Well Question

bwalley

I have a client that I put a Heat Pump in for and I was talking to them and they mentioned they had problems with their well, they are getting air in their pipes.

They recently changed the well pump from a jet pump to a submersible, they said they hit water at 36 feet and then went another 12 feet, sounds kind of shallow to me.

I think the water table dropped, we are in Plant City and the farmers have been pumping 1 billion gallons of water a day to keep their crops from freezing and we have been getting a lot of sinkholes.

I think the pump is cavitating, but I am not a well contractor.

What do you guys think is the cause?

Ayerzee

I'd guess cavitation but I'm not a well contractor either...Curious to see what the others say...

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Dan

piercekiltoff

Sounds about right to me. May be they need to shroud the pump and sink it lower in the well - that's a quick and dirty fix with a lower price tag than most solutions. Obviously, the actual well construction will be the big variable here - depth isn't all there is to this.

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Pierce Kiltoff, CWD/PI, JKA Well Drilling and Well Pumps & Filter Supply - Map Facebook
Monroe, Washington, (360)-794-7300
Serving the Entire Seattle Area, including King, Snohomish, & Pierce Counties, WA

bwalley

How do you shroud a submersible pump?

naptown CR

I had a similar problem with a well I had. Was getting air in the lines. In my case it was a split line between the well and pressure tank. ( I had a check valve just before the extrol so it would hold pressure in the tank but was draining back into the well. This was an old well however and this may not apply here

piercekiltoff

Run a 4" pvc casing on a well seal attached to the drop pipe. Find a good well contractor, they'll know how to do it. Franklin Electric talks about shroud sizing in their Application & Installation Manual (AIM).

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Pierce Kiltoff, CWD/PI, JKA Well Drilling and Well Pumps & Filter Supply - Map Facebook
Monroe, Washington, (360)-794-7300
Serving the Entire Seattle Area, including King, Snohomish, & Pierce Counties, WA

protechplumbing

Sounds like the pump is too shallow. I've pulled many wells in Polk county and they are never less than 40' even right next to a lake. The last one I did was in Winter Haven and it was more than 40' and the well was only 60' from a lake.

BTW, you need an free HVAC helper? Looking to get some more experience in that field.

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Plumber, Repiping, Replumbing, Leak Detection, Solar Water Heater, Polk County Plumber, Lakeland Plumber, Winter Haven Plumber

OldSkool

We have experienced this numerous times. It always turns out that there is a leak in the poly in the well. For this to happen there must be a check valve at the pump/pressure tank before the pressure switch inside the home. The pressure switch pressure does not drop because of the check valve and the water leaks out of the poly anywhere from there back to the foot valve at the bottom. This allows air to enter the pipe with out the pump kicking in when the pressure drops. Temp fix would be to remove check valve before pressure switch so pressure will drop and the pump will kick in....... no air can enter leak area. Total fix would be to find leak in poly and change it.