Pitcher Pump Instructions

I just bought a Pitcher Pump to test my sandpoint. There are not any instructions that came witht the pump.

How do you start using the thing? I hooked it up to the well, and started pumping. Nothing really happened. I then poured water in the top of the pump and started pumping. I then had a lot of pressure when trying to pump, but no water coming out. I took off the pump, and the water was at the top of the well pipe.

Any suggestions?

chadfetter said:

I just bought a Pitcher Pump to test my sandpoint. There are not any instructions that came witht the pump.

How do you start using the thing? I hooked it up to the well, and started pumping. Nothing really happened. I then poured water in the top of the pump and started pumping ...

Click to expand...

Pouring water in the top is called "priming" the pump, and that is necessary to help seal the "leather" or whatever other material is essentially the "piston ring" in the cylinder of the pump.

chadfetter said:

I then had a lot of pressure when trying to pump ...

Click to expand...

I believe what you actually had was a lot of pressure being applied to the handle to overcome the vacuum inside the pump and well pipe ...

chadfetter said:

... but no water coming out. I took off the pump, and the water was at the top of the well pipe.

Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

It sounds to me like your free-standing water level in the well is just a little too low for that pump to overcome. I do not know the limits of a typical pitcher pump, but I do know there are deep-well versions available ... and one with a smaller diameter cylinder and piston might work well enough in your temporary-need situation.

So, even though a couple of hours later, the water is still at the top of the pipe, I don't have enough water in there? My thought was that maybe I am in clay in the sand point, and so it just can't pull it up.

chadfetter said:

So, even though a couple of hours later, the water is still at the top of the pipe, I don't have enough water in there? My thought was that maybe I am in clay in the sand point, and so it just can't pull it up.

Click to expand...

I think you have the answer.

If the water is standing in the pipe with the pump off, then it can't escape.

If it were connected to an aquifer and the static level in the aquifer was near the top of the ground, you would have no trouble pumping with a pitcher pump.

I assume that you don't have a check valve at the bottom of the pipe. That would also keep the priming water in the pipe.

chadfetter said:

So, even though a couple of hours later, the water is still at the top of the pipe, I don't have enough water in there?

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I had assumed you had a check valve somewhere and that the pitcher pump had lifted as much as it could, but now it looks like I was wrong about that.

I don't have a check valve. I just have the pitcher pump hooked directly up to the pipe to determine if I can get any water out of my pipe. The water is about six inches from the top of the pipe now, which is still a couple of feet above ground level.

Does it sound like it is a clay problem that I can't get that high of water level out of the pipe? Or, do you suspect something else?

Hey, Wet Boots ...

What does that mean? Hey....Wetboots?

If the water is standing in the pipe at a level above ground, and you can't pump any water, then the lower end of the pipe is sealed, probably with clay.

chadfetter said:

What does that mean? Hey....Wetboots?

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Wet Boots is one of the well guys here, but it looks like Bob has already confirmed your dilemma. I know very little about wells, but I do know there is water both above and below the clay here under my own property ... so maybe you drove your point a little too deep and now you need to pull it back up a bit?

My guess is that your pipe filled at least part of the way with water before you went into some clay or whatever else your pitcher pump seems to have pulled into your point.