well pump priming problems...

We have a shallow dug well, about 15'. The well has gone dry 3 times this summer. The last time, we had more water brought in, the pump started acting up. The water tank would only pump up to 10 psi and the pump would keep running. We replaced the pump (3/4 hp jet pump) and the foot valve last night, but we can't seem to get it to prime. Looking in the actual well, we figure the water is up about 3 ft. so I think there is enough water in the well. Any suggestions ??

Priming Problem

Your problem and mine (see post below) sounds similar. I have no experience at this but in talking to local well suppliers I am told the four feet of water I have in the pipe is marginal. Eight feet of water would be about right. I don't know how long your well has been down but mine is well over six years so another possibility is the sand point is clogged or a hole in the pipe. In a couple of weeks we are going to pull old pipe and replace. I'll let you know if this works for me.

Priming problems

Three feet of water is not enough.
The well point screen is about two feet so that as soon as the pump starts the drawdown exposes the screen to air and the pump sucks in air and loses prime.

Two options (1) drive the well to have 5 to 10 feet of water above the screen,
(2)Install a valve to reduce the pumps flow so not to draw down to the point that the screen is exposed.

Try option first it might solve the problem. If not go to option (2)

Good luck
Peter

If it is a dug well, which to me is something probably 2 ft or more in diameter with some kind of lining to keep it from collapsing, you should be able to use a foot valve with just a strainer. That will get you closer to the bottom.

In that kind of well you can also install a float switch, such as used on a sump pump, to shut off the pump when the water is too low.

You could also dig down farther so it will hold and collect more water. When you can pump lower the water will come in faster.

It is difficult to prime a shallow well pump installation if there is a high spot anywhere in the suction pipe. The pipe should always have a positive slope up toward the pump (perfectly level is ok but hard to achieve) so that any air in the pipe can get to the pump and escape when you are priming it. Also, you need to let the air escape before you pump against pressure so you must leave the priming plug loose until only water comes out of the plug.

we did have a low spot, so we leveled it out and it worked ! thank you very much for the advice.