Water pump constantly runs

Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bcraig927

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
,
I have a jet pump for my well underground. It runs between 35-40 PSI and will not automatically shut off. I installed a new pressure switch but same problem. I adjusted the nuts on the pressure switch to adjust pressure for it to shut off. It continued to run at about the same pressure and not shut off. I have to turn it off at the circuit box. The pump is three years old. There is no sign of leaks anywhere around the tank or pipes. It is a little damp because of basement conditions. I shut off the water valve and the pressure remains about the same. I have done a lot of troubleshooting and have been stuck.
 
Tell us about the pump, the well. Is it a deep or shallow well hookup? Did you mean the well is underground and the pump is in the basement or crawl?

What brand pump?
 
I believe it's a deep well. There is a large tube that sticks out of the ground outside and the pump is in the basement, not a crawl space. It is a 1/2 HP Gould pump. Most friends think it's an issue with the pressure switch and I replaced it and it will still not shut off.
 
I believe it's a deep well. There is a large tube that sticks out of the ground outside and the pump is in the basement, not a crawl space. It is a 1/2 HP Gould pump. Most friends think it's an issue with the pressure switch and I replaced it and it will still not shut off.

So there are two pipes going down the "large tube" to the pump??
 
Sounds like a dirty ejector. Pull it up and clean it.

In the mean time, you can dial down the pressure switch to shut off at a pressure the pump can produce.
 
It could be junk in one of the impeller volutes, but generally when one of those plug, the jet would plug also. If that tube in the yard is 3" or 4" below the top pipe (roughly 5' doen) replace the jet with a submersible pump. You won't be sorry. You can run the water in with one pipe and run the wire in the other pipe.
 
The ejector (jet) is down in the well. It hangs on either 1" or 1-1/4" pipe in 2" and 3" wells and hangs on two pipes down a 4" or larger well. If it's a two inch or three inch, it can be next to impossible to pull one by hand. The two leathers on the jet become part of the casing over the years and are very hard to break loose. Then the mineral build up on the casing not to mention the joints in the casing add to the fun.

We use pump hoists to pull them and sometimes (quite often) have to beat them out of the well using special tools and a hoist with a walking beam that allows us to beat up and down on it at a pace of around 60 whacks per minute.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top