I have a beast of a well and not sure where to go from here

[FirkinGood]

I will relay as much info as I know here, but I have not recieved paperwork/history for this well *we've lived here almost 2 years* The well was dug years before we got here.

I have a well, that according to the well company that dug it is 750 feet deep, with the pump sitting at 600 feet. The well casing is 6 inch diameter. The filter that we have is a glass tube with the white "cotton-y" type of filter inside. We had changed the filter about three weeks ago, and since have been losing water pressure. The father-in-law came checked everything over and tested several things. We replaced the switch box and guage at the bottom of the p-tank - no go, said he thought the bladder had burst in the pressure tank so we got a new Pressure tank, then were told that a capacitor(?) had blown in the relay box, replaced it and still no water pressure. Someone suggested that maybe the well was running dry, because we had had no rain in forever, that we should try having someone deliver water and dump it in the well to bring it up to the pump. Tried that and they could only get about ten gallons (if that) into the well. The water delivery people suggested a larger pump, we found that we had a 1 HP pump. They said we had plenty of water in the well.

we've been checking pressure and the tank seems to hold, but the water flow does not

does anyone know how to explain to me in the simplest of terms how to figure out what size pump I should have for the beast well? and what I could do to increase water pressure?

 

[Ballvalve]

why is this a beast of a well? You simply have a common and basic issue to troubleshoot with normal procedures from the surface - why not call a good pump and well guy to come out and give it a go?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[FirkinGood]

well I called it a beast of a well, because of the depth in comparison to all my neighbors. When people have asked me how deep and I tell them they are all like "Good Gawd". We do have a guy coming out to check it out, but I am trying to just make sure that I don't get taken for a ride, we already had a guy come o0ut that wanted to charge us about $3200 JUST to pull it, before he even knew what was wrong with our situation. I just want to figure out what size pump SHOULD be in the groung for this deep well and go from there.

 

[Justwater]

when pump kicks on and you cut the main supply valve off.. will pump build, shut off, and HOLD pressure? if it will do this fine, you may need to make some tank/switch adjustments, and/or address any filters restricting water..

 

[Ballvalve]

You need a TECHNICIAN not a dope that wants to rip up 600' of pipe without extensive testing according to the book.

The problem is he must be HONEST, as the procedure is ripe for a rip off.

Take a look at Franklin electric AIM manual for testing procedures and be sure your guy does it. A good PUMP guy or electrician with industrial motor experience can do it.

By the way, never dump water in a well. might as well dump it in the yard.

To decide the best pump, you should learn the pumping level - where the water sits in the well when you are using the average output of the pump.

If you have a 5000' well and water is at 3 feet from the top, your pump is only working to push from 3', not 5000.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

You've told us a lot, but not much of any value to us.

Have you followed the proper procedure for checking/setting the air pressure in the bladder tank?

Will the pump pressurize the system to the point which the pressure switch turns the pump off? What does the pressure gauge read when the pump first starts? What does it read when the pump stops?

You mentioned a filter- the filter is installed downstream of the pressure tank? Installing upstream is incorrect. Does the system operate any better if you run it without the filter cartridge in place?

 

[Thatguy]

with the pump sitting at 600 feet.
we found that we had a 1 HP pump.

With a 1 hp 50% efficient pump you'll get 3 GPM from this well. With 5 hp, 15 GPM, and you'll need heavier wires. Can you post your pump specs?

 

[Drick]

IWe had changed the filter about three weeks ago, and since have been losing water pressure.

Hmmm. So have you tried removing the filter? Whole house filters aren't all created equal. If you buy one with a small micron rating it will filter out almost everything..... and clog up really quickly in the process. This will leave you with less and less water getting through.

So if you have not done so yet remove the filter!

Also if your well is 50000 feet deep with the pump at the bottom and you water level in the well is only down 5 feet from the top you pump only has to be able to pump water up 5 feet to get out of the well. Any pump on the market could do it. So knowing the depth of the well and depth of the pump are not the only, or even most important, factors in determining pump size. You also need to know what the static (highest) water level is in the well and how fast the well refills when you draw water out of it.

So given that no water could be dumped into your well it sounds like it is close to full to the top. Do you know how many gallons per minute the well produces?

-rick