sudden loss of pressure and sediment problem

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baksw28160

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The well is 5 years old with a 4" submersible with a 3hp motor and a 90/105pressure switch supposibly the well casing is down 600 ft and the motor at 200 with the water table at 60 feet(the reason why I say supposibly is because i was not present when it was drilled).Anyway I thought at first i had a water logged problem so i went to drain the tank and noticed that the pressure was holding at 70 psi and the pump was constantly running. I drained the tank and turned back on. The pressurs would not go up to 90psi and would max at about 70psi and took a very long time to reach it also. I then lowered the pressure switch so the pump would kick off. When i went to take a bath the water had alot of sediment. I ran the water for a couple of hours and it still has sediment in it. The pressure loss did not happen over time it happen all of a sudden..
 

Valveman

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Sounds like you have a hole in the pipe down the well. Probably right at the pump. Going to be another one of those problems that could have been prevented by using 10 cents worth of electric tape in the right spot.
 

LLigetfa

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Not really enough info for an accurate diagnosis but a leak in the line is one distinct possibility. No mention of water running back out of the tank but then there could be a second check valve. No mention of the size or type of tank either. If it's a bladder tank I suggest removing the topside checkvalve if there is one. Then the leak in the line would be evident. 3HP is a lot of pump to lift 60 feet. Supposedly the pump is another 140 feet below to account for the high GPM versus well recovery.

No solid explanation for the sediment issue... could have been from churning because the tank was drained. It's pretty hard for sediment to rise up 400 feet of casing. Mind you, a big tank would produce a surge in GPM from a 3 HP pump...
 
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LLigetfa

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Another theory for the sediment which also supports the loss of pressure, is a leak in the line between the well and the tank. If there is a checkvalve at the tank, the water column could fall back to the well creating a vacuum. This then creates water hammer which could create a leak in the line explaining the loss of pressure. With the leak, the vacuum sucks in dirty ground water which then gets pushed to the tank.
 
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baksw28160

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found hole in pipe at the top of well where it 90 over to run to tank it was just a small pin hole though.
 

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I don't think you have found the problem yet. A pinhole wouldn't keep a 3 HP from reaching 105 PSI. A pinhole up there should not cause sediment. Still bet you have a galv nipple rotted out between the pump and a check valve. That would cause sediment and keep the pump from reaching cut off.
 

LLigetfa

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A leak in the ground between the pump and a check valve could also contaminate the water with bacteria. Remove the checkvalve at the tank if you have one there.
 
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