Deep well Jet Pump question(s)

Users who are viewing this thread

Arla

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
0
First post, and I'm completely new to pumps and wells (and all that they involve).

This weekend decided to figure out the well pump that's on my property (located in El Cerrito, Northern CA), owned the house for about a year, prior owner hadn't used pump in "some" years, and had determined that the motor had frozen.

First off, my determination based on number of pipes (two going into the well) is that this would be a deep well jet pump (pump claims to be a honeywell single jet pump).

Taking the above ground parts off the pump, took the pump apart to find that the motor seemed okay (still quite happily spun the shaft) but the pump body was fairly encased in rust, took it apart, cleaned it all out of the majority of the rust and put it back together, now motor and pump seem to spin quite happily.

Tried putting it all back together and found that it doesn't pump water at all out of the well, so next step was to pull the pipes out of the well, found that the "discharge" pipe (smaller of the two) seemed to be just a straight pipe (not attached to anything) with a few breaks in it (seems wrong to me), the inlet pipe, seemed to be intact, going down about 35-40 feet with what I assume is the jet assembly at the bottom of it (discharge pipe from assembly wasn't connected to anything at all).

Took most of this apart, put the jet assembly into a bucket of water and connected both the discharge and intake pipes to it, tried running motor but still nothing, priming the pump seems to raise the level of water in the bucket, would this indicate a broken jet assembly? Is there any advice on taking these apart or is it really just a case of buy a new one (and if buying a new one, would one need to buy a new pump too?)

The other question, is it possible to test that the pump even works (without the Jet assembly) I'm thinking maybe a single pipe going from the inlet to the discharge would allow me to see if water is going to be moved by the pump, but without the jet assembly I'm not sure if that actually would work?
 
Last edited:

Speedbump

Active Member
Messages
4,511
Reaction score
12
Points
38
Location
Riverview, Fl.
Your going about this all wrong. First of all, the Jet in the well needs both the 1" and the 1-1/4" pipe hooked up in order to operate. Taking the pump apart wasn't necessary. Plugging the bottom hole and priming the pump to see if it will pull water from the bucket may tell you something, like the impeller is spinning and moving water.

Measure your depth to water in the well and report back. Also measure the inside diameter of the well.

bob...
 

Arla

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Bob,

Thanks for the response, any information/help gratefully recieved. The pump needed to be taken apart because the impeller wasn't spinning (because of all the rust inside the body of the pump) now that that is cleared the impeller does at least spin (whether it pumps or not is another question entirely).

From the internet research I'd done I figured that both pipes NEEDED to be attached to the jet assembly, which is why my bucket test did that, however the pump still didn't seem to draw water, and the water level in the bucket did increase as we primed the pump, so I'm assuming the foot/jet assembly are losing water (which I believe isn't supposed to happen.

When you say plugging the bottom hole, which one are you talking about? The 1" discharge pipe, the 1-1/4" intake pipe, or something else entirely?

I did some well measurements and got

Depth to water is 9-10 feet (approx)
Diameter of the well is rather harder to guage, the only opening (that I'm aware of) to the well is the hole that the pipes disappear down, which is approx 7 inches in diameter, but I imagine (assume) that the well gets larger lower down, the original (but broken) pipes were 35-40 feet long.
 

Speedbump

Active Member
Messages
4,511
Reaction score
12
Points
38
Location
Riverview, Fl.
With a 9' water level, you can use a Shallow Well Jet Pump and forget about that low producing Two Pipe Jet. Apparently whoever installed it didn't know about this.

I doubt the pipe gets bigger as it goes down. If it does, it will be a first.

Yes, plug the 1" hole and pull through the 1-1/4" hole. The Pump has to be full of water to catch a prime.

bob...
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Arla

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Bob,

Thanks again for the response, just to confirm, all you need is a pump with an impeller and you can pull up water? Or I need to adjust and add something else as well? Just trying to make sure I know what I need to try to see if the pump even works (again, pump originally was fairly clogged up with rust, and while it's been cleaned and the impeller now spins, whether it draws water or not I don't know).
 

Gary Slusser

That's all folks!
Messages
6,921
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Wherever I park the motorhome.
Website
www.qualitywaterassociates.com
A single line jet pump has the jet in the wet end, usually in line with the water line. A two line jet has the jet in the well. Both types require a foot (check) valve on the end of the drop pipe down the well. Priming requires filling the line from the pump all the way back to the foot valve; no air in the line(s).
 

Speedbump

Active Member
Messages
4,511
Reaction score
12
Points
38
Location
Riverview, Fl.
All you need is an impeller to pull water, if it's not too deep and if the Impeller isn't full of rust. Did you clean out the volutes of the Impeller?

bob...
 

Arla

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Persumably volutes are the channels that go from the center of the Impeller out towards the edge (that spin the water out thus gaining pressure?) if so, yes I did clean them out, just trying to figure what to plug the "outlet" hole with and then I'll try to run another test.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks