Water Pump Problem..

[Harry K]

No, it won't hurt the pump. You didn't say what size pressure tank you have, if it a small one, you aren't losing much water.

I would suspect a leak in a fixture somewhere, a dripping faucet, a slow overflow in a toilet or the like.

Harry K

[Skankweed]

I&#39;ve been battling some plumbing issues and today i replaced my water pump. it&#39;s a shallow dug well < 10 feet deep and it&#39;s a simple shallow well jet pump 3/4 HP 220V.

Anyways everything is more or less working, but my pump runs for about

8-10 seconds every 10-15 minutes with no water use.

I know there&#39;s a very small leak somewhere. That much is obvious.

If i leave it be for a day or two that shouldn&#39;t affect the pump too much should it?

Also what&#39;s the best way to find such a small leak? I don&#39;t see any water leaking anywhere, but it&#39;s so darn muggy that there&#39;s a lot of condensation so i cant say that with 100% certainty.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated..

s**nk

[Skankweed]

i think it&#39;s 20-30 gallonish..

i&#39;ll double check my fixtures... can&#39;t hurt... i&#39;m more inclined to believe the problem is somewhere in my handiwork seeing as how it was all good up until this last weekend when all hell broke loose.. I&#39;m thinking maybe i&#39;ve got some small leak probably in the intake of the pump. I just can&#39;t seem to find it mostly due to the weather.. the condensation builds up real fast and it is near impossible to see if it&#39;s a leak somewhere, or just condensation..

i&#39;m going to wait for a little drier weather hopefully in the next day or two where i can check it out w/o the muggy air..

thanks for the reply..

s**nk

[Harry K]

Ahah. I somehow missed that you had replaced the pump. Yes, I would suspect a leak in the plumbing somewhere in that situation. 20-30 gal tank will have a drawdown in the 5-8 gal range IINM and that adds up for every 15 minutes. I would think a leak that large along visible pipe runs would be visible even with the humidity. I agree with others, check valve and piping leading to the pump would be my first place to look.

Harry K

[lightlady]

well living in FL, i can relate to the condesation probs :-) have you tried putting some liquid soap on the handiwork to see if it makes bubbles? if it&#39;s a small leak, it could take a minute or so for a bubble to appear,so be patient, and a magnifying mirror helps see under and around connections BTDT

[Skankweed]

yeah there&#39;s a foot valve.. i&#39;m thinking it may be leaking.. i had a check valve too, but i took it out (there&#39;s a long story here)..

i&#39;ll add a check valve back in this weekend...

thanks a lot for the advice..

s**nk

[Nick Hull]

I would suspect a leak in the check valve in the well, maybe a tiny piece of sand got on the seat. I like to use double check valves for that reason, if one leaks the other seals and the flow eventually will flush the dirt out if it doesn&#39;t leak.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Is there a foot valve or check valve in the line? If they leak you&#39;d lose pressure.

[David Van Nort]

Why did you need a replacement pump and what do you have for a pressure tank? Older galvanized tanks tend to become water logged causing the pump to behave as yours does. If you have a diaphragm style tank water logging shouldn&#39;t be an issue. Check that the flapper valve and the water shut off valve in the water tank on the back of the toilets are working properly. I had the constant pump running issue as well, replaced galvanized tank with new 33 gallon diaphragm tank and solved that problem, but then noticed that I always had a trickle of water running . I found that the water valve at the float arm was corroded and not shutting off completely after tank fills. Replaced it with a float-less style valve and solved the problem. For what it&#39;s worth I also installed a check valve 2 feet before the pump even though I have a foot valve as well , less feed line to prime that way. As I&#39;ve found out with this "new" old house of mine "Water, it&#39;s nowhere when you want it and everywhere you don&#39;t"

best of luck Dave

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