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Good video man . I'm a plumber ( commercial work ) and I've worked on wells over the years , I understand how they work but I picked up a few tips that make sense about how to do a proper instalation . Thanks ✌️
Phil: Then, here's another huge "Thank you!", this time from a 69 year-old first-timer (-: Thanks to your excellent video, that covers just about everything 'down the well', I've running water again. -- My well head is 3 feet below ground, surrounded by a cement casing. Your bull wheel shot, toward the start of the video, prodded me to build a 4"x4" frame, to fit within the casing, on which to mount a couple of wheels at a 45 degree slope, using nothing but 2"x12" pressure treated and bolts from Tractor Supply. - I was able to pull all 130 feet of drop pipe, effortlessly, with my lawn tractor and a nylon rope, using what's called a pipe hitch. What I particularly like about your video is the detail you gave regarding the splicing, as well as protecting the wiring from abrasion. Since I was so paranoid about the splices being waterproof, I ended up using the Everbilt submersible adhesive-lined heat shrink kit available at Home Depot, followed by some longer adhesive-lined heat shrink from eBay, followed by the 3M Tape 23 (Self-adhering, rubber splicing tape that's very similar to the tape you use), and, lastly, some 3M Tape 22 Professional Electrical Tape. -- I hope it's not me that's the next person to have to undo all of that waterproofing (-: -- One thing I would like to mention is that, in having to replace the old 2-wire cabling (1970s) with 3-wire cable, at Wire&CableYourWay.com, under Portable Cord, I found some excellent, reasonably priced, 'heavy duty, flat-jacketed, submersible pump cable' that is purchased by the foot. Each wire has a 45 mil THW covering and the jacket is also 45 mil, which provides good protection from abrasion. -- So, thanks again, Phil. There's nothing like doing it, to be able to really appreciate it.
Excellent videography!!!! These tutorial video are great. Keep up the great work. Glad your over your illness and looking forward to more educational videos. Have a safe day!
Hi Tom, I know this is 8 months old, but how did you get to know that you had an impeller problem with your pump. I have something going on similar to what you posted above. My pump comes on at 30psi and only makes it to 45psi. I have to manually shut off the switch at the pump. If I wait 3 minutes, it starts pumping again, but not for long. Is this what you were experiencing?
Thank you for the well explained video! My elderly parents need a new submersible pump. Their jet pump has been nothing but problems. Portrait mode videos are more challenging to watch.
This was my first TH-cam video! I've learned alot on proper filming & editing since then. But the info is still useful nonetheless! Happy to have helped!
You need a tork arrester and an I bolt for the rope. You want to keep the rope out away from the sunlight and rats. Everything you said was great. I have installed 100’s of pumps.
Ropes can fall & nest up around the pump trapping it. & arrestors can wear inhalf and fold over the pumo trapping it. Both will require a crane to Rip out the stuck pump. I dont recommend using either item bc they cause more problems than they prevent
VERY helpful video, thank you Phillip. I would like to say though , I found my pump not to be grounded yet I still had 240 volts. I have been here 35 years and had the pump replaced 3 previous times professionally. It seems no one ever has addressed the ground issue. I changed everything myself this time and found no ground wire going from the home to the underground well pit. No ground wires on the pressure switch either.
Code has changed over the years. Ground wires aren't necessary for a well pump due to the fact that it is a metal casing that is already in the ground surrounded by water. If you feel like you need something, add a 4ft ground rod at the well & tie the pumps ground wire to it. Or attach it to the metal casing (if its not plastic)
@@h2omechanic I have something similar, my house-to-well head wire is two wire (no ground, but it's submersible) and continues down the well that way. I guess it should have been underground wire, then submersible, and with a ground. When I replace the pump I'll ground it near the well head with a rod (my case is pvc)....thanks again for a great video!
Hey buddy how are you ? I just installed a new 1 hp irrigation pump for a customer. There was no pressure tank it had a irrigation timer box with a 240 contactor/relay. The owner told me that he didn't know the depth I figured that out when I pulled it. He said he had about 12 zones about 5 heads per... rotating. The issue wasn't the pump it was the wiring, and I meged it and confirmed. After install the sprinkler guy said that there wasn't enough "pressure" ... most of heads were busted but how could this be that I do not have pressure ? I do have pictures of my install. Appreciate your time and videos 👍
If I am tapping into my well pump plumbing with a lawn irrigation system , should I tap in right at pump or after pressure tank for best pressure? In your opinion!!!
