# Leaking Water Well Pump



## PlainFolk (Apr 10, 2005)

Hello everyone

I have a little problem I was hoping someone could help me with. We moved to the country a short while back and this is the first time we have dealt with a water well.

I noticed a lot of water standing in our yard and found out that our well is leaking. I would like to find some sort of schematic on our system so I can determine the problem. Or maybe someone to help me understand the workings of the system. 

All I can say about the system at this point is that it is a 120volt system that has a pressure guage, a schrader valve, and a 5" pipe coming straight up out of the ground. On top of the pipe a hole is drilled where the wiring goes to the pump. This is where the water is gushing out. Off of the side of this pipe is a 2" pipe where the valve, guage, and solenoid are mounted. After the guage, the pipe goes to the house. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John


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## mtman (Sep 2, 2004)

PlainFolk said:


> Hello everyone
> 
> I have a little problem I was hoping someone could help me with. We moved to the country a short while back and this is the first time we have dealt with a water well.
> 
> ...



im not shure i understand is the hole on the suction side or on the discharg


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## PlainFolk (Apr 10, 2005)

mtman said:


> im not shure i understand is the hole on the suction side or on the discharg



It seems to me that it is on the discharge side. The wiring to the pump are fed down through the pipe. Which side the leak is on is another question. However, I can add that when I Manually trip the solenoid, the leak stops for a few seconds until the solenoid resets.


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## mink (Feb 10, 2005)

is the water squirting up from the casing? if so it might be the rubber o ring in the pitless adapter


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## Oilpatch197 (Apr 18, 2004)

LOL, we had a above ground deep well pump, and the PVC pipe by the pressure tank sprung a leak, we live on a hill and there is no ditch separaing our lawn from the road, one day we noticed WATER RUNNING ACROSS THE ROAD, the entire one acre yard was soggy, and the leak was found.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

I have seen something similar to what you described. The one I saw was a near artesian well and when the water table rose following a lot of rain the well would overflow. Nothing was broken! Disconnect the power to the pump and then observe if the water ceases to flow. Return here with you findings and someone will assist further.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

If the water is leaking out of the small pipe then you have a busted pipe somewhere.

If that big 5" casing pipe is full of water & leaking out, I would wonder - a well pump really can't fill that under most cases as it would dump the water back down the well, not fill the pipe. I would look into that artesian well idea......

Not real helpful, I know.

I have a 260' deep well with the pump at the bottom, 35 years old. I just spent $1400 last month reviving it, as the screen at the bottom got full with scale (magnesium in our area). 13 gallons of acid & 2 days work pulling pipe & it works again, I was lucky, if that hadn't worked the well would be done, all they can do is dig a new one & that is close to $10,000 around here.

I would try real hard to find records on your well. I had the same fellow working on the well last month that dug it 35 years ago. They identified the problem from my one phone call. Without knowing how deep, if it has a screen or not, and how old the steel casing was (beore 1974 was good steel casing, after 1974 was poor cheap steel casing that pits through...) no one would have had a clue how to deal with my problem. The well people had all the info on a card, exactly how deep it was, how deep the water level was, pipe & casing size, type of screen (if any) well capacity, and so on. Without that card, I would have been looking at a $10,000 bill instead of a $1400 bill.

To everyone buying the old place with a deep well - find out as much as you can about that well when you get the property. It can save you tons a few years down the road.

Some counties keep well records for this reason, it is worth checking.

Of course, the well guy really didn't need the card. He told me the location & depth of the previous 2 wells on this property - just from memory. One I knew he was dead right on, & the other one is so old I only knew the crumbly pit edge but never knew what was there......

Two of his sons are running the business, but he is still the head of the operation, doing mostly this type of work.

More than you wanted to know, & not really to your question, but something for all to think on - while your well is still working, not when there is a problem & you are desperate. Water is a very important thing - we only notice when it is not there.

When he backed up to the well he noted the cattle on the place & wondered what we would do for water in the house & for the livestock, as this is a 2 day deal at least - how will we cope.... I said I managed to get the cistern to the barn full, 3-4 day water supply gravity fed and we can tank in water if it takes longer, & the soft water for the house is from the roof & it's own pump from a cistern in the basement, so the only hardship is a bit of drinking water & flushing the toilets - have to shlep water into the toliet tank.

Oh, he said, let's get going then.....

--->Paul


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## pcwerk (Sep 2, 2003)

I would try real hard to find records on your well. I had the same fellow working on the well last month that dug it 35 years ago. They identified the problem from my one phone call. Without knowing how deep, if it has a screen or not, and how old the steel casing was (beore 1974 was good steel casing, after 1974 was poor cheap steel casing that pits through...) no one would have had a clue how to deal with my problem. The well people had all the info on a card, exactly how deep it was, how deep the water level was, pipe & casing size, type of screen (if any) well capacity, and so on. Without that card, I would have been looking at a $10,000 bill instead of a $1400 bill.

To everyone buying the old place with a deep well - find out as much as you can about that well when you get the property. It can save you tons a few years down the road.


Thats an amazing story! Saved you a ton. james


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