Submersible Deep Well Pump

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Keith Blanchard

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I purchased a home last week.
I am experiencing some issues with my well water.
Water is a brownish yellow color coming out of the inside faucet
and directly from the pump.

#1.The well has not been used in about 2 years

So from reading these forums I tried a 20min on 20min off cycles straight from the well.(by passed pressure tank an connected hose directly to pump.
I ran it one cycle for 20min then shut off for 20min. When I turned it back on I had no water? I turned main power off and back on (I am not sure if it had indeed tripped the breaker).Waited till the next day and I again have water.
I thought either the pump over heated or I ran out of water in the well?

There is a sand filter inline after the pressure tank with a screen filter that I also discharged and cleaned.

I had a bacteria test done before I closed on the home and it came back 0%
I am setting up appointment with county health dept. to do a non organic test but it will take several week to get results back.

#2 I have worked on these types on wells before pulling pump and plumbing

I plan on re doing the entire setup. Placing the sand filter before the pressure switch and pressure tank and pulling pump and installing a rubber adapter to stabilize the pump and hopeful reduce Turbidity.
I will also replace pressure switch and verify that pressure tank operates properly.

#3 My main question is could these issues be caused by well casing or low water. The home is 100 feet from a natural spring lake so I cant believe there is no water.

Any info would greatly be appreciated.
The last thing I want to do is have a new well drilled that being the only thing I cant do my self
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Reach4

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When you turned the power back on, you got no water. Maybe the pump did not start. If this is a "3-wire" pump with a controller box, maybe the capacitor as deteriorated making starting an intermittent thing. That would be good, because replacing that capacitor is relatively cheap. Note that the "3-wires" does not include the green safety ground, which may or may not be present in your system.

You should not have a filter before the pressure switch because if that filter clogs, the pump runs continuously. It passes no water, so the pump burns up.

If your well can run short of water, you should have a device to shut off the pump for a while when you run out of water. I am thinking that if your well ran short you would have gotten a little water before it running out. There is a cheap shut-off method if the danger running out of water is present, but the event is very infrequent: there are pressure switches that will stay off if they see water pressure down to maybe 20 PSI. You then have to hold down a lever, until the pressure builds, to get the pump going again.

You don't mention things like casing diameter, well depth, water depth. If you don't know these things, maybe the county or an old owner could let you know. Often the well people will write that info onto the pressure tank.

You can clean wells. One way is to run a PVC pipe down the bore and blow with a 5HP or more compressor. You get a geyser that includes debris. Some professionals do that. It is quick. Some pump sand+water with an "air lift pump". Slower, but it can use a much smaller compressor. See Youtube. An older slower method is with a "bailer bucket" I think these are all done with the pump out of the well. If you had a 6-inch casing, maybe the single pipe high volume compressor could work. I have not done any of this stuff.
 

Keith Blanchard

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I have done some further investigation and it is a 4” diameter well.
I timed the water and it is about 10GPM.
I also looked for any identifying marks on tank and well seal nut could not find anything
The original seller is elderly and has dementia that is why the family sold the place.
But I am going to call some local well driller and see if anyone has worked on this address
I am almost sure it is metal pipe connecting the well and not black flex pipe.
So this really prevents me from pulling the pump (will have to hire someone to do it)
The county’s environmental health dept. told me that they offer to run a camera down the well for free but are not sure if it will fit/work on a 4”.

I am getting a non-organic test on the water.
This will tell me exactly what type of sediment I am dealing with
Thanks for the heads up on the filter placement and I think connecting a switch to identify low pressure is one of the best ideas I have heard yet!
 
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