OT low performing water we'll probably with other issues.

[SND]

I drain my well completely dry twice a year, with the pump about 315' down... 1hp berkeley, no trouble getting pressure in the tank even when there's just a few feet or water above the pump, just takes it a few more seconds. A few neighbors do the same, flow and pressure stays good until its spitting air.

If the footvalve isn't working well that's a problem but for only a 4psi drop? hum... your pressure should keep dropping. Shouldn't affect the rate at which is pushes water though unless its leaking it right back out at a crack or such. Of course there might be other bits to that system that mine doesn't have.


Tank bladders apparently do lose air, its what rubber likes to do... they say right on the tanks to check annually.
Though the problem when air pressure gets low is very short pump cycle times, capacity loss, which doesn't sound like the issue he's having. Although I wonder how big his pressure tank is? he mentioned over 3 min for it to fill... if its a 5-6gal ish(common little blue tanks) it should take about 20-30seconds if its got a half decent pump at the other end and no leaks along the way.

 

[adama]

SND his is nearly 200 feet lower, assuming your pump makes 60psi tops at full lift it would pump no water at that depth at all, it takes another 80psi or so to get that extra 185feet of head. Then he wants 60psi on top.

IE his pump needs to be able to generate 280psi at no lift height to get to 60PSI with 500 feet of head.

 

[DDoug]

Seeing how we had record low temps this Feb. and the pitless adapter
is stuffed in a hole in the side of the casing (highly restrained)...

If the frost got down to the pitless (or below it) the heaving could have
ripped it apart/off.

 

[steve45]

In answer to the suspected short life of the pump, they just don't make them like they used to. Bronze impellers have been replaced by plastic, and every part is now made cheaper. There are still some good, rebuildable pumps available, but expect to pay $1500+.

Just curious, how does one frac a 300 foot water well? 30 year old casing? Probably not cemented, either. How do you control where it goes? We're involved in fraccing every day in the oil business, and this doesn't sound at all like something I'd do.

 

[Ziggy2]

SND his is nearly 200 feet lower, assuming your pump makes 60psi tops at full lift it would pump no water at that depth at all, it takes another 80psi or so to get that extra 185feet of head. Then he wants 60psi on top.

IE his pump needs to be able to generate 280psi at no lift height to get to 60PSI with 500 feet of head.

His well is only 300 ft. deep with the pump at 200 ft.

This means his pump needs to develop 86.6 psi for the 200 ft. of head plus the 60 psi for a total of 146.6 psi at the pump discharge to deliver the 60 psi at the pressure tank. He does not have 500 ft. of head.

 

[amdinc]

The distance from the static level to the surface( 1/2 pound per foot) and the tank pressure is the pressure that the pump has to produce.

John

 

[adama]

His well is only 300 ft. deep with the pump at 200 ft.

This means his pump needs to develop 86.6 psi for the 200 ft. of head plus the 60 psi for a total of 146.6 psi at the pump discharge to deliver the 60 psi at the pressure tank. He does not have 500 ft. of head.

Woops, got mixed up in the posts

 

[technocrat]

Ditto. I' m sure the well guy would like to do the fracking (and charge you for it), and there may be some cost advantage to do it while the pump is out if the pump needs to be pulled for other reasons, but I would want to find and fix this leak in the surface line first. There may be no real need to pull the pump, once the leaking line is fixed.

Dennis

At Christmas, I pulled my 100ft bore pump which had failed. Either the motor or the pump had seized and the non return valve had failed long ago. It was a 3/4hp franklin 4", approximately 35lb weight. 2 of us pulled it up by hand without too much problem.

 

[adama]

With a failed check valve, pulling by hands not so hard, also not so hard with a high water level, a couple of hundred feet of 1" bore pipe full of water in a dry bore won't be lifted by hand though!

 

[amdinc]

With a failed check valve, pulling by hands not so hard, also not so hard with a high water level, a couple of hundred feet of 1" bore pipe full of water in a dry bore won't be lifted by hand though!

If you have a pump to pull and the weight is too heavy you can rent a well pump puller. The one I used had one big wheel that was clamped to the well pipe which the pipe ran over. You hooked on to the end of the pipe and pulled it with a vehicle. The newer ones were motorized. "Upsy daisy" was the name on it. We did one job that had 1" brass pipe going down to the pump. We pulled that one with a backhoe.

John