Why is my water pump going on all the time?

woadleaf · #1 08/05/08, 02:26 AM

No taps are running, not even the toilet, but the pump (a shallow jet) goes off around every twenty minutes. I can't tell if the tank is leaking, the whole basement is soaked from all the rain we've had. Please tell me it can be fixed, I'm not ready to replace the pump yet. If it's fine (well, other than the wasted electricity) and not a sign that the whole thing is going to die, I'm ready to leave it for a month or so.

Queen Bee · #2 08/05/08, 07:12 AM

Sounds like you might have a hole in the line--could be down in the well, so the pump is losing prime all the time.. Walk your 'line' from the well to each outlet and make sure there is no soggy, damp, wet spots.. IF not, you might have to pull the line and find the hole to fix the problem..

moonspinner · #3 08/05/08, 07:21 AM

When my family had well water for years we dealt with this all the time. It was either a leak in the line or a break in the pipe connection somewhere. My father was frequently digging to find the source of the problem. Very frustrating, especially losing the prime - one thing I do now appreciate with city water.

agmantoo · #4 08/05/08, 07:26 AM

Is this a bladder tank or a conventional galvanized storage tank on the system? If the foot valve is leaking a bit this can happen particularly if the tanks are incorrectly set, the bladder burst or lack of air in the tank. It is fixable. Answer the question above and I will be here in and out over the day and will walk you through locating the problem and then the repair. Meanwhile rest easy and have a good day. PS....put a few drops of food coloring in the tank of the commode and see if the water in the bowl changes color to match the food coloring.

quadcam79 · #5 08/05/08, 08:38 AM

first check your pressure switch, it could just be sticking like ours was. One day after filling the pool the pump kept running nonstop even though all water was turned off. turns out the pressure switch wasnt releasing. it's an easy fix, kill the power to the pump and open the cover to the switch...should be a black plastic cover with one nut on top, inside it looks just like a giant set of points...well it is, but there are adjustment bolts for minimum pressure and max pressure..sometimes if you just turn one a little bit it will release the breaker and start working again.

if that doesnt fix it, test the pressure in the air bladder and start looking for leaks in the line

**clovis** · #6 08/05/08, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonspinner

When my family had well water for years we dealt with this all the time. It was either a leak in the line or a break in the pipe connection somewhere. My father was frequently digging to find the source of the problem. Very frustrating, especially losing the prime - one thing I do now appreciate with city water.

My dad had a well that developed a leak in the line, but his was inside the well casing.

Take the cap off your well, and see if you can hear water trickling back down inside the casing.

The leak in dad's case eventually burned the pump up.

Clove

crafty2002 · #7 08/05/08, 08:59 AM

To start with, I don't know if you are a man or lady. Good physical shape or not. Or if you have a strong hand around if not.
it should last a month cycleing on and off like that. Some peoples pumps do it for months on end and they don't even know it.
Next, you said your basement is soaked. What ever you do be careful. The pump has enough juice going to it to kill you pretty fast, and especially when the ground is saturated with water.
Can you get to the pump and tank???
If so follow the line back as far as it goes and check everything for a leak. If it is coming on every 20 minutes, it is going to be a pretty good size leak that shouldn't be hard to find.
If there isn't a leak around the tank or anything in the basement, check the ground for a wet place....
If you don't find that, it is more than likely the foot valve. To ease your mine I went ahead and called where I dealt with when I was drilling wells and a foot valve for a 1" pipe, which is more than likely what you have, is only $11.70. It is more work than money if that helps any, LOL.
It really isn't that hard to replace one. I would however spray some Liquid Wrench or WD-40 or something simular to it on the bolts in the well cap if you have it. If not, check and see if they will loosen up and if they do, fine. If not get something to loosen them up when you go for the foot valve.
Whenever you get ready to fix it, agmantoo or I one should be on line here to help you out.
Dennis

wy_white_wolf · #8 08/05/08, 09:02 AM

I'd check the foot valve in the well. It may be bleeding off.

seedspreader · #9 08/05/08, 09:05 AM

In my opinion, (and I am no expert) you need to shut off the water supply between the pump and your house right after it reaches pressure.

Then watch the gauge on your bladder tank (if you have a gauge) or just leave it sit, and see if your pump starts up again. You should also have a gauge on the pump to watch also.

It will help you isolate whether the leak is in your house lines or the foot/check valve that folks are suggesting.

Michael W. Smith · #10 08/05/08, 09:47 AM

Having well water, I think at one time or another every one goes through this. I've had a similiar thing happen twice.

The first time, the foot valve wasn't holding the water in, and as it leaked out, the pump would cycle on and off to keep the pressure off.

