7 yr old well suddenly not recovering

We have a 200 foot deep well installed in 1998. At the time it was drilled, it had a recovery rate of about 15 gallons/min. We have never had any problem getting water, even during a 3 year drought. Suddenly, yesterday, while watering flower beds, the water cut off. After about a minute, it came back on at full pressure, but only ran for less than a minute before shutting off again. This cycle will continue. After shutting off the water for a couple of hours, we are able to run it again for about 15 to 20 minutes. I am praying that there is a cause for this other than our well is drying up. Any suggestions before I call a professional well guy?

Gonna need to compare water level in well now to when it was first installed. That will be first clue whether there is water loss and how severe. Pump will need to be examined too I suspect as it's only a machine. Anyone else in your area having similar water loss problems and how deep are thier wells. You can have 2 people living next to each other with significantly different depth requirements.

If you are not capeable of performing these tasks you'll have to get the "well guy". All's not lost though. You will get an education that will last a lifetime... [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

If it is a submersible pump perhaps pull it and see what condition it is in.

Egon

Yes the water level in the well could be much lower than 'normal' but there are other causes than a dry well condition.

You need someone to check the electrical condition of the cable and motor etc.. It could be that the thermal overload, in the motor, is opening and that shuts off the pump when the motor gets too hot. A low static water level and the size of the pump could be the cause of overheating of the motor. An amp draw test would show that. You could duplicate the problem and see if there is air in the water as the water stops flowing, if so, that says the water level is down to the inlet of the pump.

Franklin Electric has a lot of info for troubleshooting. You need a driller or pump guy, or a plumber capable of pulling the pump.

http://www.franklin-electric.com/Manual/maint_all.htm
http://www.franklin-electric.com/Manual/AIM_42.htm
http://www.franklin-electric.com/Man...int_1phase.htm

Gary Slusser