hello, I have an issue with our well and I honestly am not sure where to start. I grew up with city water and this is the first time I've owned property with a well in my 50+years. We have lived here for over two years without a problem.

A few weeks ago I noticed the cap on our well had gotten damaged somehow during the winter. It was a plastic cap and it was cracked and not on the well pipe at all, laying a couple feet away from it. I have no idea how long it had been that way.

I jury rigged a cover for it while I ordered a new well cap. Basically putting the busted cap back on the pipe with a rubber tarp over it and a cinder block holding the whole thing together.

Around this time we started to notice a problem where our water pressure would drop if we ran both showers. It wold recharge, but takes about 20 minutes to a half hour. We have never had a problem with this in the two years here, including the time we extra relatives living here temporarily.

I researched a little bit and one of the websites said a common cause to a lot of well problems can be a bad well cap. I decided to see what happened when I put the new cap on. I installed it Monday, but still have the same problem.

I found a box in our tank room that is for the pump, and it just clicks and hums while the pressure is low. I have attached a pictures of it. The sight won't let me upload the video I took of it clicking and humming.

I have the obvious questions: Any ideas on what the root cause could be? What would the symptoms be if a critter got down the well? What about debris? I consider myself pretty handy around the house, but know absolutely nothing about wells. I don't know where the pressure switches or nozzles or anything would be. I see the tank hooked up to a maze of pipes and am hesitant to start taking things apart. My biggest fear is something is jacked up with the pump and that is going to require removing it.

 

[Reach4]

When the pressure is low, water is still being pumped. Sounds to me as if it is time for a new pump. If the screen of the pump is clogged due to debris entering, could you get the pump pulled, screen cleared, and the old pump put back?

Seems rather unlikely you would opt for that.

Your pump is starting, so the start capacitor is still working. If you were to keep that box, you would want to change out the start capacitor. Those will fail with time and starts.

I wonder if that paper means that the Schuster pump was put in in 1979, or the well was dug then.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

I would replace that control box first. The clicking and buzzing is the relay and capacitor not kicking in. If it doesn't work with the new control box you are going to need some help with as deep as that pump is. But not likely the well cap missing has anything to do with it. If the date is right on that pump, you are way overdue for a new one anyway.

See this video for what cause those kinds of problems.

 

[Fitter30]

Do you know if the pump is piped with galvanized pipe? Have you noticed your electric bill higher than normal. If so the galvanized pipe could have holes in it and not building full pressure and running longer. Your going to need a well service company to pressure test pump piping then if any problem found pull piping and pump.

 

[Chucky_ott]

Maybe Schuster Pump refers to https://www.schusterpump.com in Peosta, Iowa?