Post-Hurricane Problem

[Rue D'or]

Gustav passed through here yesterday... we lost power around 2 p.m. and were out about 26 hours.

When the power came back on, neither the well or flushing is working. I'm chalking the flushing up to a flooded septic tank and allowing the septic pump some time to work...

however, the well i could use some help on. i turned off the breaker as soon as i realized there was a problem just to save the pump.

when i turn the breaker on you can hear power going to the pump... but the pump doesn't appear to be trying to pump.

the model is a sta-rite mse-6 and i can't find a website or anything that would give instructions on a reset button? we've had storms here before and had the power off numerous times and never had a problem with getting our water back up...

any ideas?

[Mike Swearingen]

If the ground is as saturated as it gets after some hurricanes around here, you might be better off having the (1,000 gallon?) tank pumped out to give your home a little instant relief on that issue.
You could have many issues with a well and pump, but you may have just lost prime on the well after 26 hours off.
If you don't know how to prime a well, just look through the recent postings here.
(Power was out for over 10 days here after Isabel in 2003, so I feel for you guys. The joys of living on the coast. lol)
Good Luck!
Mike

[Rue D'or]

thanks for the post mike... actually we didn't get as much rain as previous storms but i thought the same thing.

i've looked at the posts about how to prime, and the only plug i see on my [vertical] pump is about 3/8 - 1/2 inch in a horizontal position towards the bottom.

1. is this the plug for priming and 2. is there a water hose adapter or something i can use to force water down from a horizontal position?

[speedbump]

There is no reset button on a jet pump. The MSE has a backpressure control that sits off the to the side of the pump with a 1/2" priming plug in it. That is where you would add water if needed. If the pump isn't running, it would be my guess it's not getting power. That could be caused by a bad wire that when in saturated ground would be letting more current into the water than is getting to the pumps motor.

bob...