Low Pressure and noise

[Montey Thomas]

I rebuilt an old well. I bought a new pump (230 volt 3 1/2 inch submersible 25gpm) new pressure tank and new pressure switch. it is 100 feet down. I put it all together and turned on the electricity and watched the pressure gauge. It was working and I was happy. I watched the pressure go up to 60psi and I watched and heard the pressure switch turn off like it was supposed to. Again I was happy. As I was looking at the pressure guage I heard a vibration in the pipe from the well. I watched the pressure drop really fast to about 40psi and then it wouldn't go back up. I heard a low vibration sound coming from the pipe in the well. after about four minutes and nothing changed the pressure didn't go up or down and the sound didn't go away I turned off the power and pulled out the pump.
I couldn't find a crack or fissure in the the black roll pipe. no cracks in any of the fittings that I could find. so I hooked up a water hose to the pipe to see if I could find a leak. As far as I could tell there was no leak in the pipe. but I did find something that puzzled me. On the pump itself there was a stream of water coming from the casing close to the top. (see pictures) I did not know if that was supposed to be there or not. the second picture shows the hole without the water coming from it.
My question is where should I go from here? what should I look for and what should I do?

 

[Boycedrilling]

A retaining screw that holds the discharge head onto the Pump shell came loose or stripped its threads and blew off

Replace the screw. If the threads are stripped, you will need to drill and tap it to a larger size. Or replace the pump. For less than $200 bought on Amazon, I doubt if there is any warranty.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Montey Thomas]

A retaining screw that holds the discharge head onto the Pump shell came loose or stripped its threads and blew off

Replace the screw. If the threads are stripped, you will need to drill and tap it to a larger size. Or replace the pump. For less than $200 bought on Amazon, I doubt if there is any warranty.

Is this the reason for the drop in water pressure?

 

[Boycedrilling]

Yes. You have a hole now, where the retaining screw originally was. Water is being pumped out it when the pump is on. It is also jetting against the sidewall of the well.

 

[Montey Thomas]

Yes. You have a hole now, where the retaining screw originally was. Water is being pumped out it when the pump is on. It is also jetting against the sidewall of the well.

Thank you

 

[Montey Thomas]

OK. I drilled and tapped with a larger screw. after doing so I put some hard drying silicone (Goop) over the head of the screw to prevent knocking it off again. put the pump back in the well and hooked everything up. then it done exactly like it did the last time. I watched the pressure go to 60psi and cut off like it was supposed to then in about 10 seconds the pressure dropped and would not go back up. I could hear the pump and feel the vibration in the pipes as if the same thing happened again. I haven't pulled the pump out yet but it would be hard to believe the same thing happened again. This pump has less than 10 minutes working time on it.

 

[Valveman]

Those holes are not supposed to be drilled all the way through. There is a lot of pressure in the pump at that point. Gonna need an over-size screw and a tight fit to keep it from blowing out again.