well pump acting different

**jtdiesel65** · 10-26-2004, 11:38 AM

sorry for double post, i put this in "general" and then saw that there was a "pump" forum

Hi,

Our well pump (a submersible) has started to make a bunch of noise (kinda like a grinding) and is using more electricity to start up than it has in the past. It uses more initially then tapers off to where its always been after running a minute or so. We have iron in our water and have a small amount of sediment (or iron) that is collecting on the bottom of the household filter. We've also noticed some green/blue bits or grains on the filter. I was wondering what might be the cause of the noise. I'm thinking the "one way" valve might be bad or the well line may have a leak. Any ideas?

thanks

Jon

**Deb** · 10-27-2004, 05:44 PM

You can hear your submersible pump grinding? How deep (shallow) is it?
I am curious also how you know that the pump is using more electricity to start up than it did before. Pumps always require a jolt of electricity to get them going and then taper off--the turn on is what wears a pump, not the running.
A leak in the line or the failure of the check valve would not cause a noise. If you have a faulty check valve, the water in the line will run back into the well and you will have air in your line.
I'd be maybe more inclined to believe that it may be a bad bearing in the pump. The submersible pump business is different from the plumbing business--so, I don't know a whole bunch about submersibles. You may need to call a pump person.
Deb
The Pipewench

**jtdiesel65** · 10-29-2004, 08:47 AM

Hey thanks for the reply!!!!!

To answer your questions: I'm not sure how deep, 200-300 ft maybe. There is no noticable air in the line. The well pressure tank does not have water in it when you open the air valve. I described the noise as a grinding and perhaps thats not quite right. It's more like the sound a kitchen mixer makes when its overloaded..kinda a labored motor sound. The sound seems to be coming from the water supply line. I was wondering if this noise might be cavitation, so thats why I was wondering about a leak. But obviously, like you said, if there was a leak that was such air made it back to the pump, we should see it inside the house too. We live off-grid, so we have equipment that allows us to monitor electrical usage. The pump is 220V and its using about twice the amps to start then it did previous to the start of the noise, but its not blowing a breaker. After the initial start load, the pump does return to the same usage level that its always been. The noise however, can be heard throughout its operation.

I guess at this point, I'm thinking either there is something clogging the pickup or the pump is dying.

thanks

Jon