well jet pump problem

[glennster]

buddy has a deep well jet pump....2 lines going into the well . bearing on the electric moor burned out, so he replaced the pump and motor as an assembly. (pump was old) he purged the air and primed the pump. it will only build up to about 30 psi and no higher. the pump will keep running but not get any higher water pressure. he tried adjusting the cut in and cut out pressure to no avail. it does have a newer pressure tank, pre-charged only a couple months old. somebody told him that maybe the foot valve in the casing is bad, but it worked fine before the pump change. any ideas what to check?

 

[GlenIdaho]

Just a wild guess, but is the new pump a variable speed pump and if so did he replace the control panel as well? I understand they have to match.

 

[Keith True]

There's really quite a few things that could be wrong.I'll put out a couple and I'm sure others will add to it.My go-to thing is,the last thing that you did.Very common thing is an air leak on the suction side.Happens a lot when you fool with old plastic pipes.If the jet down at the foot of the lines was marginal,it may have been operational,but once you disturbed it,it wouldn't pick up anymore.Not knowing what brand,and design pump you bought makes it a little little more difficult to narrow down.Some pumps have a setting when you add the jet at the pump,some don't Some pumps have to be somewhat matched to the jet down in the hole,I've bought jets that came with different plastic venturi's so they could be matched top and bottom.I would spend a lot of time looking for an air leak first,just when I think,I've got it tight,I discover one.

 

[guido]

Hello gleenster,

It's not the foot valve, all it does is prevent the water from draining back into the well, this keeps the system primed. It sounds more like a water level problem, or a pin hole in the well piping.

It may be that the screen got mudded up while the change was done. Bladder pressure should be set at 2 lbs less then the cut in pressure, air in the bladder should be added after the cut in switch clicks on, AND the power off.

More likely he has a pin hole in the piping. Check and see with the pump off if the pressure does not drop. If it does time to check the pipes,

GUIDO.

 

[JK2]

I had one once that got a hole in the jet casting where it made the turn around the "U" where the water from the pump goes to the jet. It caused pressure to be low and would not pump up higher. Took me a while to find it. What surprised me was that the casting was made of brass so it didn't rust through.

 

[chcase]

It could be more than one problem.I would bet that a small piece of rust got dislodged and is now plugged in the jet assembly down in the well.The nozzle in the jet needs to be clean to build more than 31# in a jet deep well system.Other than pulling the two pipes and jet up to clean.You maybe lucky enough to flush water back down the suction pipe and dislodge the rust and hook it back up again and try it. Good luck

 

[Russ from MN]

We had one like that, over time it rubbed a hole in the side of the jet, he will probably have to pull the jet. Did he research a submersible? A lot simpler, and a lot more efficient, but you need a casing 4 inches or larger, they make smaller ones but they are really expensive. I have had good luck with the cheap ones from Menards, less than $300.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I had two iron pipes in my jet pump. One pipe had a pinhole and pump cycled on and off. I leave my well problems to the experts. My pipes were replaced with plastic.

When my jet pump goes bad, I'll have it replaced with a submersible pump. I have all my new wells drilled by a 4th generation family business. They have drilled 3 other wells for me and submersible pumps. Expansion tanks in basements. No worrying about freezing. No issues so far. No priming.

My CPA has issues with his jet pump. His well guy upgraded to a submersible pump.

 

[showcrop]

As Keith indicates it is probably plastic pipe. If it is plastic a hole in the pipe is very unlikely. Much more likely is like Keith is indicating, the plastic pipe can be tough to make a good connection in when it is used and cold. Some heat can help a lot. The metal Venturi at the bottom is a lot more likely to leak, due to corrosion. If the pipe is copper a leak is waaaay more likely. If it is plastic I would be looking at the connections at the pipe, especially alignment of the pipe to the adapters that thread into the pump.

 

[Hanky]

Just a thought, My great uncle put in wells, and pumps for years, been gone for years, on the airmotor pumps I think I remember there was something about a plug being put in or removed if you went from shallow jet to deep jet, he's been gone for 25 years, check the instructions just for the heck of it, if I remember they would work, but not quite right if that one detail was missed..

 

[Janicholson]

A flake of calcium scale from disconnecting the pump/ motor etc. probably is hanging in the jet. They must be clean or they will pump poorly. Sometimes putting some pressure backwards into the delivery pipe can dislodge the scale and let it pass. Jim

 

[buickanddeere]

Did anyone tinker with the flow control valve that varies the flow from down the well to the eductor.
Did someone install the impeller blade backwards ?

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 20:03:45 12/12/18)

Just a thought, My great uncle put in wells, and pumps for years, been gone for years, on the airmotor pumps I think I remember there was something about a plug being put in or removed if you went from shallow jet to deep jet, he's been gone for 25 years, check the instructions just for the heck of it, if I remember they would work, but not quite right if that one detail was missed..

Hanky, you are thinking of the conversion from shallow to deep. When doing so you remove a plug in the pump end cap and install the adapter for the second line that is needed for deep operation.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 22:39:59 12/12/18)
Did anyone tinker with the flow control valve that varies the flow from down the well to the eductor.
Did someone install the impeller blade backwards ?

B&D, I have been into a lot of pumps between well, fire service, and forty years on commercial dish washing machines and I don't think that I have ever seen an impeller that would fit backwards.

 

[Mule Meat]

May want to check the electrical.

If he had a 120 Volt pump before. Then he could have gotten or wired the new one for 220 volt.

Long shot of this happening, But possible.

 

[Determined]

If it has plastic lines going to it try warming the ends of the pipes up real good with a hair dryer then re-tighten the clamps.

 

[teddy52food]

Pump is running backwards. Reverse the motor.

 

[Russ from MN]

Most all water pumps the impeller screws on, so if you run them backwards they self destruct. Because of that most pump motors are very hard to wire to run backwards. Idiot proof!

 

[teddy52food]

Well it happened to me when the electrician changed it from 110 to 220. Somehow it got reversed too. It was running when I got home from work which was many hours from when he was here.

 

[buickanddeere]

(quoted from post at 11:13:55 12/13/18) Most all water pumps the impeller screws on, so if you run them backwards they self destruct. Because of that most pump motors are very hard to wire to run backwards. Idiot proof!

How about lines to the well reversed ?

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 08:13:55 12/13/18) Most all water pumps the impeller screws on, so if you run them backwards they self destruct. Because of that most pump motors are very hard to wire to run backwards. Idiot proof!

Russ I have encountered many pumps running backwards but that is always on three phase. They make a lot of noise running backwards so you can tell from 20 feet away.

 

[guido]

Hlo b&d

Kind of hard to do don't you think?

Guido.

 

[buickanddeere]

(quoted from post at 21:05:40 12/13/18) Hlo b&d

Kind of hard to do don't you think?

Guido.

I have seen enough weird “unlikely” mixups and errors that even the improbable and the impossible have to be considered sometimes .

 

[buickanddeere]

(quoted from post at 21:05:40 12/13/18) Hlo b&d

Kind of hard to do don't you think?

Guido.

I have seen enough weird “unlikely” mixups and errors that even the improbable and the impossible have to be considered sometimes .

 

[1130Leo]

I had one, similar issue, pump suddenly could not build above 48 psi, shut off is 50. The bottom of the two pipes to the well was galvanized and had some kind of union in the middle of it, the only thing anyone could think was that the union was sucking air once it got to 48 psi. I replaced the galvanized with black plastic and the pump now shuts off at 50 psi. So, I think you have some kind of air leak on one of the fittings.