Hi All,
I am a homeowner not a plumber but I could really use some guidance. Submersible pump. I had a ruptured line in the well about 4 years ago, called a local plumbing outfit to check it out. Leak was about 10 ft down. Told them to change out the entire line and put a new pump in. The pump was about 12 years old. I figured hell, it's out may as well swap it out. Water at about 20 feet well is at 125 feet they said they placed the pump at 110 ft. Water was cloudy, as I would expect it to be, after a couple weeks I am still getting "sand" in my sinks, tubs, etc. Had to change out all my shower heads and clean screens yadda, yadda, yadda. I called the plumbing co back and they offered me a new state of the art filtration system, at my expense. I asked about double checking the pump depth but they insisted it was correct. I asked about possible pump damage but they stated the pumps are designed to withstand these types of elements. ( I don't believe it but I am not a professional plumber ) I installed an inline sediment filter to handle the "sand". Now to my issue. The first winter I started getting a vibration in the pipes. It started as the cold weather set in. The vibration ONLY happened immediately after the pump reached max (about 55 psi) and only lasted about 4 seconds. This went on until spring. (New York) During the spring, summer and fall I never heard a thing. Cut to now...This past summer I did hear it on occasion and now that fall is here it is happening every time the pump cycles. Now it does not happen "after" the pump shuts off, now it is starting about 10 psi "before" the pump shuts off and continues after for a bit. The vibration now is lasting a minimum of 10 seconds and is quite loud. I can hear it through the entire house. the water pressure in the house is holding fine. The pump does not cycle excessively. Water pressure in the house does not fluctuate. I installed a bypass around my sediment filter when I installed it so I have removed that from the circuit and the problem is still there. I originally was thinking check valve but after watching my gauges and the current vibration happening "before" the pump shuts off, I have changed my mind. However, I am a heavy equipment mechanic not a plumber so maybe I am way off with my train of thought. The other thing that baffles me is why only in the winter. Obviously there is a perfectly good reason which again is why I am asking for your assistance. I still plan on having a plumber take care of the problem but I really would like to be better educated and prepared this time. I hope I offered enough info to base some sort of educated guess on. I'm sure most of you had this figured out by the second sentence.
Thanks for your patience,
Gene
I am a homeowner not a plumber but I could really use some guidance. Submersible pump. I had a ruptured line in the well about 4 years ago, called a local plumbing outfit to check it out. Leak was about 10 ft down. Told them to change out the entire line and put a new pump in. The pump was about 12 years old. I figured hell, it's out may as well swap it out. Water at about 20 feet well is at 125 feet they said they placed the pump at 110 ft. Water was cloudy, as I would expect it to be, after a couple weeks I am still getting "sand" in my sinks, tubs, etc. Had to change out all my shower heads and clean screens yadda, yadda, yadda. I called the plumbing co back and they offered me a new state of the art filtration system, at my expense. I asked about double checking the pump depth but they insisted it was correct. I asked about possible pump damage but they stated the pumps are designed to withstand these types of elements. ( I don't believe it but I am not a professional plumber ) I installed an inline sediment filter to handle the "sand". Now to my issue. The first winter I started getting a vibration in the pipes. It started as the cold weather set in. The vibration ONLY happened immediately after the pump reached max (about 55 psi) and only lasted about 4 seconds. This went on until spring. (New York) During the spring, summer and fall I never heard a thing. Cut to now...This past summer I did hear it on occasion and now that fall is here it is happening every time the pump cycles. Now it does not happen "after" the pump shuts off, now it is starting about 10 psi "before" the pump shuts off and continues after for a bit. The vibration now is lasting a minimum of 10 seconds and is quite loud. I can hear it through the entire house. the water pressure in the house is holding fine. The pump does not cycle excessively. Water pressure in the house does not fluctuate. I installed a bypass around my sediment filter when I installed it so I have removed that from the circuit and the problem is still there. I originally was thinking check valve but after watching my gauges and the current vibration happening "before" the pump shuts off, I have changed my mind. However, I am a heavy equipment mechanic not a plumber so maybe I am way off with my train of thought. The other thing that baffles me is why only in the winter. Obviously there is a perfectly good reason which again is why I am asking for your assistance. I still plan on having a plumber take care of the problem but I really would like to be better educated and prepared this time. I hope I offered enough info to base some sort of educated guess on. I'm sure most of you had this figured out by the second sentence.
Thanks for your patience,
Gene