Fixed Well Pump - Still Broken

[Frost37]

Hello, I found this forum on google, searching for well pump forums. I have a problem that I'm hoping someone can help. My well pump died, so we disconnected the pressure switch and pipes. We pulled up the cap, cables, wires, rope, everything. We disconnected the pump from everything and put it in a bucket of water. We connected it directly to power: the pump came on, but water didn't pump. The motor's good, the upper half's bad. A plumber sold us a used upper half for $20, and it worked great in the water bucket experiment. We put our well back together, and we've got fantastic water pressure. Yay!!! We checked the water pressure on our way to bed tonight, and it was dropping fast. We went out to the well. The pressure switch is closed, because there's no water pressure to pop it open. The well isn't pumping water. I played with the electrical wires, and everything checks out as well as the pressure switch. All of the inidividual components check out. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why my well pump isn't pumping water? I'm at a total loss, and Google only produces answers to questions we've already resolved.

Thanks for helping me out. If ya'll can help me fix my well, I'll stick around.

 

[Ballvalve]

You might not have any water in the well.

Did you restrict the output on your test and see what presure the pump made with the outlet almost closed? If not you did not test the pump.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Frost37]

Our well has plenty of water, we discovered this when we pulled up some 50 feet of black pipe. What do you mean by "restricting the output?"

 

[Valveman]

Your well maybe full of water but, if you are pumping out 10 GPM, and the well only makes 8 GPM, you are pumping the well dry. Probably the same thing that caused the first "upper end" to go bad. Restrict the output of the pump with a ball valve, to see how much water the well will actually make without pumping dry.

 

[Ballvalve]

And read about low pressure cut- out switches in the first area of threads...

 

[hj]

The pressure switch is "normally CLOSED", so if there is no pressure it turns the pump ON, and then the pump runs until there is enough pressure to turn the pump OFF. Therefore the pump should be RUNNING. If it is and there is no water, then the motor is bad, the "pump" section is bad, there is a major leak in the pipe, OR the well does not have water in it. Which of these four possibilities, and maybe others as well, applies to you is impossible to say without testing your pump and its circuitry.

 

[Masterpumpman]

Valveman put it simple.