Water pressure bleeds off and pump kicks on about every 42 minutes

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Lab-lover

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My water pressure drops from 50 PSI to 20 and kicks the well pump on about every 42 minutes. I have a shut off between the pressure tank and the house plumbing and have closed that valve but it did not change the timing so I know it is not a leak in the house. I just moved into this house and was told by the “well guy” that he installed a new foot check valve last year. His conclusion is that since the new foot valve didn’t fix the problem then I need to put down a new well because it probably has a cracked casing. Can a cracked casing cause this problem? Thank you.
 
You don't fully describe your system but I suspect the new foot valve is bad. You could install a new check valve on the suction side of the pump, if you don't want to pull the pipe out of the well. Be sure to use a good check valve with a rubber seal, not a swing gate metal check.
 
If this is a two pipe, deep well jet pump adding a check valve on the suction side won't keep water from leaking back if the foot valve is bad or the casing is cracked. If this is a single pipe, shallow well jet pump that would work, but bad casing could not cause it to leak back, which is what made me think it is two pipe jet pump?
 
Obviously I can only see one pipe coming out of the pump head fitting but I’ve never had one apart so I don’t quite know how jet pumps work. Could there be a second pipe inside the one you can see or does that fitting on the pump head convert it to a one pipe system? Thanks in advance.
 
It looks to me like your jet pump had the jet incorporated in the pump casing, so it's a one line system. A 2 line system has the jet down in the well. I would suspect you have a bad foot valve or a leak in the suction line between the pump and the foot valve. If you can take the top off the well and listen maybe you can hear the leak.
 
I believe that is just a casing adapter on the pump. Which means there is a small pipe inside the large pipe going down to the ejector at the bottom of the well, which makes it a two pipe jet pump. With two pipes or a packer system in the well, either the foot valve is leaking back, you have a hole in the casing, or the leathers are not sealing.
 
I’m trying to understand how a crack in the casing will allow the water pressure to bleed off. I assumed that a jet pump still employs suction to draw the water into the house so in my uninformed thoughts the water should stay in the suction tube on the house side of a check valve (foot valve) just like a suction well. What am I missing?
 
Some deep well jet systems use a seal between the drop pipe and the casing, and then use that space as one line. The one we had one the farm had 2 lines going down to the jet, and it was still problematic. It sounds troublesome and inefficient, if the casing is big enough for a submersible they are much more efficient and trouble free. Like I said before from looking at your photo, I think you have a simple one line shallow well setup.
 
Thanks for all of the information, ideas and education. I think it is time to call in the professionals and have the point pulled to see if the foot valve is the problem.

This is a very useful site. Thanks again
 
And the education continues 🤪 that’s what I meant but didn’t know the correct term.

Is it possible to test casings for cracks or is it just a visual inspection and a little guesswork?
 
Replace the leathers first. If it still leaks back raise the inner pipe a foot or so and get the leathers in a different part of the casing. If it still leaks back the casing could be bad, then a camera is the best way to see that.
 
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