I have a water well at a resort home in Arizona that I believe is 770+ feet deep. When the well was drilled in the late 70s, sufficient water was found at 700 feet, but at our request, the driller went another 70 feet to be sure. The well system has a solid state motor controller w/o overload. The controller label states that the overload is at the pump motor. It has a galvanized tank, and the line coming out of the top of the well casing is 1 1/4" PVC. Pressure limits are set at 25 psi on, and 40 psi off. New pump motor was installed in about 1992 or 3, and has operated flawlessly since. The pump sits unenergized most of the time except for a few days a year. On my last arrival, the pump had not been run for about 10 months. I energized the pump and it ran for a few seconds, then stopped for several minutes, then repeated the cycle. Watching the meter indicated that the current draw was quite high, but not enough to trip the two 20 amp breakers. I am assuming that the motor overloads were tripping after a few seconds of run time. After about an hour of this type of cycling, the tank finally came up to 40 psi pressure and turned the pump off. The pump then cycled and ran normally overnight. Next day, pressure started to decay. Measuring the current with a clamp-on ammeter, I determined that each leg was drawing 9 amps, but pressure was only 22 psi, and the pressure switch was closed (pump run). The pump ran this way continuously, but would not build pressure over 22 psi. After several hours, I turned off the breakers and left them off over night. Next morning, the pressure was down to 12 psi. I turned on the breakers, and the pump again seemed to start and run continuously while drawing about 9 amps on each leg. I am not sure the pump was turning, because operation was very quiet, but it continued to draw 9 amps continuously. The pressure remained at 12 psi and never came back up. After about an hour, I turned the pump off and gave up. I have the following questions: Is this indicative of a motor or pump failure, or is it possible that the water level may have dropped below the pump? Is it possible that the pump was running with an adequate water level, but not producing adequate head, and if so, what would the problem be. From these symptoms, can anyone determine what the failure might be? After I have someone come out and repair the problem, would it be better to leave the pump energized while absent, or put a timer on it to bring it up to pressure every month or so? Any ideas are appreciated.