Water leaking out of well head when pump is running

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Support your community
Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

Moosestang

Active Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2022
Messages
25
Reaction score
3
Location
Alachua
This problem has been going on for some time and i think it has gotten worse. It's a submersible pump and water will flow right up the wires into the electrical box. The pump struggles to reach 60psi in the pressure tank so i lowered it, but now it seems to struggle to hit 55psi. It holds pressure fine once it reaches the cut off. Is this as simple as a fitting leaking on the drop pipe? I'm guessing it must be filling the casing up with water for it to come out the top like that, but it will start leaking out the top right when the pump kicks on and then taper off to just a trickle while the pump is filling the tank. No water leaks when the pump isn't running. I'm in central florida by the way.
 
You probably have a check valve above ground that is holding the pressure from the tank back when the pump is off. Water coming up the conduit when the pump is running is usually the o-ring in the pitless adapter leaking. It squirts right into the conduit. Remove the above ground check valve as it is part of what caused the leak and the reason you don't see the leak when the pump is off.
 
Valveman said:
You probably have a check valve above ground that is holding the pressure from the tank back when the pump is off. Water coming up the conduit when the pump is running is usually the o-ring in the pitless adapter leaking. It squirts right into the conduit. Remove the above ground check valve as it is part of what caused the leak and the reason you don't see the leak when the pump is off.
Click to expand...
If there is a check valve after the well head it is invisible. It just looks like regular pipe. clearly there is a check valve some place or I'd assume i'd lose all pressure after the pump shuts off, right?
 
I'm not sure i have a standard pitless type adapter as my discharge pipe also comes out the top of the well head right next to the wiring for the pump and runs over to the pressure switch then too the pressure tank all within 3 feet of each other. The pipe running to the house comes out the other side of the pressure tank and goes under ground up to the house. I'm going to have to call the well guy. No way i want to start pulling my pump not know how far down it is or what exactly i need to replace. If my wife has no water she'll be pissed.
 
With a regular well seal like that having a hole in the pipe that shoots into the conduit would be rare. But you could still have a leak under the well seal. Could also be a flowing well and the water level is just high enough to come out the conduit. If that is the case you just need to silicone the conduit to stop the water flow.
 
Valveman said:
With a regular well seal like that having a hole in the pipe that shoots into the conduit would be rare. But you could still have a leak under the well seal. Could also be a flowing well and the water level is just high enough to come out the conduit. If that is the case you just need to silicone the conduit to stop the water flow.
Click to expand...
It comes out around the cap as well, but on initial start up of the pump it comes up the conduit and into the control box. ruined my capacitor i think and corroded everything in there. It's a split style cap. I just realized the fitting the pressure switch is screwed into is also the check valve, duh!
 

Attachments

  • well1.jpg
    well1.jpg
    488.9 KB · Views: 9
  • well2.jpg
    well2.jpg
    511.1 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
That is a control check with a Schrader valve screwed in by the pressure switch. The Schrader is to let air in when the bleeder orifice that is about 5' down opens up and drains to that point. I don't think you have a flowing well because it wasn't set up for that. I am guessing the bleeder is blown out or there is a hole in the pipe close to the top of the well that is causing the problem. You can remove that blue plastic square headed plug on the well seal and see if any water comes out.
 
Valveman said:
That is a control check with a Schrader valve screwed in by the pressure switch. The Schrader is to let air in when the bleeder orifice that is about 5' down opens up and drains to that point. I don't think you have a flowing well because it wasn't set up for that. I am guessing the bleeder is blown out or there is a hole in the pipe close to the top of the well that is causing the problem. You can remove that blue plastic square headed plug on the well seal and see if any water comes out.
Click to expand...

That blue(at one point in time) plug is cracked and water shoots out like a geyser after i filled the conduit with silicone.:rolleyes: I think i angered it. it doesn't seem to matter what I lower the pressure too. it gets close to the shutoff pressure and just runs and runs and runs, eventually shutting off, but taking way to long. i'm guessing this has something to do with the check valve making it harder for the pump to push water into the tank. The water leaking out the cap also gets less the closer it gets to shut off pressure, weird. i'm going to get someone out here to fix it. I can't risk messing it up and my wife not being able to shower.:)
 
Oh, how would you go about disconnecting that pipe? At that big nut in front of the elbow i'm guessing.
 
Valveman said:
Take the union by the elbow apart. Loosen, do not remove the 4 nuts on the well seal, and lift from the elbow with a nylon strap..
Click to expand...
Thanks! I watched a video all ready about not removing those 4 bolts. I'm hoping I have poly pipe under that seal and it just split at the barb fitting. If it's all galvanized or pvc i'll probably call the well company.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top