Noisy Grundfos Shallow Well Jet Pump

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My Wayne ReliantOne 1 HP convertible shallow well jet pump failed last week. I began to see some air in the lines, loss of water pressure, and then the pump stopped pumping water completely. I replaced that pump with a new Grundfos 1 HP JP4-61ASI Shallow Well Jet Pump. After priming the new pump, it ran for a couple of minutes to fully prime, and then pumped water up to the 50 psi shutoff pressure. The system holds pressure with no issues. I drained the system, and added air to the pressure tank to give it a precharge of 28 psi, which is 2 psi lower than the turn on pressure of 30 psi of the new pump. The old pump was set to 20 – 40.

The water pressure in the house is good, and there is no air present in the water delivered. My issue is that the pump is very noisy. It sounds to me like the pump is re-priming itself each time it kicks on. It makes a lot of noise, has a few shudders as it runs, and then smooths out and quiets down just as it gets to the shutoff pressure. Any ideas on what could be causing this?

Thanks.
 

Reach4

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It is a drilled well.
OK. Note that the drilled well photo does not have an above-ground checkvalve on the line to the well-- the foot valve does that function. If you had an above ground checkvalve, that could contribute to your symptoms.
 
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OK. Note that the drilled well photo does not have an above-ground checkvalve on the line to the well-- the foot valve does that function. If you had an above ground checkvalve, that could contribute to your symptoms.
Agreed. There is no check valve in the system. Only a footvalve.
 

Reach4

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Agreed. There is no check valve in the system. Only a footvalve.
In that case, even if there was a slight leak in your pipe, no air could get in. The water in the pipe to the foot valve would be under pressure, if my understanding is correct. Maybe somebody with some experience will recognize your symptom.

Watch for a quick pressure dip when the pump turns on, especially when using a higher water flow. With jet pumps you often need to set the precharge to 3 or 4 PSI lower than cut-on pressure due to the slower initial delivery of water with a jet pump. This is not related to your symptom.
 
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In that case, even if there was a slight leak in your pipe, no air could get in. The water in the pipe to the foot valve would be under pressure, if my understanding is correct. Maybe somebody with some experience will recognize your symptom.

Watch for a quick pressure dip when the pump turns on, especially when using a higher water flow. With jet pumps you often need to set the precharge to 3 or 4 PSI lower than cut-on pressure due to the slower initial delivery of water with a jet pump. This is not related to your symptom.
Thank you Reach4. There is a pitless adapter at the end of the horizontal pipe run. But, if that were leaking, I think I would see air in the water.
 

Valveman

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If the foot valve is the only check valve in the system, you would see a decrease in pressure when not using any water if you have a leak in the suction line.

You may have a problem with cavitation. When the pump first comes on at low pressure it is pumping higher volume than after the pressure increases. If you have a restriction or too small a suction line, it will sound like pumping gravel until the pressure increases, which decreases the flow rate and the cavitation stops. If you can increase the pressure switch to 40/60 the gravel sound may go away. But make sure your pump can still build to 60 and shut itself off.
 
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If the foot valve is the only check valve in the system, you would see a decrease in pressure when not using any water if you have a leak in the suction line.

You may have a problem with cavitation. When the pump first comes on at low pressure it is pumping higher volume than after the pressure increases. If you have a restriction or too small a suction line, it will sound like pumping gravel until the pressure increases, which decreases the flow rate and the cavitation stops. If you can increase the pressure switch to 40/60 the gravel sound may go away. But make sure your pump can still build to 60 and shut itself off.
Thank you valveman. I will give it a try.
 

Craigpump

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Is there a valve between the pump and tank?

If so, close it a little and see if that helps with the noise.
 

Valveman

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No, the only valve is between the tank and the house. I will move the valve to before the tank and see if restricting the output helps.

Or you could turn the pressure switch up to 50/70, as long as your pump can build to 70 and shut off. Increasing the pressure decreases the flow rate same as squeezing it back with a valve.
 
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