Question
A few years ago I installed a 1.5hp Flowtec pump to replace the original pump. It worked fine up until this week. I sounds like it is working fine but if I crack the faucet on it I get no pressure and if I open the plug on the top I get a little water spouting out but not that much. I primed it with the hose and ran it again but no water out of the sprinklers. It sounds to me that it is either the pump going, a blocked check valve or no water in the well. I have 2 ideas to check things. 1...cut the inlet pipe and place it in a tub of water then run the pump or 2...plumb a hose fitting into the inlet side and run the pump. I am not sure if I will get enough supply through the hose to run the pump though or if this will still allow air to enter the system through the check valve and still cause problems. Any ideas would be helpful. I am the type of guy to just replace the whole thing and not worry but in this case if the well is potentially empty or the check valve blocked perhaps some troubleshooting would be wise. Is is fairly dry here in Florida but it has been much dryer in past years and I have never had this problem. I would also like to ask about any filtration systems that would remove the iron from the water to reduce staining or any tips on hooking the system up to the city water supply.

Thanks,
Jeremy.

Answer
I think it would be a good idea to diagnose the problem, before replacement.
It is possible the well is dry or plugged, but usually they don't do it suddenly. If this happen over a few days, then I would suspect something mechanical. What I suggest is installing a tee in the suction side of the pump, between the pump and check valve. You can then install a vacuum gage, which will tell a lot about a pump. If you are reading above 20 you have a problem with the well side of the system. If it reads very low then it is a problem with the pump. Some other things to look at would be the check valve. Make sure it's working freely and all the parts are there. If you want to tackle it, open the pump and check the impeller. It may look difficult but pumps are fairly simple. I've saw more than a few time parts of the check valve have broken off and gotten stuck in the pump impeller.
Rust prevention systems are available. Normally, the rust staining you get can't be filtered out. There are systems available called rid-O-Rust which inject a small amount of "environmentally safe" chemical into the system which prevents stains. It's manufactured in Florida. Google Rid-O-Rust and you should get the web site.
I hope this helps, If you have more questions, feel free  to reply back.

Matt