The second time the pump kept running, I figured it was the foot valve again and I put off calling the plumber - and after several months of higher electric bills, I woke to my wife saying we didn't have any water.

During the night, the pump had froze up and burnt up. When the plumber was called and he did get the pump unfroze (but it wouldn't pump), we quickly saw the problem when we lifted the lid off the well. The plastic elbow coming up out of the well and turning into the house had sprung a leak which was leaving the water out and making the pump cycle.

When I had the pump replaced (it was over 16 years old anyway), we got a submersible pump in the well. It is SO nice NOT hearing the pump cycle anymore!

You should either find the problem or get a plumber in before your pump dies.

rambler · #11 08/05/08, 10:26 AM

It's not good for the pump, frequent starts will burn it out years before it's time......

Simplest is air bubble in the pressure tank - is that right?

Hardest is a leak 'somewhere' underground.

Lot of good suggestions, it could be any of those mentioned. Start with the easiest. Work your way down the list.

Turn off power to the pump - do you get a lot of water flow, or just a little & it peters out?

If you turn off the power to the pump, wait a few hours, now do you get no, little, or as much water as you did when right after shutting pump off?

Such tests easily help you figure out if it's air bubble, leak, etc.

--->Paul

thequeensblessing · #12 08/05/08, 10:41 AM

When our well pump used to do this, my husband would "prime" it. Now, I'm not much help, because I'm not sure what that even means, but it would fix the problem right away. Something about the air/water ratio in the tank.

woadleaf · #13 08/05/08, 11:38 AM

Wow! Lots of great suggestions! I went into the dark unknown again (the basement). I wore my wellies

The floor is gravel so there is no standing water, but it is wet. There is so much condensation on the pump and copper lines, there *could* be a leak but nothing is dripping. I will go down later with DH and wipe everything down and double check that there isn't (when the kids are underfoot, it's near impossible to get a private trip to the facilities, let alone the cellar). Our tank is very small, ~5 gallons? so our pump does go on quite a bit under normal circumstances, which I understand is not the best thing for it's lifespan. We only just moved here not too long ago, so getting a bigger pressure tank is on the To Do list. We will try to re-pressurize the tank, and if that doesn't work, we may have to call in the big guns. Or google... that's usually the next best thing. Thanks for the info, I will update.

#14 08/05/08, 03:19 PM

One thing to check out is if at the well-head there is a hissing sound after the tank has filled. It could be one of your poppits has a small hole in it. We had this happen to us a few years ago.

agmantoo · #15 08/05/08, 07:07 PM

D**n, replaced by Google!

Old Vet · #16 08/05/08, 08:06 PM

Even before you go to the basement go to the toilet and cut the water off and see if it is leaking. You can remove the cover and look at the water level and if it is at the top of the overflow then it is leaking. So this with with the hot water and cold water and then you have reasion to go to the basement.

woadleaf · #17 08/05/08, 08:06 PM

LOL! You are lovely, but unfortunately the necessary diagrams are lacking

So, we stared at the pump for awhile, trying to figure the bugger out. While we stared we noticed a dripping sound coming from the toilet pipe. Back upstairs we go to stare at the toilet. It doesn't run, but water none the less seems to be escaping via the pipe. SO we turned off the water intake to the toilet, if it IS the cause of the running pump we shall soon see.

I'm not sure that my pressure gauge is working, we watched it while it ran twice and it didn't move. It sits at 20, if that means anything.

woadleaf · #18 08/05/08, 08:26 PM

meh, it's still going...

That beast is so old, I don't even know if it's worth saving anyway. Might as well bite the bullet and replace the **** thing. I just read a guy's blog, he replaced his own pump and I was shocked at the state of his old pump! It was brand spanking new and shiny compared to the rusty old thing in my basement.

Wendy · #19 08/05/08, 10:21 PM

Quote:

When I had the pump replaced (it was over 16 years old anyway), we got a submersible pump in the well. It is SO nice NOT hearing the pump cycle anymore!

That's true, but hearing the pump cycle in times like this is a good thing. I prefer mine in the basement just for that reason. My brother has run out of water more than once when the toilet got stuck running. Not hearing the pump, he had no idea that the toilet was running all night.

So, have you figured it out yet? We have had it happen & it was the foot valve also. Have also had to add air to the tank on another time.

seedspreader · #20 08/05/08, 10:33 PM

For a submersible pump, everyone should buy and install a well pump alarm, which is basially a little red light that comes on whenever the pump is on. I was going to do it on my Deep Jet pump I just installed but I can feel the thing every time it comes on...