Pump takes 20 minutes to fill 35 gal tank.

I replaced a waterlog flotex bladder tank. My fairly new pump takes to long (15-20min) to fill the 82 gal equiv. tank. Pump gets hot before it shuts off. Tank is charged at 28psi and pump starts at 30 and shuts off at 50. No prob. with that.

Problem is it takes to long to fill tank. Is my screen plugged in my shallow well? Could I also have a leak on suction side of pump? My pressure maintains nicely on pump, so I think the checkvalve is working ok.

My next step was to try to use some chemical treatments or is there another way to shock the screen without pulling the well, to possibley open up the screen? Shooting down the well, is that advisable? Thanks for any comments, kdwy

Is this a drilled well or a point well? If it is a drilled well and your well screen is plugged or you have a suction leak, you should pump air and lose prime. Do a pump test at low pressure. Open a hose and see how many gallons per minute you are getting. Point well with low flow maybe the well screen plugged. Drilled well with low flow maybe the pump worn or suction clogged.

I know I have a shallow well and I think it is a 2" point well. I will do a pump test and see how many gallons/min I get. If the screen is plugged. should I try to first chem. treat the well. If that doesnt work, should one try to shoot the screen? Is the last option pulling the well point and cleaning the screen? Thanks for your suggestion and all others.

If the well screen is plugged, it is hard to get the chemicals down to the right spot. They have to be washed in correctly. Try Cotey Chemical. They have that kind of stuff and the knowledge. Don't shoot down the well. It would take a 50 cal to do any good, then you wouldn't have anything left afterwards.

I did a pump test and get around 3 gal/min. I then used a half gal of NewWell tablets, let it "cook" for 24 hrs and agitated it with an airline down to the area of my point. After this I pumped the mix out with an external pump down the shallow well. After that I reprimed pump and it still only pumps 3 or so gal./min. It still takes my pump 18 min to fill the new Flowtec bladder tank. My cut in/out pressure on the tank is good at 30/50. Since the 3/4 hp Flotec pump is a 1998 model, I'm thinking of trying to use a Flowtec rebuild kit. I can get one for that model for $50.00. Do you think this is a good next step to take? I have good water level in my shallow well. The well is 20' deep and the water line starts at around 8 or 9 feet. Or is there another way to test my Flotex Pump before I try the rebuild kit idea? Thanks again for your comments and ideas.

Three things starting with the most common

Suction Leak
Plugged inlet screen
Bad pump ( yes, they do come bad from the factory occasionally )

Wally I appreciate the advice. To test for the possibility of a suction leak-- all pipes pipes on the inlet side of pump, that are exposed, could be tested with shaving cream or soapy water. How does one test for the buried joints of the driven well?

Dig...............................

Thanks Wally, I was afraid of that----ie is digging it up. I thought there might be a way to hook up a vacum guage or something and test the buried joints that way! I have since discovered that my 3/4 Flowtec pump is a 1997 model. Called the maf. and gave them the number and got that. I think I will also replace the pump($200) since its this old. I replaced the waterlog tank already. Is it even worth the time and expense($50) to put a rebuild kit in the old existing pump? I mean, if I rebuild the pump, isnt it still possilbe that ohter problems exist with the old pump? At this stage , since my pump is this old, I'm guessing that my problem might be with the pump! Again thanks for your imput. kevin

You need to measure the drawdown of the well to determine if it can supply the volume of water that you need. A better pump won't help if the well cannot supply enough water.

Thanks cacher for the comment. Is the drawndown a measure of the time it takes for my water level in the well to go below the screen-point? If so, how can i measure that? Thanks again for all advice and comments.