Pmp kicks off. Low Pressure. Sand coming through pipes. Dry well?

[Slegg66]

I purchased my current home about 8 months ago. It is in extreemly sandy soil (Like at the beach). About 4 months ago the pump was surging so and the pressure tank was low. I recharged the tank and replaced the pressure switch and had no water problems. Recently I started having very low water pressure. I went to see if the pump was surging again thinking the bladder might be bad on the tank. I checked the pressure switch and the switch was closed so the pump should have been running. I checked the breaker and it was not tripped. Then I noticed that every three or four minutes the pump will kick on and run about ten seconds and then kick back off. This happens with no action on the part of the pressure swith. If I open and close the switch it has no effect on the pump. I have also start noticing sand in the toilets and bath tub. Anyone out there know if the sand is indicating that the well is going dry or does this sound like a bad jet pump?

[ballvalve]

Lucky for you the high temp switch in the motor is turning it off to save it when running dry. If its a submersible, better pull it quick before it gets buried completely. Your well may be caving in or just losing water altogether. Raising the pump higher may be all thats needed.

[jimtum]

It sounds like you may have a low production well, meaning it is pumping off because the well is not recovering fast enough to keep up with the pump, you can get a pumptec and use it so that when your amps go up it will shut off the pump so it does not burn itself up. The pumps tecs come in either a control box like device or you can buy the small one that goes inside your control box, they both work but the cost is different. You may also want to see how many gpm you get at open discharge to see what your true flow rate is and check your recovery rate as well so if you need to install a pumptec you will already have the info for your settings. One style of pumptec allows you to adjust the settings and the other will detect amp changes and shut the pump off itself. Ask your local well guy or a few of them.

[valveman]

Overloads don't trip until the motor is already hot. They are too little and too late. If you can't solve the problem that cause the overload condition, by the time the overload trips, you have already damaged the motor. Motor sitting in the sand will cause that and needs to be fixed, if it is not already too late.