Gadgetrover
New Member
I have a sand-point well which, beyond the pump, consists of all new piping, connectors, well point, etc. We had been having problems with the well for some time and ended up pulling the old well point and driving a new one a few feet away. The old point was very obstructed and not allowing the water in the pipe to recover quickly enough.
The new point has nine feet of water in the pipe and recovers with no problem, producing full flows from all outlets, simultaneously. Our problem is that soon after the pump has been used on full prime, it seems to lose its prime and we have to go through a process of sputtering, followed by virtually no water, followed by a period of pulling the water back up the pipe and displacing air in the pipe. Finally, at the end of this cycle, the water is at full pressure and volume once again and is fine as long as we are drawing water. I assume that where the pump does not automatically kick in while the pump is off, water pressure is being held successfully by the pump and check valve, indicating a problem beyond the check valve.
A couple of other tidbits are that on occasion, the pump seems like it will not re-prime (e.g., the pump runs for some time and nothing comes out but an occasional trickle). When I go out and remove the priming plug, water shoots out. After reinstalling the plug, the pump seems to re-prime right away. Additionally, whenever the pump kicks in, even when the water has been running continuously, there appears to be some air mixed in with the water.
As mentioned, we replaced the point and all input-side piping and connections. We have never used foot valves and have never had a problem at least until we replaced the old pump with the current one a few years ago. We have, as shown below, a check valve installed near the pump.
I hate the thought of having to dig the 5-6 feet down to the connections in the ground and possibly having to pull up the new point but if that is the way it is, so be it. Before doing that, however, I am wondering the following:
I have the following well setup (see diagram, below):
Here is a picture of the actual pump installation:
The new point has nine feet of water in the pipe and recovers with no problem, producing full flows from all outlets, simultaneously. Our problem is that soon after the pump has been used on full prime, it seems to lose its prime and we have to go through a process of sputtering, followed by virtually no water, followed by a period of pulling the water back up the pipe and displacing air in the pipe. Finally, at the end of this cycle, the water is at full pressure and volume once again and is fine as long as we are drawing water. I assume that where the pump does not automatically kick in while the pump is off, water pressure is being held successfully by the pump and check valve, indicating a problem beyond the check valve.
A couple of other tidbits are that on occasion, the pump seems like it will not re-prime (e.g., the pump runs for some time and nothing comes out but an occasional trickle). When I go out and remove the priming plug, water shoots out. After reinstalling the plug, the pump seems to re-prime right away. Additionally, whenever the pump kicks in, even when the water has been running continuously, there appears to be some air mixed in with the water.
As mentioned, we replaced the point and all input-side piping and connections. We have never used foot valves and have never had a problem at least until we replaced the old pump with the current one a few years ago. We have, as shown below, a check valve installed near the pump.
I hate the thought of having to dig the 5-6 feet down to the connections in the ground and possibly having to pull up the new point but if that is the way it is, so be it. Before doing that, however, I am wondering the following:
- Do I have things installed in a reasonable fashion?
- Could the problem be with the pressure tank? It seems to work and the bladder seems fine although it is quite old. It seems I have heard or read that a pressure tank can force air back down the line through the pump, causing a loss of prime. If this were the case, however, I would think the pump would kick in due to a loss of pressure.
- Is the column of pipe above the tee creating a problem in that it would likely always have a column of air in it? This was left in place so that it would be easier to uncap the pipe and clean out the point, “shock” the well, etc., rather than having to dig down to where the line to the pump connects.
- Given the check valve and pump components, I assume there is nothing on the output side of things that would be contributing to the problems … correct?
- Removing the current check valve and installing a new one right before the elbow where the pipe goes into the ground. I would think this would rule out any connection issues on the input side, at least those above ground.
- Removing the pressure tank and plugging the line to see if the pressure tank is introducing any problems.
I have the following well setup (see diagram, below):
- Newly driven sand-point well with 1.25” point and pipe.
- Depth from ground level to tee in pipe is approximately 5 feet.
- Depth from tee to end of point is approximately 18 feet.
- 1.25-inch line to pump is attached at tee.
- Horizontal distance from well to pump is 18 feet
- There is 9 feet of water in the pipe.
- There is no foot valve (I do not think one can put a foot valve on a driven-point, single-pipe well. Correct me if I am wrong.)
- The well pipe is capped at the ground surface.
- All joints and couplings have been “sealed” with TFE paste and Teflon tape.
- All components of the system were recently replaced, from the point to the pump, with the exception of the pressure tank and output lines.
Here is a picture of the actual pump installation:
- The pump is a half-horse, Wayne, shallow-well pump.
- The priming plug on the pump tends to leak a bit
- The pressure tank is at around 22 psi with no pressure in the water line.