Steps to check and replace well pump

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The one in the pic I posted in this thread was removed with the old pump. I saved the pressure switch off of it.

So he bought a brand new pump with motor that had a pressure switch all put together new in the box.

Now the new pressure switch went bad.

I saved the old Square D pressure switch off the old pump and yesterday when he called I took the old one over there and installed it.

I’m not sure what brand came on the new pump. I have it in my truck and will check it after while.
 
Freezing or sediment buildup under the diaphragm is usually what causes the flange to come apart like that. But even Square D is made in Mexico these days.
I doubt it froze but there is a remote chance. We had a couple nights in the mid 20’s for lows. Warmed into the 50’s during the day and it’s in a plastic shed.

It’s only been since last September since it was installed. But yeah, I get that it can fail anytime.
Thanks for looking at it.
 
I just took it apart and looked at the rubber diaphragm.

It has small cracks in the Diaphragm but they Don’t appear to be all the way through.

To be honest it appears the 6 screws holding the flange against the diaphragm seemed loose. That might be why it was dripping.

I might go hook it up to city water pressure now that I have the screws tight and see if it drips. I have 80 psi, not 50 like the well was making.
 
So my friend has three wells on his property. It’s a large property that use to be two properties but he combined them.

We had one pump replaced. Then the pressure switch may have frozen and damaged it. So we made that repair.

Now his other jet pump is bad. It runs but doesn’t pump water. Well man can’t come until next week.

He’s got a house full of company that just arrived a day after the pump quit.

So we ran water hoses from one of his other wells.

We also paid the water tap fee of $800 and scheduled a meter set so we can move on with our lives and quit with this expensive and seemingly constant maintenance.

He’s only lived there 2 years and has spent around 2k in repairs with another repair scheduled for next week.

City water without sewage( sewage not available 😕) will cost him around $50 a month and zero electricity costs.

Zero maintenance

If he didn’t have other wells on his property, which most people don’t, He would have a grand mess with 15 out of state guests and no water at thanksgiving.
 
Sorry for his problem. But when done correctly a well pump will last a long time and cost much less than 50 bucks a month to operate. 20 years ago my complete well pump system cost about $1500.00. All of mine last longer than 20 years, but even with 20 years of life that is only $6.25 a month for the equipment. I can pump all the water a house needs for less than $5 a month. So, 20 years of $50 a month city water would have cost me an extra $12,000.00 by now.

If you irrigate or use any large amounts of water, having your own well will save much more than that. For $50 a month in electricity I can pump 150,000 gallons of water. With the tier water costs going up as the volume increases, I cannot even do the math on how much that would cost using city water.
 
Wells are fine for irrigation but my moneys on city water being more consistent for my everyday needs.

Electricity is going up, labor to work on wells is going up, pumps and parts are going up. Finding someone to work on the pump in a reasonable time is difficult, lack of qualified businesses.
 
Finding someone to work on the pump in a reasonable time is difficult, lack of qualified businesses.
No argument there. I agree there are very few contractors these days that even know how to make a long lasting quality pump installation. However, I have even less faith in government officials like the ones who run the city water plants. Just look what happened to those people in Flint. It wasn't the lead in the pipes that was the problem, but rather the ineptitude of the city officials who switched to a new acidic water supply without understanding the consequences. That one mistake by the government officials not only killed people and costs Flint millions to repair, but also cost everyone else in the US with higher prices for plumbing products. They put the blame on the lead pipe to take the heat off the city officials who actually caused the problem. Even though lead has been used safely in plumbing products for thousands of years, now lead in plumbing is a bad thing and cost everyone a tremendous amount to replace it with something more expensive that doesn't work as well.
 
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You’ll find more contaminated wells than contaminated city water.
 
You’ll find more contaminated wells than contaminated city water.
Lol! No argument there either. But I know it is well water, and it is my well water. So, I can make sure it is safe, which doesn't take much. I just don't trust what's coming down the pipe, in more ways than one. :rolleyes:
 
Water company set the meter today.

Still haven’t heard back from two different well repair people, one never showed and one never called back.

Owner says he might just cap this well off and not repair it. He has two other wells within 400-500 feet. One jet and one deep well submersible pump.

I’ll be running the new service next week. Going tomorrow to check pressure and a little flow test.

BD6D86BC-C73C-4AA7-A94F-543290C0467A.jpeg
I hammered the stake in the ground a few days ago. Paid for the tap fee just two weeks ago.

The well repair guy is in for a big surprise 🤡 He just lost a well to maintain and that costs too damn much here if you could get someone. The reason ? Everybody jumps on city water when it becomes available because of the problem with finding qualified labor at a fair price. It’s a catch 22
 
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I just asked the neighbor how long he’s lived on the street. He said “ 35 years “.

I asked how many times has his water service been interrupted in the 35 yrs he’s lived there. His answer “ never “

I friend has lived in his new house about a year or two at most. This is the 2nd well that’s broke. His first one cost a couple thousand to replace .

Then you have to keep the well pump house from freezing. Same well had a suspected frozen pressure switch.

It’s always something…….


City water is all underground. No worries about freezing. No pressure switch to fail, no foot valve to fail, no electricity to worry about, no wasp nests, etc etc etc..

Wells are a damn nightmare.
 
I hate that well guys are so unreliable these days. But it is not just well guys, every profession is having the same problem. I can't get anyone qualified to work on my car, fix my refrigerator, or AC unit. Too many people with college degrees they think makes them too qualified to get their hands dirty, so they just don't have a job. You just can't get good help with anything these days, which is why DIY forums are popular. At the house I live in now, I made the mistake of paying the plumber all but the last 5K and he would not show up and finish the job. No other plumber would come over and finish the job either. The plumber broke out concrete from both showers and moved the drain pipe a couple of times because he couldn't get them in the right place. My shower floors are weak feeling because of this. Then he just would not show back up and finish the job. I had to install all the fixtures and appliances myself. So, plumbers are not any better than well guys.

I hate to talk bad about government officials, because there are some out there who are actually trying to do good for the public. But counting on city water means counting on city officials to know what they are doing. Unfortunately many government employees are such because they couldn't make it in the private sector, or want a job where they cannot be fired even for being incompetent.

A proper well uses a pitless adapter and has all the pipes underground as well. No worries about freezing, wasp nest, etc. Luck doesn't have much to do with making a pump system last, except for maybe the occasional lightning strike.. Just eliminate the cycling like when using a Cycle Stop Valve and the pump will last a long time. You will also never wear out a pressure switch, check valve, bladder tank, etc.

Many hand pumps WILL work with a deep well. Gonna have a generator anyway, even without a well, as I don't trust anyone else to supply power when it is really needed. Many people just want to pay someone else to take care of everything for them. I am not that kind of person. And that 40 bucks a month for water easily turns into 200-300 bucks a month for water if you have a small yard or garden. With a small farm and animals I would not be able to afford city water. And yes a Cycle Stop Valve can make a pump system deliver water at even stronger pressure than a city water supply.
 

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