New Shallow Well won't pump

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rootsandshoots

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Aug 5, 2020
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Location
Charleston, SC
I recently finished jetting a new shallow well, set up my pump/pressure tank and I can't for the life of me figure out why I can't get it to pull water.
This was my second well and I'm hoping some of you with more experience can point me towards my weakness.

I'll include some pictures but I'll do my best to explain the setup in words.

Well point is 26ft deep and I can measure my standing water table at 9 ft deep.
The well point comes out of the ground and tee's so I can prime the water column. The other side goes through a check valve and into the inlet of the pump.
The pump outlet also Tees to a priming port and then continues to my pressure tank.
My pump is a 1 HP, wired for 115v and the pressure switch is set to 30/50psi. All electric appears good.
My pressure tank is 62 gal and set pressurized to 28 psi.

I can fill the wellpoint water column, cap it, and the water holds tight.
All other connections hold and no leaks detected.
I've tried priming several times and no luck.
I also opened the priming Tee at the wellpoint and ran the pump with my hose flowing into the tee point. My thought was that if it's not pulling water from the point, I could still charge the system from my hose water and rule out a few problems. It built up about 30 psi of pressure and it eventually stopped pulling water water from my hose too but my pump didn't shut off.

Side note: I originally hooked up an older and smaller pump to my new point and had similar issues of not pulling water. I figured the pump was bad but thinking now it wasn't the case.

Could it possibly be my check valve? When add water via hose into the well point side, it'll flow into the pump housing so figured it was ok. Could it be my pump isn't strong enough to pull it open?

Help!

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A well point that won't take water also won't make water. When you fill the point with water it should drain out as fast as you put it in. Since it is "holding tight" I am guessing the well is not making any water. Try pumping from a bucket instead of the well. Test the pump by circulating water in the bucket. If it works at 30/50 while pumping from the bucket, the pump is fine and your well is too tight and not making any water.
 
I circulated with a trashcan filled with water and everything worked. Luckily, the soils here in Charleston are really sandy and I was able to pull the wellpoint upwards 10 ft. With that adjustment, everything is working great. Thanks for the advice!
 

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