QuestionI purchased a 20 year old home and the system is of unknown age. I recently realized the system wasn't working and am having trouble figuring out the problem.
This is a shallow well in Florida (unknown depth) and all of my neighbors have wells and their lawns are still being watered. I do not think the well is dry, although it is certainly a possibility. We are forever in a drought, but we have seen much worse and I still had plenty of water pumping out of my well. Our nearby lake is spring fed and not nearly as low as it can get. Other nearby lakes are not spring fed and they too are not as low as they can get. Additionally, while I am getting air, I do not see any dirt or muddy water in the pump.
The pump has run for at least one entire cycle (2 hours) without burning out - and none of the sprinklers worked during the cycle. By the looks of my grass I would say this has happened at least twice without burning out the pump, which amazes me.
There is some water sitting in the system and the check valve is holding water (we took it apart and checked). When we attach a hose with running water to the outside of the pump and force water in, water flows to the sprinkler heads and a steady trickle can be observed coming from the nearest head. The pump continues to work, yet whenever we take away the hose, the water trickle stops.
Do you have any suggestions?
check valve holds water
AnswerThere are a lot of possible problems. One is that the pump is worn out and needs at least to have the impellers replaced. Another is that there may be a crack or hole in the suction line above the water line that is drawing air. The foot valve at the bottom of the suction line could be malfuntioning and not keeping the pump primed properly. Check as many of these things as you can, but in the end you would probably be wise to have a service person look at the pump and advise you regarding the problem. Also, check out this website for a lot of good information:
http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/pump.htm
