No well experience, need help!!!

[girlinmiami]

I just had a new well installed with a myers 1.5hp pump. The well is 2" pipe, with no foot valve. I placed a check valve by the pump but I seem to lose prime right after shutting it down. I know all the connections from the well to the pump are perfectly sealed. Since this is a new install I haven't done anything with the discharge side. I was wondering if I need to put any kind of seal on the discharge side to keep air from going into the pump and maybe causing the pump to lose prime, or is that not the case?

 

[NHmaster3015]

You NEED a foot valve on a jet pump.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JohnjH2o1]

How close to the pump are you putting the check valve?

John

 

[Valveman]

Wally is right, and John is thinking the same thing. You need a foot valve at the bottom of the suction line. With a check valve up higher, it is like holding your finger over a straw full of water. As long as no air gets in, the straw stays full of water and you won't lose prime. With the tiniest leak below the check valve, air will get in and you will lose prime. This leak will never be under pressure, so you will never see water leaking out but, air still gets in. Even if the leak was under pressure, air can leak into holes that are so small water can't leak out of them.

If you can't get a foot valve in the well, put the check valve as close to the well as you can, and make sure there are no leaks below the check valve.

 

[Masterpumpman]

Everyone right. However I know many installers install the check valve at the pump or near the well and with no leaks everything works OK. Valveman said it best, if you can't install the footvalve on the end of the drop pipe, install it nearest the well as possible.
In short, you have a suction leak between the check valve and the pumping level in the well. . . believe me. Sometimes a suction leak is hard to impossible to locate and sometimes we just had to replace the whole suction line frome the check valve to the well pumping level.

 

[NHmaster3015]

Suction leaks are why swearwords were invented.