Question
Hi,
We have a 1941 house with a well in the basement that I am sure has not been used in many years. There are a number of working wells in the neighborhood that are tapped into this shallow aquifer. After I retired I thought I would see if I could get I working on my own. I was able to get the old Fairbanks and Morse 1/3 HP pump working and it pumped fine for about 2 minutes. I assume the well could not recharge fast enough because when I put the outlet hose back into the well it pumps water indefinitely. I can increase the time to about 4 mins. by turning down a valve on the outlet hose. The pressure guage on the impeller housing goes to 40 PSI. The is just enough pressure to run two full champion sprinkler heads. The well recharges after two hours and will pump for 4 mins. again.It holds a prime well.

The water is 21 ft from the basement floor, 31 ft. to the bottom of the well, the foot valve is 12" from the bottom, and the ejector is 9' from the foot valve, the well casing is 6' in dia. and what I can see of it , it appears to be made of galvanized pipe maybe 1/8 in. thick. There are two black plastic pipes to the ejector and I sure it is a deep well jet pump.

I am assuming the casing is in bad shape and I am wondering what my next step should be to try to increase my output without spending too much money.I could save water bill money by just plumbing into the sprinkler system and running it for 4 min intervals throughout the day. A side question, could I get by with putting  the pump start relay 12' from the timer if I do this? I know this alot of info. Thanks for any help you can give. Ron

Answer
Im not sure that the well will ever be productive if it cant recharge any faster than that.  I would imagine that the casing is rusted, and may be compromised or collapsed.  I would have a well service person look at it before I spent a lot of time and money on it.