Pump keeps cycling

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JDWellness

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We lived in well water bliss for 35 years and then one day our pump went. My husband is a mister do everything yourself guy but this happened just before his hip replacement he had never dealt with a well before and he could barely walk anymore so we had the local well driller come and replace the pump. Our well is 80 feet deep and has water 10 feet down, it is buried (not to current code in NJ) but they wanted an extra $2K to add the 5 feet off pipe casing so we did not do that. At some point after that work was done (I don't reccall why) he dug up the well to discover where the wires came out was open and allowing dirt to fall in. He sealed that but was then suspicious of the quality of the work we had done. This was 2 years ago. In August he was in the basement andd heard the pump cycling every 4 minutes. This did not seem right so he checked the pressure tank, and it was fine. In another forum I inquired about possible causes and it was suggested the check valve had gone in the pump. He followed a recommendation to add a check valve above the well and we got terrible hammering from that so he removed the check valve and ignored the issue for a couple of months. A week ago he heard a noise in the basement and the pressure fitting connecting the well pipe to the pressure tank had come apart and water was ... So he shut off the pump, dried up the water and replaced the pipe fitting (thank god he was home and heard that whoosh sound). He turned the power back on and all seemed ok. The next day he was in the basement and the well was cycling constantly and when he looked at the pressure switch the pump was producing +60. Oops! The switch had burned up and the points were sticking together and kept the pump running - now we knew why the fitting had come apart the day before. So he got a new switch and installed it, but the pump was still cycling every 4 minutes even when it seemed like nothing was running (our underground water line runs to three different buildings but we monitor when people are around...). So we reluctantly called the well guy because now our thinking was that the check valve in the pump must be bad and I had found out that there was indeed a bad batch of pumps (check valves went bad) from that manufacturer. The well guy sent his workers over who doublechecked everything, suggested putting a checkvalve in the basement which my husband declined and they proceeded to pull the pump. They said the check valve on the pump was good but the owner told them to switch the pump which they did and they added a checkvalve directly above the pump. They put it back in and then the owner asked if they had checked the pipe (no!). So they pulled the pipe out and blew into the line (by mouth)? Is this how you check the pipe, really? Dissatisfied the owner (all by phone) told them to replace the pipe. My husband isn't sure what they did but the pump was resubmerged, a new wellcap was installed (unlike the prior time where they reused the original from many years ago) and the wires were sealed. We still have the same problem, except the pump is cycling every 1-2 minutes now, instead of every 3-4 minutes. Our pressure seems lower than before if you watch the pressure gauge and after reading your forum it seems like the other check valve is probably limiting the flow of water from the pump? When I filled the dogs water pail, the water was not clear but after sitting for a few minutes it became clear (never happened before and we do have filtration installed past the pressure tank). I asked my husband to run a hose from the well head to the pressure tank eliminating all of our underground piping to insure that the two ends of the system are working properly because the only other explanation is a leak in our underground pipes but there is nothing evident, no wet spots anywhere suggesting a leak and it would either mean alot of digging (haha I hand dug much of this in 1984, we are in the Ramapo Mtns and there is lots of stone in the ground) or else bringing in a machine but there are so many things trenched together... I picked up a new pressure tank this morning just for good measure. He will do my experiment later today - but I would love to hear if this triggers any ideas on your part. The well guy just wants to add 6' of wellcasing to get us to code but that does nothing for our problem and he seems devoid of ideas. Calling all knowledgeable and experienced thinkers...
 

Reach4

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I am not a pro. It sounds like your well people are doing the right stuff.

Regarding sediment, after you work on a well, expect sediment to be stirred up. You can run the pump for maybe a few hours out of both hose spigots if you have two, to wash out the sediment. Run the water to the ditch.

But right now, it is the cycling that is the symptom you are mainly concerned with. Turn off the valve that is after the pressure tank that feeds water to the house and spigots. Does the cycling stop? If so, the leak is after that valve. You may have tried that already, but it's worth re-trying after you had work done.

Extending your casing and putting in a pitless adapter is a good thing. I am not sure how that will fit into your troubleshooting, but one possibility is to have a yard hydrant put in near the well. When you screw a pressure gauge to that, and also have a pressure gauge in the house, those will read the same after the well pump shuts off if the leak is not between the house and the hydrant. The difference would probably be too small to measure however.

While the plumbing is disconnected at the casing during work, plugging the pipe to the house temporarily could let you use compressed air to check for a leak.

Just thoughts not based on experience.
 
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JDWellness

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We can turn the water into the house off but underground there are 2 T's each leading to a different building. We have shut water off at the entrance to each building and the pump keeps on cycling.
 

Valveman

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It is a process of elimination. If you are sure the lines leaving the pump system are closed and not leaking, the water is going back down the well which is most likely a bad check valve at the pump. The water hammer that happened after adding the second check valve is a give away that water is leaking back down the well.
 

JDWellness

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Thank you valveman, appreciate your thoughts! Yesterday was not the experiment day, but today we will hopefully get it all together. If running a hose from the pump to the pressure tank still has a cycling problem then it most definitely is something in the well - I guess this time we will pull it and become even more educated. We found a neighbor with a backhoe so if thats not it, then we will trench out a new trench and lay fresh pipe - its gotten really cold and tomorrow its supposed to snow - of course - still hardy after all these years...
 
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