I am on a well and septic. Lately the pump makes a weird noise and won't generate the pressure to activate the shut off of the pump motor. It has air in it. I go out and bleed of the air, all is fine and a couple of week later same thing again. So obviously air is getting drawn into the pump. Any ideas on how to find the leak?
Water System Question
- Thread starter MaxMan
- Start date
Drayks
Bearcat
Probably have a ruptured diaphragm in the water tank and need to replace the tank. Otherwise, you can keep messing with air pressure forever. If the screen at the bottom of your well is getting plugged(cavitation), people have been known to shoot a 22LR cartridge into the drop pipe to shock scale off of screen.
OP
Any excuse to shoot
If I miss and hit the side of the well pipe any issues? Will that damage the screen on the bottom opf the well, seems like it would. But any issues with that? Thanks for taking the time.DGW1949
Hawkeye
Apparently you have a leak on the suction side of the pump. Might be holes in the draw pipe, sand point, foot valve, or somewhere in the upper plumbing that connects to the pump...Or as Drayks said, a bad tank diaphragm or faulty foot valve....Myself, although many folks swear by those new-fangled tanks that use a "pressure diaphragm", I quit using them for that very reason.
Hope this helps.
DGW
Hope this helps.
DGW
OP
How do I check for the leak in the draw side. I was thinking of getting a bee smoker and go along all above ground pipes on a calm day.
Could be any of the above- or it could be a fluctuating low water level in the well. Don't know where you are and current conditions. Parts of the country are dam near under water, others are under severe drought. Just figured I would mention it- has happened to me back in the day.
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Testing the diaphragm tank is an easy start. This is from memory so do quick online search for definitive directions. Turn off the pump. Check diaphragm air pressure. There not be any water coming from the air valve. Pressure should be 2# (here’s the memory issue) above or below switch cut out pressure. Once that is verified then you can look at other possibilities.
So many questions.
How deep is the well?
But depending on the pump design the shaft seal by be leaking and allowing air back into the pump.
How deep is the well?
But depending on the pump design the shaft seal by be leaking and allowing air back into the pump.
DGW1949
Hawkeye
Yep, I had forgotten that the pump may be drawing air though the shaft seal...thanks for posting that. Sometimes my old foggy brain has trouble accessing it's older files..LOL.
DGW
OP
I am in South Florida, Palm Beach County. The well is about 35 feet (common for down here. The pump is a Gould 1/2 horse 220 volt. The pump and all is about 10 years old. The answer for the pressure tank I can do. Any thought on the rest of the answers.
" If I miss and hit the side of the well pipe any issues? "
Depends on whether you have steel or PVC suction line.
Depends on whether you have steel or PVC suction line.
Terry Morgan
Single-Sixer
I remember a Dragnet episode where they shot a pistol into a water tank to get a bullet to measure, etc. It wasn't really deep.Any excuse to shoot
Don’t wait too long if the pump is cycling on and off constantly its very hard on the pump.You can usually tell if the bladder is bad by pushing the valve in if water comes out it’s shot don’t need to shut anything off. Could be a leak water might have dropped in well and now the pumps not powerful enough to pump it up pump could be going bad
OP
Thanks all its not cycling on and off but it does get air in it and then can't turn off because the air doesn't build up pressure like just water and the switch won't turn off with a certain pressure 60 I think.
If it’s running all the time you’re going to have a nice electric bill. Maybe you’ll get lucky and its leaking at the pitless adapter if you take the cap off the well you should be able to hear and see with a flashlight if it’s leaking
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OP
Well (expensive and deep subject)
So this issue with it not holding prime kept getting worse and worse. It was go out prime the pump fill the pressure tank then we could flush the commode and other thinks. until the 20 gal (+-) pressure tank went dry. I replumbed the section between the well pipe nest to the pump and put in a new check valve. No luck So I called a local pump and well company. I had him install my softener system about 6 years ago as he was recommended by a fiend.
He came out and looked at my replumbing and admittedly it looked very amateurish ans he said he needed to replumb it Ok. Next day same problem. He said he needed to go to the well head and if necessary, sleeve as many of the older wells were galvanized and after 40/50 years they can get leak air into the system. Ok well since the pump was put in the previous owner had asphalted over the well head. Dug up about three feet of asphalt and found the well head the check valve was shot. The job was also done by a sloppy outfit as some of the PVC pieces had been heated and stretched to compensate for inaccurate measurement. Put it back together after a day of working again lost prime. The owner called after i called in the problem still existed and said you needed another well. (Our previous house need to have a new well put in so it does happen. To put the well the proper distance from the septic tank it had to go in on the opposite side of the driveway. So, in goes the well and again cut a trench across the driveway. There isn't anything else that can be done. Well went down ^^ feet, no sulfur or rust and a TDS (total dissolved solids,) almost equal to the Zepher Hills spring water.
NOW for the bill!
So this issue with it not holding prime kept getting worse and worse. It was go out prime the pump fill the pressure tank then we could flush the commode and other thinks. until the 20 gal (+-) pressure tank went dry. I replumbed the section between the well pipe nest to the pump and put in a new check valve. No luck So I called a local pump and well company. I had him install my softener system about 6 years ago as he was recommended by a fiend.
He came out and looked at my replumbing and admittedly it looked very amateurish ans he said he needed to replumb it Ok. Next day same problem. He said he needed to go to the well head and if necessary, sleeve as many of the older wells were galvanized and after 40/50 years they can get leak air into the system. Ok well since the pump was put in the previous owner had asphalted over the well head. Dug up about three feet of asphalt and found the well head the check valve was shot. The job was also done by a sloppy outfit as some of the PVC pieces had been heated and stretched to compensate for inaccurate measurement. Put it back together after a day of working again lost prime. The owner called after i called in the problem still existed and said you needed another well. (Our previous house need to have a new well put in so it does happen. To put the well the proper distance from the septic tank it had to go in on the opposite side of the driveway. So, in goes the well and again cut a trench across the driveway. There isn't anything else that can be done. Well went down ^^ feet, no sulfur or rust and a TDS (total dissolved solids,) almost equal to the Zepher Hills spring water.
NOW for the bill!
OP
Thanks for honest but discouraging word, actually doing ok now. Several flushes, two showers and two loads of laundry.
OP
You are supposed to get a permit. They had to find the sell by cutting the pipe up by the pump and fishing a wire down the pipe until they here is clunk. They heard it clunk against the old check valve dug there and then followed the pipe another three feet to the well head. They had to take it 100 feet from the septic tank which is good. Milk is expensive but I don't need to drink the same glass twice.Did they know it was there? I'm not sure that would be legal in these parts.
What a PITA
