Pump low pressure

Great forum, Terry! I recently replaced my "deep" well (37') jet pump because it was only developing about 40 psi. The new pump had a hard time priming and then only got up to 18-20 psi. I talked to the pump tech rep and he suggested that I have a leak in my suction line. I checked all the fittings at the pump and resealed them with no improvement. I finally put the old pump back in and now that one is only coming up to around 20 psi. So now I'm thinking the leak (if there is a leak) must be in the piping in the well. The piping is 3/4" and 1 1/4" copper. Called several plumbers and none are in a hurry to take on the job so I'm looking at a DIY job. Before I dive in, a couple of questions:
1. Does this sound like a suction leak problem to you?
2. If I end up up replacing the piping in the well, can I use cpvc or something similar? I don't want to spend a bunch of money on this cuz the city is probably going to annex us in the next 3-4 years and we'll be hooking up to city water.

Thanks!

I'm not Terry but... an air leak in the suction side of a jet pump system causes a loss of prime and the water would have air in it.

The usual cause of your problem is something being blocked like the jet in the pump or the foot valve screen, or the jet in the j-body on a deep well jet in the well.

If you don't fix' this yourself, call a pump guy or well driller or only a plumber capable of pulling the plumbing out of the well. If you pull it, replace the copper with PE tubing or sch 40 PVC.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

That's what confuses me...I'm not losing prime and the water doesn't have air in it. It just doesn't come up to pressure. Anyway, I'm going to probably end up pulling the well piping and I'm happy to hear pvc is OK. I'll check the foot valve and the jet in the j-body (venturi?) while I'm at it.

A 100' roll of 125 psi rated PE tubing does it, and it is the best choice.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

Thanks Gary, it's good as done.