Help..No Water

Hi everyone, I woke up this morning put on a load of laundry went into my kitchen to rinse a few dishes and WHAM....the water stopped. So I checked my washing machine and there was no water coming out of there either. So I turned it off....checked the breakers...everything is fine. The water in the machine does have alot of rust color in it....alot more then normal....I have alot of iron in my water....but never this much.

So I looked at my pressure tank and the guage was less then 10 PSI...I have a Well-X-trol pressure tank. I have a 150 foot drilled well with a red jacket pump. I can hear the pressure tank go on, but it has taken over an hour to get it up and it is only at 34 PSI.

Is there anyone who can help me figure out what the problem is. I have lived in this house going on 6 years and never had a problem with water. I have never run out of water so I am hoping it isn't my well.
I don't know how old the pressure tank and pump is either....but the house itself is around 25years old.

Thanks to all those who can help.
Ellen

It is rare for a pump that is still running to drop off production so fast. You probably have a hole in the drop pipe in the well. This will let the water out before it gets to the top of the well. It will also stir up the well and make it produce more red stuff. Turn the pump off and see if you can hear water running back down the well. If you can take the pipe lose at the well head, you can tell if water is still standing in the pipe or if it goes back down the well. My guess is a hole in the pipe just above the check valve on the pump.

I don't know where you are, but in Florida, ants in the pressure switch is a very common occurance. It could be something that simple if the pump is not running. If it is running, it's probably like Valveman said, a hole in the pipe.

bob...

Thank you so much for your responses. I did manage to get the pressure back up in the tank and finish my laundry But then that was it. I never heard the pressure tank again, nor did the pressure rise at all. So I figured after reading other peoples problems, we would start at the pressure switch.

Our neighbour had a spare one so we installed it and at first nothing at all. So he opened the connectors and then it kicked in and the pressure went up to 48. So we thought okay it must of been the switch. So we went and got a new pressure switch today, during this time I had water, did laundry, dishes etc. Everything worked great.

So we put in the new switch, and NOW...absolutely nothing. During the time we had the new switch in I started a load of laundry and then again....NO WATER, it just stopped. So put the neighbours back in and still nothing.

Do you think there could be a short in the pump motor??? Oh and I never heard water running back down.

It's obvious it's not your switch or your motor. They both work. The problem sounds like your well is running out of water or the pump needs to be lowered in the well. Either way, your looking in the wrong places. I believe it's a problem in the well itself.

bob...