goulds pump problem or well problem?

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gg05

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Hello all, I have just moved in to an old farmhouse that has a well ( I believe a shallow one), and the jet pump is a Goulds J5S. I was in the house a couple of months ago and the water had a bad sulfur smell but there was water. Sulfur issue is to be handled at a later date. So last week I plugged in the pump and nothing happening. Upon further inspection the last tenant didn't drain the pump and it cracked the motor adaptor. Ordered a new one which arrived today, reassembled everything and plugged it in. Sounded great for 20 seconds, then bad noise for 3 seconds followed by burnt smell and then sounded normal. Took it apart again and the impeller and the plastic casing around it had created friction between themselves and created some plastic looking residue? All seals look fine so I can only assume there was some foreign object in there when i put it back together???? Soooooo, I sanded the impeller and the run on the impeller casing and tried it again. It will build pressure and pump air through the system, but will not prime the well and deliver water. When I prime the pump manually it spits a little of the primer water through the system, but no real water. So, did I screw up the impeller too bad and its not creating enough of a vacuum to draw from the well? Or is it possible the unused well has dried up? The previous tenant said there was never a lot of water. Or am I missing something? Any ideas would be more than welcome. THANK YOU in advance for any help you can give, G
 

Tom Sawyer

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I suspect you reassembled it wrong. Maybe left out or misplaced the thrush washer which toasted the impeller. Either get another rebuild kit or better yet, replace the whole pump.
 

LLigetfa

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Is the well head that difficult to open that you cannot simply see for yourself? I don't get how you guys put in wells down your way. Well heads buried below grade, no pitless adapters or unions for quick coupling, etc. Around here all our well heads are required to be above grade by code and are easy to get at. I've had my pump in and out of it over a dozen times. A shallow well should be a cake walk.
 

gg05

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thank for the replies

I posted this on another site and somebody asked if I primed the pump the first time. I did not so I assume i burnt up the impeller and diffuser. Where do you recommend I get this rebuild kit? As to the well question, I have no idea why the well was made the way it was. I'm a farmer not a well digger, but I admit there is a lot of stuff that is done half a$$ed around here. Thank you both for taking the time to help. G
 

Cacher_Chick

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While it has been years since they mandated that all the well heads be above ground, there are still many old hand-dug wells covered with boards and dirt.

It's not uncommon when property ownership changes that no one thinks about it until the water stops, and then they realize that they don't even know where the well is.
 

gg05

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I'm going to order these parts unless anyone suggests otherwise. Also, the pump didn't leak so I assume my seals are ok. They looked fine. Any other must have parts to make this fix? Thanks again


( 132696 ) - Goulds Pumps J+ and JS+ Diffuser (guidevane)
J5,J5H,J5S,J5SH Diffuser


( 132699 ) - Goulds Pumps Impeller for J+ and JS+ Series
J5, J5H,J5S, J5SH models
 

LLigetfa

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Around here, the well can make or break the sale. It is hard to get a mortgage without a satisfactory well report and a buried mystery well would never pass inspection.

At $50 per foot to drill, a new 600 foot well could net the buyer a $30,000 surprise. When I built, I had to pay cash for the lot and cash for the well to be put in and tested before I could get a mortgage.
 

DonL

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I'm going to order these parts unless anyone suggests otherwise. Also, the pump didn't leak so I assume my seals are ok. They looked fine. Any other must have parts to make this fix? Thanks again


( 132696 ) - Goulds Pumps J+ and JS+ Diffuser (guidevane)
J5,J5H,J5S,J5SH Diffuser


( 132699 ) - Goulds Pumps Impeller for J+ and JS+ Series
J5, J5H,J5S, J5SH models

I would get a seal kit also.

The reason you may not see leaks is because it never filled with water and never came up to pressure.
 

Cacher_Chick

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Around here, the well can make or break the sale. It is hard to get a mortgage without a satisfactory well report and a buried mystery well would never pass inspection.

At $50 per foot to drill, a new 600 foot well could net the buyer a $30,000 surprise. When I built, I had to pay cash for the lot and cash for the well to be put in and tested before I could get a mortgage.

That's not a bad way of doing business. Here the buyer can request a well inspection as a binding term of the purchase agreement. More often than not they only perform a water test to confirm that the water is safe to drink. There is no requirement to upgrade an old system to current codes.

Many of the old farm wells are the same ones that were connected to a windmill years ago. Part of my state has a large number of shallow sand point wells, thus the costs involved are not great compared to a deep drilled well.
 

Ballvalve

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Around here, the well can make or break the sale. It is hard to get a mortgage without a satisfactory well report and a buried mystery well would never pass inspection.

At $50 per foot to drill, a new 600 foot well could net the buyer a $30,000 surprise. When I built, I had to pay cash for the lot and cash for the well to be put in and tested before I could get a mortgage.

Here, they get 12 to 18$ a foot to drill a 6" hard rock hole. 50? us dollars? Or rupees?
 

LLigetfa

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50? us dollars? Or rupees?
Actually, last time I checked here it was $48 CDN but then we pay another 13% HST on top of that. In mud with casing or in rock without, same price. My neighbour thew quite a few grand down his 6 inch hole and then had to fricken-frack it to boot.
 
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