cadillac_al
New Member
Anybody up for a weird well story? Hi I have been a long time lurker and now first time poster. I have got a lot of plumbing tips here over the years. I always fix all my own stuff and never hire anybody to help me with anything. Anyway here's my issue. My mother calls and tells me she has very low water pressure. I go over and look things over and it has about 30 lbs. Not enough to trip the pressure switch so the pump is running 24/7. I figured it's 18 years old so it must be dying I order a Hallmark pump form Amazon and put it in.
The new pump seems to work fantastic for 9 days. Then Mom calls and says she has no water. It had 0 pressure. I played with the on/off switch a few times and it seemed to build some pressure so I went outside to listen to it and I can hear it running. I figured it must be a dud pump, motor is running but not pumping water. This well is 250 ft deep and most wells around here are 100-150 feet. The pump is down 220 feet. When I look down the casement I can see water about 30-40 feet down. I have no reason to believe that the water level is low.
I buy another pump and replace it and plan to send the Hallmark pump back. I put the new Zoeller pump in and turned it on and got low pressure again. I have checked voltage at the pump several times and have 240 volts. They act like they are getting 110 volts. I'm getting suicidal but I pull it out again. I lay it on the ground and turn it on and it works. I'm baffled. Some of the wiring is pretty old maybe it's playing tricks on me while it's in the water. I buy a new roll of pump wire and rewire it. I put it in and the same low pressure again. This has been a 3 week ordeal and my arms and legs are killing me from pulling these pumps out over and over.
Now my problem. I tried to pull the pump out today and I can't lift it at all. It is twice as heavy as the other 3 times that I pulled it out. What the heck is going on? We did just used the pump prior to this to fill some water jugs and it could only fill one 1/2 gallon jug. The other 3 times I pulled it out it probably was not used for at least 10-12 hours and probably sat overnight but I don't remember for sure. I'm thinking the water must have drained out of it the last 3 times by the time I went to lift it. If that is the case wouldn't the check valve keep the water from draining back? Isn't a leaking check valve a bad thing? I hope it leaks a little because that is the only reason I can think of for this pump and hose being so much heavier today. It is already free of the pitless adapter so there is no pressurized water in the line. What do you experts think is going on?
I also think the pump is not deep enough in the well and if/when I get this pump out, my next strategy is to measure the depth of the well and the water line level.
Do you guys think my pump and water line are full of water and that it does drain out slowly? It is a new Simmons brass check valve. I was stumped on the low pressure but now I am stumped about the extra weight when trying to lift it. Thanks in advance.
The new pump seems to work fantastic for 9 days. Then Mom calls and says she has no water. It had 0 pressure. I played with the on/off switch a few times and it seemed to build some pressure so I went outside to listen to it and I can hear it running. I figured it must be a dud pump, motor is running but not pumping water. This well is 250 ft deep and most wells around here are 100-150 feet. The pump is down 220 feet. When I look down the casement I can see water about 30-40 feet down. I have no reason to believe that the water level is low.
I buy another pump and replace it and plan to send the Hallmark pump back. I put the new Zoeller pump in and turned it on and got low pressure again. I have checked voltage at the pump several times and have 240 volts. They act like they are getting 110 volts. I'm getting suicidal but I pull it out again. I lay it on the ground and turn it on and it works. I'm baffled. Some of the wiring is pretty old maybe it's playing tricks on me while it's in the water. I buy a new roll of pump wire and rewire it. I put it in and the same low pressure again. This has been a 3 week ordeal and my arms and legs are killing me from pulling these pumps out over and over.
Now my problem. I tried to pull the pump out today and I can't lift it at all. It is twice as heavy as the other 3 times that I pulled it out. What the heck is going on? We did just used the pump prior to this to fill some water jugs and it could only fill one 1/2 gallon jug. The other 3 times I pulled it out it probably was not used for at least 10-12 hours and probably sat overnight but I don't remember for sure. I'm thinking the water must have drained out of it the last 3 times by the time I went to lift it. If that is the case wouldn't the check valve keep the water from draining back? Isn't a leaking check valve a bad thing? I hope it leaks a little because that is the only reason I can think of for this pump and hose being so much heavier today. It is already free of the pitless adapter so there is no pressurized water in the line. What do you experts think is going on?
I also think the pump is not deep enough in the well and if/when I get this pump out, my next strategy is to measure the depth of the well and the water line level.
Do you guys think my pump and water line are full of water and that it does drain out slowly? It is a new Simmons brass check valve. I was stumped on the low pressure but now I am stumped about the extra weight when trying to lift it. Thanks in advance.
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