well pump impeller stuck every year when start.

I have seasonal property in Maine and a building that is not winterized and so I drain down all systems every summer before closing up. The 1964 dug well has water at about 10', and has been great for all these years. The pump is lower than the building and has valves to completely drain pump, tank and lines. Never had a freezing issue.

However every time I open up in early summer, the pump impeller is stuck and the motor just hums. I pull the pump / impeller housing back and very easily move the impeller by hand, it spins freely then, and no sign of any "stuff" in housing or on the impeller blades.

Had a brand new Goulds pump / tank etc installed last summer, hoping to end this problem, but this year it was stuck and the motor just hummed. So did the old remove and manually release and all fine again.

Is there anything about the closing up, or opening up, process that needs to be done to alleviate this issue?

Thanks,
Don

Maybe the start capacitor needs to be charged after sitting that long. Did you try turning it off and on several times like with the breaker? But probably just the cheap bearings we get these days getting little flat spots from sitting. That is a cast iron housing on the pump. It could be rusting to the impeller a little when sitting with no water in it. Either way it is a pain in the butt to have to take it apart to spin it. Can you reach the fan blade on the motor end with a screw driver through the air inlet opening? Sometimes just barely moving the fan blade will keep you from having to take it apart.

Thanks for your quick response. The plumber who installed the new pump said it would have a larger capacitor than the 15+ year old one. I plug and unplug the motor several times trying to jump it into turning, but motor just hums. The motor is sealed on both ends without access to fan or anything to try turning over the motor. It would be great if there shaft extended out somewhere.

Attached photo of pump details.

There has to be a place for the fan to get air. The intake is usually on the side close to the end of the motor. You may have to look from underneath or the side to see it. Should be several fairly good size slots you can see the fan through.

I did plug and unplug the motor at the outlet at top of well casing. Would that help charge the capacitor or is there something about leaving it plugged in and flipping the breaker that does something different?

I took a photo through the motor fan slot, attached, and it doesn't show any blades that can be contacted to spin the motor. Looks like encased in a shield. Plumber is looking into a 120V capacitor unit to add more kick to the starting process. We'll see I guess. Thanks for your help

The angle and size of your pic does not seem to help much, as far as us getting a good look inside.
Can you get some looking more straight down the vent holes?
Some with the whole motor in view, for better perspective and reference?

There is no pulley or shaft end you can get to anywhere?

You can get to the flats on the end of the motor shaft by taking off the motor end cover.

The pics I took with cell phone were the best I could get through the small slots. I tried inserting a small screwdriver through several slots to feel for anything that could turn but only hit the sides of the fan cover (I assume that's what that is in the photo). All drained down for the season now, so will attempt the rear motor cover next year, however, there is only about 1/2" between back of cover and concrete wall so not sure this 2" plus cover will come off enough to do anything. A more powerful 120 volt start/run capacitor is something we're looking into. Thanks for all your suggestions.