No water coming from the well :-(

tobo6 · #1 08/08/05, 12:28 AM

All of a sudden today we have no water coming into the house. We have a 120 ft well, about 150 ft downhill from the house with the holding tank at the house. When at the well we can hear the pump clicking on and off. We installed a faucet at the well today in hopes of finding out if we had a leak leading up to the house, but the water just trickles out of the well and it's orange in color. Everything electrical is working. We let the air out of the empty holding tank, and put more air into it. Pressure is holding.

Since we have only lived here for 3 years, and have never ran out of water before we are stumped on what is going on.

There is a submersible pump and the paper work says the static water level is 30 ft under ground. Pumps 20 gallons a minute.

Dh is wondering if he needs to pull the pump up a little bit? Do you all think it is sitting in clay? (wondering that because the back of our toilet filled up with very clayish water, before we realized the water was not coming up to the house)

Calling a professional tomorrow, but it will probably be a few days until one will come out this way. Thankfully we are using the pool water to be able to do chores and flush the toilet, bath, ect. lol

Deb-who is not having a good weekend.....the dryer broke, dh broke the brand new A/C (don't ask..stupid accident, lol) and I have a stack of dirty clothes that I have to take to the dreaded laundry mat...argh

bergere · #2 08/08/05, 08:56 AM

Deb,

If you need water you can come here.

I have the same problem, we "Think" our well is only 150ft down,, if that.
We pull a lot of clay through the system, we put a little filter in and it helps a bit. At some point we are going to either have to put a liner in, or have a new well dug. Sigh ~ ~

tobo6 · #3 08/08/05, 09:27 AM

Thanks Bergere, but we will be ok with water from the pool. Our hair might turn green from the chlorine, but at least we will be clean.

Bummer about your clay problem. I know when we first used the well it was orange water coming up for about a week, and then it was super clear water. We had it tested, and it came back in excellent shape. Don't even have iron in the water which surprised us.

Right now, dh is going to pull the pump up a bit when he gets home. Hoping that the bottom of the well didn't cave in.

I knew life was going just to easy lately, lol.

sisterpine · #4 08/08/05, 09:43 AM

I dont have a solution for you but can relate to your water problems and wanted you to know that I'm praying for your well to just need some minor tune up. sisterpine

bergere · #5 08/08/05, 09:51 AM

Ya, we have been pulling clay since we moved here last Oct. We had it tested and was told everything was fine. Like Define, "Fine"???
Well, just remember we are here and have water if you need it.

tobo6 · #6 08/08/05, 11:55 AM

Thanks sisterpine and bergere!

I just got off the phone again with the well guy. He says it sounds like a pump problem rather then a well problem. After hearing the price of installing a new pump I am sure hoping that raising the pump a little will get us water!

The well guy also said it will take 2 people at least 6 hours to drop a new pump in. I'm shocked, maybe it's because I have no idea really but I can't see how it would take that long. At this point if raising the pump doesn't work, dh will be installing a new pump himself. My father in law I know has done this before, so when he returns from vacation next week he could help us save a little money instead of hiring someone.

bergere · #7 08/09/05, 11:14 AM

Ya, it can take that long or longer to get a well pump out. Not only are you getting the pump but all the piping and other stuff as well.
My Dad just had to do his, that one is 450' down. The only way he could do it himself, was because he has one veryyyy large tractor with a huge bucket to use as a lift!
Good luck Deb!!

mikell · #8 08/09/05, 12:05 PM

New pump about 4 months ago. 2 guys 1 truck 3 hours. All new pipe and wire from pump to top and new tank and switch. 790$ parts 500$ labor. Bigger pump and lots of water old pump was 24 years old.

mikell

agmantoo · #9 08/09/05, 01:57 PM

A big IF.....If you had left a water line open or had one to burst and the pump ran until it emptied the storage completely from the well that could cause the situation you are experiencing. You need to do some looking around. I doubt that the pump is deep enough into the well to be in mud. Attempt to determine the current water level. If it has returned or is at normal then try pumping off the stored water in time increments as not to pump the level down but to get rid of the cloudy water. I have also seen such conditions occur after a quake or a lightning strike. The water should clear.

tobo6 · #10 08/09/05, 03:57 PM

I guess dh is going to pull the pump out tonight when he gets home. He built a frame out of two by six's and is going to use a come-a-long. We will see how it comes out. He has done this before...or so he says, lol. This weekend if it is the pump we will put the new pump down. I priced the same pump we have and it will cost us almost $600 to replace, but that sure beats the 2,000-3,000 the well guy said it would cost.

In the meantime, I just got back from doing laundry at the laundry mat....oh joy, wasn't that fun!

Deb

bergere · #11 08/09/05, 04:59 PM

Oh Deb,

You could of come here to do some laundry. Would give me a good reason not to do mine!!

tobo6 · #12 08/09/05, 07:23 PM

lol, any excuse not to do laundry, I like that!
I still need to get over there and see your new horse....when this mess is cleared up and I can take a proper shower I'll come over, lol. Thankfully the weather is nice this week, and not too hot. Can't believe I am going to say this, but I almost wish it would rain for a day and water my plants for me, lol.

tobo6 · #13 08/09/05, 10:41 PM

Only took a couple hours and we got the pump out. The pipe busted right at the pump, but dh's quick hands caught the pump before it plummeted to the bottom of the well

We put the pump in the swimming pool and tested it. The motor works, but it does not pump water. The bad news is, the well people said it would be a couple weeks until they could get a pump for us. The good news is that I found a place that can test and repair pumps. Hopefully having it repaired if it's possible will be cheaper too!

agmantoo · #14 08/10/05, 10:08 AM

If you shop around yous should be able to locate a new submersible pump for a few hundred dollars and not the high price quoted earlier. I had rather have a new no name brand than a rebuilt.
PS....there is a coupling between the motor and the pump. I have seen the coupling go bad and stops everything. Make certain the pump is turning.

tobo6 · #15 08/10/05, 11:48 AM

You are right agmantoo. We decided to just go buy one. I finally found a place that actually had one on the shelves, and will be picking it up today. I'm so glad I don't have to wait 2 weeks to for one to be delivered.

After talking to the pump repair people, it sounds like they are easy to fix if the motor went out, but if the motor still works it's cheaper to just go buy one.

Woohoo...I'm excited for life to get back to normal, lol.

tobo6 · #16 08/11/05, 01:16 AM

And the story ends happily ever after.

Took dh, me, and four kids 5 1/2 hours to install the pump and put it back into the well. With all the kids holding the pipe and feeding it to me (the archer, lol) I bowed it up into the air to dh who was lowering it in. Only had about 20 ft more to go and I couldn't get the pipe arched enough, and the pipe snapped. Luckily we had a extra coupler and got that glued on, and we fed it the rest of the way down. Turned the power on, and water gushed out like a fire hydrant.

With us buying the pump from a store and not the well guy, and installing it ourselves we saved about $2700, so we are feeling pretty good right now.

**Cabin Fever** · #17 08/11/05, 07:00 AM

Now that you've done all that, you should shock your well and water system at this time.

tobo6 · #18 08/11/05, 09:37 AM

Yep, already did that. Let it set over night, and flushing the system this morning.

bergere · #19 08/11/05, 10:32 AM

That is Wonderful Deb!!!