My Jet pump turns on with no water usage.

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Jaytills

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Hello, I have a deep well jet pump that keeps turning on every 30 minutes even when not using water. The jet body was replaced a year ago and everything was ok until about 2 weeks ago. I've had a plumber here twice already. They replaced my pressure seating foot valve with a spring loaded one. then had to replace that one because it was damaged. The strainer was bent. Each time the system seems fine when they leave. I run water from the bottom of the tank for a few hours to get rid of sediment but then after that the pump goes back to turning on every 30 minutes. The tank was tested and is ok. I've isolated the house by closing the ball valve between the tank and house and still loose pressure. The lines going from the house and into the well were pressure checked by the plumber by removing the exsisting pressure gauge on the pump with one with a shrader valve. The ball valve between the pump and tank was closed and then a compressor was hooked up and the lines and pump were pressurized to 90 psi. There wasn't a noticeable pressure drop. Im really not sure where to go from here. Do I have them issolate each line and pressure check them separately? Any help would be appreciated.
 
When you say he replaced the check valve where was it located? There should be a foot valve a the end of the line in the well. It sounds like the foot valve is leaking or you have a leak between the pump and the well.

john
 
John, the foot valve was replaced. It's at bottom of of jet body in the well. I'm thinking I have a leak in the piping from the well to house but they said they checked it already by the method I mentioned above. I'm leaning towards pulling the line apart and testing each line separately before I start digging. Just wondering if there is a better way.
 
I guess another question would be if the lines are ok and I still have a problem. Is there a different kind of foot valve I can use? The original one was plastic and was seated by the system pressure which was fine for almost a year. The new one is brass and seats with the aid of a spring. The foot valve is 1-1/4".
 
Are you planing on pulling them apart at the well head? Instead of testing them separately twin them together at the well head a test them both at the same time. It could still be the foot valve. Because when the lines were pulled to replace the first foot valve debris in the lines could have dropped into the new foot valve causing it not to seal. The only sure way to prevent this is to replace the lines.

John
 
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John, thanks so much for the replies I was going to separate the lines at the well head and test the two lines going from well to house separately. Then I was thinking i could put a plug on the end of one line going into well (probably the discharge side) and then putting a fitting with the same kind of gauge the plumber used in the end of the side that sends water to the jet assembly so I can pressurize both lines and the jet assembly at same time. Will this work? If the foot valve is still leaking you would suggest replacing the lines going into well?
 
If you test both lines from the house to the well and there OK then you know you have a bad foot valve or a bad line in the well. At that point you have to pull the lines from the well to make your repair. If you have to go that far I would suggest you replace the lines and the foot valve with new. There not that expensive. Unless you like doing things twice.

John
 
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Hello, I have a deep well jet pump that keeps turning on every 30 minutes even when not using water. The jet body was replaced a year ago and everything was ok until about 2 weeks ago. I've had a plumber here twice already. They replaced my pressure seating foot valve with a spring loaded one. then had to replace that one because it was damaged. The strainer was bent. Each time the system seems fine when they leave. I run water from the bottom of the tank for a few hours to get rid of sediment but then after that the pump goes back to turning on every 30 minutes. The tank was tested and is ok. I've isolated the house by closing the ball valve between the tank and house and still loose pressure. The lines going from the house and into the well were pressure checked by the plumber by removing the exsisting pressure gauge on the pump with one with a shrader valve. The ball valve between the pump and tank was closed and then a compressor was hooked up and the lines and pump were pressurized to 90 psi. There wasn't a noticeable pressure drop. Im really not sure where to go from here. Do I have them issolate each line and pressure check them separately? Any help would be appreciated.
Why a plumber???

Call a well driller.

Also, check to see if it is wet around the wellhead.

Is your water cloudy or dirty???
 
The plumber I use has a separate crew that do only wells and the previous owner had them install the pump and pressure tank in 2006 so that's why I called them. Once the initial sediment that was stirred up by removing the jet body assembly was flushed out the water is very clear. Looks like a good quality city water supply. I have not noticed any wet areas around the well or anywhere between well head and house. The well head is in a concrete box and about 3' below grade.
 
If these guys were knowledgeable about wells/pumps etc. They wouldn't have tested the pipes with air. Air compresses, so it would take quite a while to notice a drop in pressure. Water on the other hand does not compress, so a drop of water can reduce the pressure from 50 to zero with a totally waterlogged tank.

I doubt that your footvalve being brass is the problem if its fairly new. What kind of jet do you have? A single pipe or a two pipe? If a single pipe, did they change the leathers?
 
I have seen brand new foot valves leak. The best ones I have found seem to be the brass spring loaded ones.
It is next to imposable to pull a jet pump with leathers and not ruin them. If you do have leathers and the old ones were reused, thats where you pressure drop is.
 
Thanks to everyone who who have responded. I had the foot valve replaced again and this time it was a little more heavy duty then the last. The pump still kicks on with no water use but its now every 2-1/2 hrs or so instead of 1/2hr. I was told it may be because of the water table level. When the jet body was replaced last April the static head was about 3' from top of casing now it's 14' down. My assembly is 25' down the well. Is this a valid theory?
 
Shallow well jet pumps lift water 25 feet vertically. You never needed a two pipe jet. A single pipe with a foot valve and a shallow well jet pump is all you needed in the first place. That eliminates half of the pipe your questioning.

If your suggesting that by changing the footvalve again, you dropped the time from 1/2 hour to 2-1/2 hours; that makes no sense to me.
 
Yeah, I'm ready to rule out a footvalve issue.

What brand and size tank do you have? Is it painted or galvanized? Have you tested it to see if it's waterlogged?
 
It's only 25' down the well but my house sits another 25' or so in elevation from the well. As far as the foot valve is concerned. They put a different foot valve in that has a heavier spring. The pump doesn't turn on as often now. If its not the foot valve I can't explain because that's the only thing changed. The tank is a well-x-trol tank and it's painted. Not sure of size in gallons it sits about 2-1/2 feet. It's been tested and the bladder seems good. It's not waterlogged and the pressure in the bladder holds.
 

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