Stupid Water Well

[icandoanything]

I'm having a problem with my water well. I'm gettin alot of dirt sucked up and coming through my pipes. I'm only using this well to water my animals, but, I still need the stupid thing. I had a new well pump put in about two months ago. Could the well people have put the pump in too deep? Its burned the contacts on the, I believe, the regulator that cuts the well on and off and is not working now. Well people are gone for Christmas and I have to wait til they get back. Guess what I have to do to get water to some of these animals that are being watered by this well? You got it, four 100' hoses to get to the back. Has anyone wlse run into this problem of muck being sucked up by the pump? If the pump is too low, can I raise it? The water is darn near at the top of the pipe so raising it wouldn't be a problem. Sorry for the winded explanation. Thanks in advance.

Dick

[egon]

Them things do happen just at the most convienient times.

The pump can be set at any depth you wish. It should be set taking well delivery rates,pump size and pump run time into account.

Egon

[NSbound]

Hey Dick : Here's yet another good resource especially for water well issues. It's called the Water Well Helpline and might be a place to get some help until after Christmas.

[Pat]

Over pumping the well will in some cases get you a lot of sand/debis from the well. I have a good well with plenty of water but you can't take it out too fast or you get a lot of fines in the form of cloudy muddy sandy water. Pumped slower it gives PERFECT water.

If you are running the well a lot without proper cohtrol perhaps you exceed its capability and have the problem I can get into.

Another issue: changing the pressure switch is a simple DIY operation and you don't need an expert. Unfortunately you have to find a place open to sell you one.

If you have good depth of water over the top of your pump, raise it a few feet and see if it helps clear the water.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[QRTRHRS]

I did some well work already. We would pull the existing pump and measure the length of pump/pipe. We would also measure the water line on the freshly pulled pump. We would then tie a heavy nut on to a piece of string and drop it to the bottom then measure the length. If memory serves, we would try to keep maybe 15' from the pump to the bottom. We never had a case where we had to worry about the depth of the water above the pump so I can't help there. Just be careful to not drop the pump while you are raising it should you do so.

The pressure switch will have a range of operation lets say 20-40. You need to start by having the water drained from the pressure tank and checking the air pressure in the tank. If the tank bladder is suspect, then you are going to have to spring for a new tank. With proper pressure, you adjust to cut in about 20-22 and the cut out 38-40. That is, the pump should come on around 20-22 and pump water to fill the pressure tank until it reaches 38-40 and then will shut off. Hook a hose up to the drain valve so you can cycle the pump a few times while you verify your settings. The pressure switch has contacts just like cars did at one time. Within reason, you may be able to clean them to get through the holiday. If you suspect the tank is bad, you may be able to get the system to pump but then shut the power off until you need water again until you can resolve the issues.

[Pat]

QRTRHRS, My pressure switch is a 20-50 but otherwise is as you describe.

Feet of water above the pump is not a problem, it is a good thing. If you don't have much water depth above the pump you need to be careful about how high you raise the pump. It is unlikely that a pro would install a pump at the bottom of the bore but someone could have lowered the pump or it is conceivable that the well silted in. At any rate a decent space above the bottom is a good thing.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat

[icandoanything]

I dug down and checked my supply pipe at a given point and found that the pipe is just full of mud. Could this be a possible answer to my problem? I mean, would that make the pressure switch work overtime and burn out the contacts. These suckers are burnt to all h*&^. I can change out the pipe pretty easy if that is a possible answer. Probably should anyway.

Dick

[egon]

Sounds like you are on to something. Would it be possible to flush out the pipe?

Run a temporary surface line??

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

QRTRHRS, I thought you might get a chuckle out of this admission... Untill now I thought QRTRHRS was a short version of Quarter Hours and didn't exactly "get it" unless you were a college student on the quarter system instead of the semester system or some such.

FINALLY what passes for a pattern recognition ability in my brain noticed that it could also be Quarter Horse.... DU-UHHH!!!!

I suppose it comes from spending entirely too much of my life in school.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Sometimes when the pressure switch gets a load of mud into the diaphram, it holds it in never-never land and burns the points; that is to say that the points do not SNAP open and SNAP closed as designed, but are held in a contact POSITION, but with very little contact PRESSURE. And since the three things needed to convey electric current are: Cleanliness, Area, and Pressure, you had one component missing from the process. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I try not to get involved in homeowner-to-homeowner pump problem analysis but in this case I might add that it seems likely that you have "overpumped" that well a few times and encouraged silt intrusion. What you could do is add a FLOW RESTRICTOR on the pump discharge pipe that would throttle the pump back somewhat and prevent overpumping during low head conditions. A flow restrictor looks like a pipe coupling and has a neoprene "wall" in it with a deformable hole sized for sa specific GPM. All of the other components continue to work as designed, tank, switch, etc. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]