jet pump loosing pressure over 15 minutes and struggling to hit 50psi.. new foot valve, ejector,tank,pump

[Rtoms]

"deep" well with dual pipe goulds j5 in the garage.

I started in the well by replacing the foot valve and ejector, inspected the pipe and pitless all appears to be good. Moved inside and replaced the tank and a new goulds j5... my first mistake was using a check valve between the pump and the tank T (pump would loose prime and my gauge would drop to zero and cycle the pressure switch). I then moved the pressure switch to the tank t and that temporarily solved my problem of the pressure loss with the check valve fooling the pressure switch, (the pressure loss isnt on the house side) the pump will cycle for maybe 4 minutes to but I had to adjust the pressure switch to stop at like 48psi because the pump really struggles to build pressure over 40psi..

So my questions...

I have a 1" copper exit feed from my pump to my tank T (it previously was a 3/4" pipe on the old setup) could the extra size be causing some pressure loss thats drawing back into the well and feeding air into the system?

Or could this be a suction leak at the various 90 degree elbows..

is this a leak under my slab before the well ?

Is a leak on the pipe from the pump to well usually a faster draw than 10 minutes?

Like I said this is a slowish pressure drop between 10-20 minutes the pressure drops then the pump will turn on for a few minutes..

Any help I would love some ideas, Im tempted to add the check valve to the suction side off the pump but really dont want to mask a problem thats fixable

 

[Valveman]

Could be a suction leak at any of the hose clamp connections. Could also be the leathers are not sealed. I am guessing leathers, since it is a slow leak and your not getting air in the lines. Might try moving the packer up a little to a new section of casing, as the casing could be pitted at that point.

I also do not see a back pressure valve? You can simulate one with that ball valve on the discharge. Try restricting the flow with that ball valve and see if the ejector gives more flow and pressure.

I never liked those jet pumps mounted on top of the tank, as the height the pump is installed can make a difference.

You can still add a Cycle Stop Valve if you want strong constant pressure instead of cycling on and off and varying pressure while using water. The pressure tank is much larger than needed with a CSV, but will work fine.

 

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[Rtoms]

I have closed that valve on the discharge of pump and that unfortunately doesn't change things much (was hoping it would instantly raise the pressure) the funny thing is my old pump (same pump but older) had no problem reaching the 50psi, which kind of leads me to believe I have either a suction leak or something wrong with the new pump (i should ad I bought the pump used but its essentially new, internals looked new etc) but its not actually brand new... the way it doesn't get to pressure makes me feel like its a bad impeller (Im use to jetski world) or its pulling air because it gets to 40ish then just stumbles for 2 minutes to gain another 6 psi

im interested in the back pressure valve you mention... the cycle stop... and the leathers.. first I’ve heard of this what are leathers?

I’m on the hunt for 1-1/4” brass 90° elbows.. I’d like to replace those and the 1" elbows and the pipe sections feeding the pump… in a perfect world I’d rather have a smoother transition than elbows but I’m not seeing that setup anywhere.

 

[Bannerman]

(i should ad I bought the pump used

Have you attempted to clean the jet's throat? Since the pump is used, the jet could be partially blocked with sediment/debris.

first I’ve heard of this what are leathers?

Leathers are utilized for deep wells where the casing diameter is too small to allow the 2-pipe injector to be installed within the casing (see Valveman's diagram above depicting what is likely a 2" casing). Your well casing appears to be of sufficient diameter for the injector to be placed within the casing, close to the static water level.

What is the distance between the injector and the foot valve? How high is the injector suspended above the well's static water level?

 

[Rtoms]

injector is roughly 10-12 ft above foot valve, not sure on the height above static water level, ( I can try to get good flashlight and see) I have not attempted to clean the jet throat (I will have to look up how to do that)

appreciate all the help and ideas, I picked up new brass fittings to go from the well pipes to pump in the house and new hoses. going to replace those today to rule that out. I also eliminated the union on the top of the well feed to the T as I saw drips of water on that randomly no matter how much I tightened it..

 

[Valveman]

Yeah sorry. You have an ejector not a packer, so no leathers. But you have a bunch of possible places for a suction leak. Use foamy shaving cream on the connections and you can see a hole suck into it where you have a suction leak.