Well pump loosing prime

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Joe Vicini

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I have seen a couple threads on well pumps loosing prime and have tried everything mentioned but still having issues
Well pump for irrigation system ran fine last year. Currently once it is primed it runs great and holds pressure for days when off. However when I go to restart even a couple hours after running it, there is no water coming from inlet, so I need to re-prime, which is taking longer than normal
Had some problems getting it primed this year so decided to change the check valve. Got the pump running after changing check valve after taking a while to prime. But next time I went to restart I had no prime. Did not heat the poly pipe, so tried again with heating the poly pipe and making sure clamps were positioned correctly and tight, but had the same problem with loosing prime. Figured poly pipe was too flared at the end so I bought a little longer threaded to barb pipe so I could cut off a little of the poly pipe, but had the same problem with loosing prime. Don't know what to try next. I am guessing maybe there is a small hole or crack in the poly. Is there any way to check poly pipe for leaks? Any other suggestions?

Attached is a picture of the pump. It is a single feed. Not sure how deep the well is.
 

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Bannerman

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How do you prime with a check-valve preventing water to fill the drop pipe? There should be a footvalve at the bottom of the drop pipe which will eliminate the check valve directly before the pump and will allow the drop pipe to be filled during priming.

Water can only be lifted maximum 24' vertically using a single pipe jet pump. If itis more than 24' from the pump inlet to the water level in the well, then a jet pump will need to be configured for a deep well which will require 2 pipes.
 
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Joe Vicini

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Spoke to a neighbor who has a very similar set up and he said that he has a shallow well and that he does not have a foot valve either.
As I mentioned, the pump worked fine last year with the same exact set up.
Broke down and called a couple well companies for a service call. I will let you know how it turns out.
 

Joe Vicini

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Found the problem. Traced the poly well pipe out side and found I had put a very small nick in the pipe when I had installed some temporary fencing over the winter. The well pipe came out of the house 10' and then went down. Problem was the pipe turned when it went out of the house and headed towards the front yard. You could only see a small scratch in the pipe but under pressure it had a very small leak.
 

WorthFlorida

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It's great that the problem was found. One trick should it happen again is after the pump shuts off, put your ear to the pipe. If you hear gurgling then air is getting in somewhere. In Florida there are thousands of wells for irrigation only and the check valve is place at the top as yours is. Twice losing prime on two irrigation pumps I maintained for my job, both were check valve issues.

On one the spring would not close the valve. The other was a small piece of metal stuck in the check valve from the drilling equipment when the well was drilled. It looked like a tooth from the drill bit. For years it sat at the bottom of the well and then is started to come up with the water and wedge in the check valve. It took a few times for me to see it as each time I removed the check valve to check it, it would fall out back down the well unseen. Finally after changing the check valve the new one more or less caught the metal and held it and I found it after losing prime again. This stuff will drive you nuts.
 
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