John Manganaro
New Member
Ok guys, new problem. So I’ve been combing though the forum before posting to see if I could find my answer.
Situation: I have a 3/4 shallow well jet pump that I use for lawn irrigation (see picture) that for the last year or so has intermittently cycled even without any lawn valves open. I just thought it was a slow leak somewhere between my pump and irrigation valves. The last 3 weeks Ive had the problem where my pump has run dry. Its not that the well has run dry because once I prime it and it pulls a vacuum, after a minute or so it’ll bring back water (clear) and I can run it for hours with no problem. On one occasion, I didn’t catch it and it burned up my impeller.
I just installed a vacuum gauge on my suction side. When I first turn the pump on, the gauge will read around 7mg Hg and then after about a minute it will start to increase until about 23 mg of Hg and the water starts to flow. If I shut the pump off to see if the vacuum holds, it will start at 7mg of Hg and then slowly over 5/10 minites decrease in vacuum. I’m assuming thats the water going back down the well. Interestingly, it will only pull water if I have an irrigation valve open. It seems that if there isn’t a sufficient “load” of water being drawn from the well through an open irrigation valve, the pump will continue to run and never really pull a strong enough vacuum to pull water up the well. I think that it when my impeller burned up.
What I think is happening is my foot valve in the bottom of the well has failed and the water is slowly going back down the well. So every time the pump starts, it has to pull that column of water up 25’. You might be able to see in the picture, I have a check valve right at the end of the suction line before it goes into the pump. I don’t think that is the part that’s failing. It wouldn’t have anything to do with water going back down into the well. I also don’t think I have a leak anywhere in my lines before the well. Ive replaced most of the 3/4” line by now. Is there a way to double check that I have a vacuum leak in the lines?
I don’t know how the foot valve could have gone so quick, I “just” had this replaced about 5 years ago. A pump guy came and put a whole new pipe with the point in. I just want to make sure its the foot valve. I don’t think its that hard to pull the pipe up and replace the point, just seems time consuming. So I want to make absolutely sure that its that before I go ahead with the project.
On a side note, because I live in Massachusetts… In the winter when I blow all the lines out … if my foot valve is working properly doesn’t that water just sit in my vacuum line and all the way down the well, waiting to freeze and crack my pipe? Is it possible that I don’t even have a foot valve down there (because of that logic)? Thanks in advance for the help.
Situation: I have a 3/4 shallow well jet pump that I use for lawn irrigation (see picture) that for the last year or so has intermittently cycled even without any lawn valves open. I just thought it was a slow leak somewhere between my pump and irrigation valves. The last 3 weeks Ive had the problem where my pump has run dry. Its not that the well has run dry because once I prime it and it pulls a vacuum, after a minute or so it’ll bring back water (clear) and I can run it for hours with no problem. On one occasion, I didn’t catch it and it burned up my impeller.
I just installed a vacuum gauge on my suction side. When I first turn the pump on, the gauge will read around 7mg Hg and then after about a minute it will start to increase until about 23 mg of Hg and the water starts to flow. If I shut the pump off to see if the vacuum holds, it will start at 7mg of Hg and then slowly over 5/10 minites decrease in vacuum. I’m assuming thats the water going back down the well. Interestingly, it will only pull water if I have an irrigation valve open. It seems that if there isn’t a sufficient “load” of water being drawn from the well through an open irrigation valve, the pump will continue to run and never really pull a strong enough vacuum to pull water up the well. I think that it when my impeller burned up.
What I think is happening is my foot valve in the bottom of the well has failed and the water is slowly going back down the well. So every time the pump starts, it has to pull that column of water up 25’. You might be able to see in the picture, I have a check valve right at the end of the suction line before it goes into the pump. I don’t think that is the part that’s failing. It wouldn’t have anything to do with water going back down into the well. I also don’t think I have a leak anywhere in my lines before the well. Ive replaced most of the 3/4” line by now. Is there a way to double check that I have a vacuum leak in the lines?
I don’t know how the foot valve could have gone so quick, I “just” had this replaced about 5 years ago. A pump guy came and put a whole new pipe with the point in. I just want to make sure its the foot valve. I don’t think its that hard to pull the pipe up and replace the point, just seems time consuming. So I want to make absolutely sure that its that before I go ahead with the project.
On a side note, because I live in Massachusetts… In the winter when I blow all the lines out … if my foot valve is working properly doesn’t that water just sit in my vacuum line and all the way down the well, waiting to freeze and crack my pipe? Is it possible that I don’t even have a foot valve down there (because of that logic)? Thanks in advance for the help.
