Thread: another pump problem

hey guys this forum is great found it surfing the web.i have a shallow well pump as well,it is doing the same as grannys was it runs and runs the gauge reads 35psi and the switch is a 20-40 i dont think i have a leak because if i shut the power off the gauge dosnt drop any when i turn the power on it stays off untill the pressure drops to 20 or so the pump i bought at lowes about 2 yrs ago i thinking maybe the foot valve in the well may be stuck open thanks for any advice

No, the foot valve wouldn't cause that sort of problem. It can be a lowered water level, a partially plugged jet or impeller. That's about all I can think of. I'm not sure what pump you got from lowes, it could be a flotec or a water ace neither of which are quality by any stretch.

bob...

Products and Pricing

thanks bob, i have alittle more to add now i went and bought a new pump and installed it and now its about the same the gauge wont go above 34-36psi and the needle flucuates back and forth between 32-36psi i upgraded from a 1/2 hp to a 1/0 hp pump and went up from a 20-40 switch to a 30-50 i adjusted the pressure in the bladder tank to 28psi any ideas? thanks

What pump did you buy?

bob...

Products and Pricing

hey bob,the pump is called a water ace engineered by myers model # rc10 more to the story i had a plummer come out today he wants to pull the pipes out of the well caseing and replace the jet valve and the foot valve he thinks there is something holding the jet valve open alittle he didnt have time today so hes comming back monday what is a jet valve ? thanks for your help

There is no such thing as a jetvalve. There is a jet and a foot valve in the well if it's a deep well jet pump. The jet is not plugged if it's making over 30 psi.

Does the plumber work on wells all the time? Most plumbers don't do well work. Usually a Well Driller or Pump repair man would do this sort of work.

I would go for the hole in the pipe theory, but if your gauge is accurate and your seeing over 30 psi. It's not the jet.

bob...

Products and Pricing

well i was wondering about how often he works on pump problems i called the biggest plumming company in my area they said they could handle any problem short of drilling a new well i guess we will see what happens on monday i will post what happens THANKS bob for your time and effort

Being the biggest plumbing company is not a good recommendation for a well problem repair.

I would have called a driller or pump pro. Just because a plumber will work on anything, doesn't mean he knows what he's doing.

bob...

Products and Pricing

well everyone pile on heres what my bill says 46ft of 1-1/4in. well pipe $109.02, 46ft of 1in.well pipe $53.82, 8 worm clamps $15.76,2 stabs $2.12,1 1-1/4 foot valve $21.08 AND HERE WAHT KILLS ME labor charge $723.95 bob tell me the labor price is ok so i can sleep tonight the guy was here for about 1 hr on friday and came back today with a helper and was here from 830 to 230 and they left for an hr from 1130 to 1230 for lunch also my wife said one of the pipes were blue and one was black that they put back down in the caseing is that why one costs so much? i guess i am glad the water is working ok again

So you don't have a shallow well, you have a deep well jet.

Why anybody would put new pipes etc. back into a well when they could have used a submersible pump is beyond me. It sounds like they just replaced everything they could to act like they knew what they were doing. The only thing I didn't see in your list was the jet. They probably couldn't find a new two pipe jet so they used your old one. I'm not sure what they did that could have fixed the problem. I can't comment on the labor cost either. I don't know what they did, but like I said before, rather than waste your money, I would have recommended a submersible pump.

bob...

Products and Pricing