Pump pressure

[Silledon]

Hi, I'm fairly new to wells so please bear with me.

We have a well with water at 21 ft., not sure how deep the whole thing is, but it seems that I hit some sludge at about 30 ft. The old pump was producing and we ended up replacing the pump with a FloTech 1HP. We put a new foot valve and new pipe in as well. There doesn't seem to be any air leaks in the new pipe or at the elbow to the pump. We have county water in the house, the well is just for 3 outside faucets, one of which is a frost proof about a 100 - 125 ft. away by the shop. I was able to back fill the pipes filling the lines until I had water coming out of the frost proof and at that point the pressure gauge was showing about 20 psi. But, as soon as I stopped filling the lines the pressure dropped to zero. I turned the pump on and the pressure stays at zero. Would you still think that I have a possible air leak or would it be more likely that either the pressure switch (Square D, type 9013 FSG-2, series B, set at 30-50) is bad or the bladder in the tank (Goulds, v-100). I did check the air in the tank and it was only at about 22 psi, so I emptied the tank, which there wasn't much water that came out at all, then filled the tank to 28 psi. Turned the pump on and still nothing, zero psi on the gauge. Do I have to try to fill the lines so that it fills the tank or shouldn't the pump do that once it's turned on. Thanks in advance for any help. Don

 

[Speedbump]

The only thing you have to fill is the pump. It should evacuate the air from the lines. At least a real pump will. You said you replaced pipe and footvalve. Did you get the footvalve at HD too and if the answer is yes, is it plastic? What kind of pipe and what rating?

bob...

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Silledon]

OH, ok, good to know, I was told to fill the lines. So, I should just be able to take the pressure gauge off and fill the pump right there, right?? Yes, got both pump and foot valve at HD, no the foot valve is metal. PVC 1 1/4" and I believe it was rated around 420 psi, I'm sure way above what it needed to be.

The only thing you have to fill is the pump. It should evacuate the air from the lines. At least a real pump will. You said you replaced pipe and footvalve. Did you get the footvalve at HD too and if the answer is yes, is it plastic? What kind of pipe and what rating?

bob...

 

[Speedbump]

I don't know about HD, but some of the Sears pumps have the check valve built into the front of the pump. If that's the case, try to get rid of it, priming will be much easier.

bob...

 

[Silledon]

I just looked at the parts breakdown diagram of the pump and it doesn't say anything about a check valve. In the diagram it says the 2 spots where I have the gauge and pressure switch attached are called 'Pipe Plug' 1/4" NPT, what does that mean? My guess after all of this is that either I still don't have the suction line filled with water after filling the pump and lines with water or I do in fact have an air leak somewhere in the suction line.

 

[Silledon]

Well, I put water in the priming plug until it came spewing back out. I don't see any way to tell if the suction pipe is full of water. Turned the pump on and nothing, no pressure on the gauge or anything. One question, is it possible for the impeller to spin backwards, wiring it wrong or something?

 

[Speedbump]

I have seen a few (very cheap) pumps with 1/4" prime plugs. That is a dirty trick if it's actually the case. The prime plug should be at least 3/4" and more likely 1" since you have to pour water into the housing and the suction line. A 1/4" hole would be very hard to use as a priming hole since; as the water goes in, air has to come out.

bob...

 

[Silledon]

There is no priming plug on the pump itself, according to the parts breakdown in the manual. The priming plug is in the discharge line and is 1". I'm going to take the pump apart tonight and see if I can make sure the suction line is filled up that way.

 

[Speedbump]

I wouldn't go to all that trouble if it were me. You might want to take it apart to see if the impeller is still connected to the motor shaft. If it's broke or melted, it would act like you described.

bob...

 

[Silledon]

So, I took the the pump apart to look at the impeller and it seems to me that it's spinning backwards. Is it possible to wire it so that it spins backwards? Or would it just not spin at all?

 

[Speedbump]

No, you cannot reverse a pump motor.

bob...

 

[Silledon]

Ok, thanks. I guess I'll be getting a well tech out to take a look at it then.

 

[Valveman]

Some single phase motors have a CW for Clockwise and a CCW for Counter Clockwise in their wiring diagram. If this is the case, then it is possible that the pump is turning backwards. If there is no CW or CCW wiring instructions, then it is probably not running backwards.

 

[Silledon]

Ok, thanks, I'll check it again, but I got off the phone with the well people and they said it sounds like we had a deep well setup before and put in a shallow well setup this time, so that's probably why it's not working. we're pulling water from 21 ft. down, but they said at our elevation that the standard 25 ft. that a shallow pump will pull from is reduced to about 18 - 20 ft. Does this sound about right? We're in colorado.

 

[Wet_Boots]

Elevation does reduce the depth you can lift water from. Same basic idea as the lower boiling point for water you experience.

 

[Silledon]

Oh, well, good to know. Thanks. Any idea how much I should expect to pay for a deep well pump?

 

[Speedbump]

It all depends on where you buy it and what quality you expect.

bob...

 

[Silledon]

Can someone explain the basics of the shallow well jet pump verses the deep well jet pump? Why does the deep well have 2 drop pipes and the shallow well only 1? Can I add a jet to the shallow well pump I bought to get it to pull the water up, so I don't have to go buy the deep well pump? I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to take the pump I've got back to be able to go get a deep well pump, so just thinking I might be able to make it work.

 

[Speedbump]

Since nobody I know including me will work on a Flotec, I'm not real sure how they are made up. I believe the shallow well Flotec is all one piece, it's not convertable. The deep well I don't know for sure. With a 20 some foot well, you can only use a shallow well jet anyway.

bob...

 

[Silledon]

Why won't anyone work on a Flotec? What about the general workings of a shallow well pump verses a deep well pump?