Pump won't shut off - no pressure

When I turned my well on this spring, everything worked fine for about a week. Then I lost water pressure. Now the pump runs continuosly, does not fill the pressure tank and does not have a pressure reading on the gauge. I have a jet pump and have just replaced the pressure tank thinking it was bad.

Can you point me in the right direction? The pump is very old but still works. I open the valve next to the pump and there seems to be sufficient water pressure right next to the pump - yet there is no reading on the gauge.

I would be happy if you suggested the pump needed replaced. But if it is harder than that, I don't think any additional work is worth it. I only use my well for outside functions like gardening and car washing.

Thanks for your help.

Ray

From your description, I infer that you have a jet pump. Is it shallow well or deep well jet?

Check to see if the line to the pressure switch and the gauge are plugged. If they are steel nipples they can get plugged.

Is switch mounted on the pump or at the tank?

Try to run some water at the pump to make sure the air escapes if there is any in the pump.

If the water in the well has dropped, you may have run out of water in the well. That would cause loss of prime.

I had a similar problem which I discovered after a $700 electric bill.... the reason, the well pipe had a fracture which cause the water to leak back into the well.

R.

If there isn't a check valve on the inlet side of the jet pump (or if there is one, but its defective) then it certainly sounds like a leak of some type. It could be in any of the piping from the pump to the foot valve. A way to check this theory would be to turn off power to the pump and see if you lose prime. If you dont then I would look to the pump, but this seems unlikely.

The first thing to do is get a new gauge on the pump. Then you will know what pressure it is making. If it is only around 28 psi, you probably have a plugged jet. This can happen very easily with an old pump. A piece of scale breaks loose and plugs the jet. Deep well, shallow well makes no difference.

You could also have a leak somewhere. Try closing the main valve.

bob...

Thanks everyone. I removed the pressure switch and the gauge over the weekend. Both ends sealed shut by something over the winter. I cleared the hard substance and put everything back together, turned the pump on and got a presure reading of 20 psi. I didn't go above 20 and of course never shut off probably because it didn't reach the appropriate level.

When I shut off the pump, it still maintains prime and the pressure does not decrease.

I'm at a loss. Maybe there is another connection that needs cleared.

Thanks again to everyone.

Did you replace the gauge???

bob...

Check the contacts on the pressure switch. It may also be a bad diaphram on the pressure switch. I have seen them cloged right along with the nipple that goes to them.

Did you unscrew all the screws on the bottom of the pressure switch where the nipple threads in to the switch?