New Well Pump Seized already

Hi Gang,

I currently have 2 systems:

a) Lake water with submersible pump (Grundfos 3/4 motor with Berkely Pump)
aprx 250ft (50ft deep, 200ft long)

b) well water with submersible pump (Grundfos 3/4 motor with Berkely Pump)
aprx 275ft (225ft deep, 50ft long)

Lake water has been running for 3 years without any problems.

Well was created last year (fall 2007), and well pump was tested for 5 minutes to make sure all equipment is working.

This year, I finally completed the plumbing to have 1 reservoir, with 2 pressure switches, 2 line check valves and 2 electrical junction boxes that can support 2 sources of water.

Once we started the "B" option (Well), we noticed orange water and some sand coming out of my basement sink. We let run for a few minutes, and all of a sudden pump stopped.

We then switched to lake water, and flushed complete reservoir.

At this point we assumed the well was dry, and put lake water in well casing ( I hope this is ok and no damage).

We tried to restart Option "B", well pump, and watched pressure drop to 0 and noticed that well pump tried to pump water and saw some jolts of orange water move.

My questions:
1. How to lift well pump from well, do I simply pull wire? Do I need any special tools to disconnect / disengage at 4 to 5ft??

2. Once I have pump out of well, what am I looking for????

3. How can I test if motor or pump are still working? Can I use a big bucket of water and 220 power?

Thanks!
Sergio

Putting Lake water in your well was not a very good idea. You have probably introduced all kinds of bacteria that would have better left out.

Since we don't know if you have a Pitless Adaptor or a Well Seal on this Well, it's hard to instruct you on how to pull the Pump. Do not pull on the Wire though.

bob...

Make sure you have 240 volt power to the pump. Then switch control boxes between the two pumps and try again before pulling the pump. If the pump starts, don't let it stop until the water clears up. Stopping the pump while the water is dirty will let it seize up.

Yes, I do remember having a pitless adapter. I can see some brass fitting at about 5 feet from ground level in y well casing. I also remember installer using some tool that looked like a "T" that allowed him to do the "hook up".

I may want to try one more time, before I pull anything up.

I'm so glad my option "A" lake system is working like a charm. I will send you guys some pictures of my install.

Thanks for pointers!
Sergio