Problem with a leak in my well water system - help me diagnose?

I agree with what agmantoo wrote as far as it goes but if that hydrant is fitted between the pump and the pressure tank then a leak there would act just like the foot valve or drop pipe leak does. For that very reason I never would have plumbed it that way. They had to have the trench open from the well to the tank and all they saved was just pipe enough to go back to the hydrant. Others have spoken up how the hydrant could be the leaker and I sure would dig it up before pulling the pump. That would be a sure way to tell how it is plumbed and to see if it has been leaking. You shouldn't see a leak from the hydrant on the surface. It is deep enough to keep it from freezing there.

At any rate if the hydrant is between the pump and the pressure tank and you put a check valve at the tank then your hydrant will not work.

I wanted to update this thread. I was down on my hands and knees, grubbing out a blackberry cane that had taken root at the base of the frost-free hydrant and happened to notice a faint hissing sound. Put my ear to the hydrant pipe and could hear the hissing sound quite clearly.

I dug up the frost-free hydrant and found that water was leaking out of the drain hole. I ordered a new set of consumables for the hydrant. When the parts arrived, I shut off the pump and drained the pressure tank. Took me two days of struggling and applying PB Blaster and using lots of different wrenches and finally a torch, but I finally got the the hydrant head apart and replaced the consumables.

While I had the system off and drained, I went ahead and replaced the pressure gauge on the pressure tank and also read the air pressure in tank. It was extremely low - 10PSI. I dragged my little air compressor down there and topped off the tank (I did the math on what the tank was supposed to be, but this was months ago. I want to say it needed to be 38PSI.... two pounds less than the cut-in pressure for the 40/60 switch).

Excited, I re-pressurized the system. Watched the gauge climb to 60 and then the pump shut off as it should. But the pressure bled down again just as fast as it had before and the well pump kicked in at 40PSI. So, fixing the hydrant leak, replacing the pump switch and increasing the air pressure in the tank did not impact my well pump cycle problem.

I opened the well head and peered down where the water supply line goes through the well casing (pitless adapters). Couldn't see anything that suggested a leak, but then I am looking on top of the pitless adapters so it is conceivable that a leak coming from underneath the pitless adapter would not be visible. No trickling water sounds, but I could hear a very faint shushing noise.

There's about 25 to 30 feet of buried plastic line between my frost-free hydrant and the well head. I'm guessing it's a short enough stretch that they used one piece of continuous line with no splices, but I don't know that for sure.

Since I had already dug up the hydrant, I just expanded the hole a bit more (actually, a lot more), climbed down in there, cut the thick black plastic supply line (on the well side of the hydrant) and installed a brass in-line check valve.

Problem solved! System holds pressure just fine now. For the five minutes that I was willing to sit underneath the mobile home and stare at the pressure gauge, I could not detect any drop in pressure.

I have yet to perform the final test - to turn off the well pump for a half hour and then check the pressure gauge. I've just been so happy to have water that I haven't checked.

So, it's probably the foot valve down at the bottom of the intake for the well pump. Someday I hope to get a Buffalo hand pump to install in the casing alongside my submerged electric pump. When I do that, I may also take the time to pull up the electric pump and replace the foot valve. But until then, everything is working great!

I want to thank everyone who helped me with my well problem! I learned a ton!

My check valve is about 2' from the pump on the well side. I have a shallow well and no foot valve.

Glad you got it figured out and fixed.

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Did you find out if your pressure tank was bad or water logged? If you turn on the water in your home, does your pump come almost immediately and cycle on and off quickly OR can you turn on the water and it runs for a while before the pump comes on---then the pump runs say a minute or two before it cuts off??

Your original post made me believe your tank was water logged because you said after you cut the pump off and open a valve to drain the water----nothing came out. If the tank was water logged "bad", nothing would come out after the first couple seconds.

A water logged tank will for sure shorten the life of your pump.

I didn't find out if the tank is water-logged or has gone bad. Next time I have the pump off and the tank drained, I will check the air pressure in the tank and see if it is holding steady.

When I open a faucet, the pump doesn't kick on straight away. Takes a couple gallons before the pump kicks on. And I've never heard it short-cycle... that is, kick on and then kick off again within a few seconds. It's possible that the pump itself has a feature to prevent short-cycling. But I think the tank is okay.

I went back and re-read my original post and I find that I had left a very important detail out!

When I went to replace my pressure switch, I had been without water for a couple of weeks. So, during that time, the water had drained from the mobile home, pressure tank and all lines. If I were to go and cut power to the pump right now, there would be a lot of pressurized water left to drain from the system.

I think the reason I forgot to mention that detail in this thread is because, way back when, I had just come from another long thread where I didn't have water and didn't know why my pump wasn't working. That thread culminated with me figuring out that the pressure switch was burnt out, replacing it, and finally having water. But in the process of replacing the pressure switch, I discovered that my pressure tank was completely empty, when it shouldn't have been.

Going under the house today

I hope you have a rope tied to the pump. Your fitting at the pump is cracked and will brake off in time. There is a special fitting for pumps but most people don't use them.

I think it is meant to be hauled up by the flexible water line that goes from the submerged pump to the pitless adapter. Or are you saying that where the line connects to the pump may be cracked? If that's the case, wonder if the electrical lines are connected securely enough to draw it up with that.

I don't see anything like a rope or chain or other tether running from the top of the casing down into the deep dark of the well.

The diagrams I have seen of submerged pumps like mine have an intake below the pump with a foot valve at the end of that.

Submersible pumps have threads at the top end you insert a fitting into to connect the pipe to . Fittings for this purpose can be be made of plastic , galvanized metal or brass . I always use brass at the pump & at the pitless adapter .
I believe what he's suggesting is that the fitting used at the top of your pump may be cracked . If that is the case & it breaks off I seriously doubt you could pull it with the wires . There really should be submersible pump rope tied to the pump & coming out the top of the well casing .
The check valve in the pump could also be leaking back or you could have a leak in the pipe below water level . The leak could also be underground between the point you installed the check valve & the well casing but a leak in this area will usually surface .

I can see how the pump kicking on and off creates torque that, over time, would crack that fitting. I hope that hasn't happened with mine.