Leaking 1-way, pull the pump or live with it...

[old-hill-billy]

So some details first. 100' well, unknown 120v sub pump at around 80' hanging on 1" black PE, water level around 40'-50', all done in 2003. Above-ground well head, no pitless, going to a 20 gallon pre-charged pressure tank in the pump house, and a second pre-charged 20 gallon tank under the seasonal cabin about 150' away.

Per the graph, I'm dropping from 60 to 40 psi about every 6 hours or so, so basically losing about 1.5 gallons per hour to what I assume is most likely a leaking 1 way valve. Verified there are no leaks on anything above ground. It has been doing this for at least 2 years, I just hadn't hooked any instrumentation to it to know the rate until now.

So... If you were me, would you live with it, pull the pump and install a 1 way above the pump, or take the really lazy path and install a one-way above ground?

 

[RS]

If you have the help and ability I would recommend pulling the pump and installing a new check valve right above the pump, installing one anyplace above that may cause excess air in the system. When I had a very similar problem it was the fitting that screwed into the outside of the pitless adapter. I could hear a faint hissing sound at the well head. So, your leak could be anywhere between the pump and the pressure tank, or the check valve in the pump itself. You have isolated anything beyond the pressure tank to confirm this, right?

 

[old-hill-billy]

Yes, isolated beyond the tank. It is one long continuous piece of black PE from the pump to where it exits the well cap. Zero leaks in the pump house, and I still lose pressure at the same rate when I shut the valve that isolates the pumphouse.


I've also listened down the hole to see if I could hear anything, nothing... This is a seasonal place, so might have to make it a spring project to pull it.

 

[RS]

Sure, it can wait, just shut of the power to the pump when your not there, we do that anyhow.

 

[Valveman]

The check valve slamming shut every time the pump cycled on and off is what caused it to fail in the first place. Now it is slamming shut every 6 minutes which is 240 times a day. It will just get worse until you fix it. A Cycle Stop Valve will stop the cycling and gives a mechanical soft stop that will make the check valve, pump, and everything else last longer while giving you strong constant pressure in the house.

 

[RS]

The check valve slamming shut every time the pump cycled on and off is what caused it to fail in the first place. Now it is slamming shut every 6 minutes which is 240 times a day. It will just get worse until you fix it. A Cycle Stop Valve will stop the cycling and gives a mechanical soft stop that will make the check valve, pump, and everything else last longer while giving you strong constant pressure in the house.

I believe he said 6 hours!

 

[Valveman]

I believe he said 6 hours!

Lol! Yeah reading fast and trying to get caught up today. 6 hours would only be slamming the check valve 4 times a day, but still too many.

 

[old-hill-billy]

yeah 4 times per day. Looking at my stats, I used a ton of water yesterday (washer running + power washing for an hour), and it cycled a total of 37 times. Average 24 hour period is about 20-25 cycles/day.

Actually do have a CSV but somewhat hesitant to put it on until I sort this out first. If there is a chance it isn't a leaking one way but instead a pinhole leak, a CSV could potentially make that worse. Always a big fan of changing only 1 variable at at time!

 

[Valveman]

I think it is a bad check valve as you would see air in the faucets if there was a hole in the pipe. A pin hole leak will get worse over time CSV or not.