Air going in to top of well

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Sletch Goober

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My well head is under some bushes so I never paid it much attention. Today I was doing some trimming and heard the well "inhaling" whenever the pump ran. The top has a metal cap of some sort that looks like it is two pieces, and there is a slight gap where they meet the draw pipe. It seems to me that this is letting stuff - bacteria, whatever - into the well. I think it would be simple enough to seal it off, but should I?

I have a 1 hp submersible pump well in a 4" PVC shaft. The well is 140' deep; the pump is at 45' and water comes to 10' below the ground. (I live in a river valley and the well is uphill from the house. If it were down hill it would probably be a flowing well). There is never a shortage of water here.

Is there any good reason for air to go into the water column? Obviously when the pump runs it will create a temporary vacuum between the top of the water and the head (if it were sealed), but that doesn't seem like it would be bad, since the vacuum would help draw water up from the aquifer (as if that were a problem). Anyway, my concern is sanitation. Should I seal it?.
 

Teets

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Does the well cap have a top and bottom held together with a gasket in the middle and bolts keeping the two halves together. Normally that is what you would need to have a sanitary cap on the well head. As for that sucking sound, the well should be allowed to suck in air as the pump runs so the well can't collapse. And the opposite as the well refills, you need a place for all that air to release to so it doesn't build pressure. Now I've seen wells that weren't set up like this, but I think that most should be.
 

Waterwelldude

Well driller,pump repair. and septic installer
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That sound of air is normal. It's just the pump pulling water from the well before it is put back by the well aquifer. All wells do that, just some more than others.

Travis
 
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Hey, wait a minute.

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