Great Videos lots of good info. I have a question. So... i have a deep well system 1.5hp and about 500ft. The Well seems to be producing water however, I'm getting really low pressure. Like about 1.5 gal per min. I put in a new control box thinking that was the issue but seems to be same. My well pump doesn't have a pressure switch. The way it is set up, it pumps water and send directly to water storage tank. So im not sure how to increase pressure? help please?
awesome video we have a well on our property its been here since a good while before we bought the place we had to replace the wire an a few pumps in the last few yrs last yr we bought a bladderless tank an pump a new pump on well it lasted a yr an we had to replace the pump a month ago we havent had the best luck with pumps id say
Bladderless systems are not the best for a full time home. Same for a constant pressure system. The electric motor don't like starting & stopping that much. I recommend a 20 gallon bladder tank & as for pumps. Goulds, jacuzzi, J-class, or Red jacket. Cheap lowes pumps or Amazon pump are all Chinese crap. Pumps that are $400 last roughly 15 years. Hope that helps!
It has a pressure switch i just realised i forgot that we aren't the only house on the well. I told my dad since there is multi houses on the one well we might need a bigger tank or a bigger tank
@@h2omechanic so, if I found a much larger bladder tank that was only in use 6 months in a business that failed financially,, when I repair my pump, putting the larger tank into service will be a good thing, right?
@@patrickwayne3701 absolutely! Bigger tanks prolong the life of the pump. Just be sure to check the air pressure at the top of the tank & set it 2-5psi below the "On" number of your pressure switch. You'd either be around 26psi or 36psi of air pressure. Air setting is key!
I need some advice to confirm my suspicions please. Re: Well water pump loses prime when power goes out for any length of time. History: We live in eastern NC and have a well that is forty plus years old. The drop pipe is sixty-five feet long and the static level is twenty-five feet. We’ve had a continual problem with pepper sand so I “blew” the well about 1.5 years ago and installed a new foot valve along with new leathers-that helped improve things for awhile. Current situation: We had to cut the power one week ago so electricians could install a Generac back up system. I had trouble reprimimg the pump after only a four hour power outage. I reprimed the system with forty gallons of water and flipped the breaker. It pumped up and shut down at sixty psi. Wonderful! Then the gauge started that familiar slow decent 55,50, 45, 40 and then bam “0.” I’ve had to do this twice before so please tell me if I’m wrong. I have to pull the drop pipe and replace the foot valve. Yes or No? Love your channel! Thanks for your time and advice!!
First off love all your video's. I am reaching out to you to ask for some advice about my well. I currently have no water after replacing the entire tee, pressure switch (40/60), wiring, and have verified that I have 38psi on my pressure tank with no water insight and has passed all the tests like tipping and sounds hollow. After replacing everything I just listed I had water for 2 weeks, then out of no where the pressure switch continued to trip and the lever on the pressure switch had to continue to be reset. So I went and bought a new pressure switch 40/60 with no lever. After installing the new pressure switch the water was workimg perfecting for 2 days then my well pump started to sputter and sound like it was calling for water but no water was coming in, then when it did finally come into the house it was almost black. How I know that is was black is because it turned my clear large sediment filter completely black and it was almost clear before then. Lastly it then started to trip the circuit breaker every 10 seconds. Water does come into the house when I hit the breaker but only for 10 seconds until the breaker trips. I have called the company that installed the well pump originally, and they are extremely busy and I have 2 children with no working water. So I am wondering if you happen to have any advice for me on what the problems could be, and the steps I could take to get it done myself. I apologize for such a long comment but all the other companies around me are to expensive and I really cannot afford to wait for the pro's to do it when I feel I am competent enough to get the job done correctly with the right guidance.
Your running the well dry. The key is all the sediment that you got. Leave the well breaker off when your not using water & ill bet it begins to work fine. Go around to all toilets and look for 1 that has a leaky flapper. If you turn each toilet off, the back tank will empty. That's the most common problem. If they seem ok, go under the house & look for leaks & look for wet areas in the yard. If you don't believe you have a leak, check your psi gauge, it'll be on 60 & then kill the power, & go see if the gauge slowly leaks to 0. This will be a true test. If you truly don't have a leak, then the well has slowed its production rate & youll need to look into finding a hydrolic fracturing company if you have a 6" well. If you have a sand well (coastal) your in a drought . If you have a 2ft Diameter well (bored) then all you can do is wait for rain Hope this helps
I have a shallow well at 41ft, I'm about 1/2 mile from the Okanogan river here in okanogan, WA. I have had a new neighbor move in recently on property that is a little higher than mine, we are on a slight incline so I'm down the hill from him. I have never had any real issues until he moved in and began watering his 5 acre parcel 24/7. He now has a beautiful full yard completely covering what was once a bare 5 acre parcel. I now have no water and have tested and/or replaced everything on or in my well to no avail. Could he be depleting the water in our water table because of all the watering he does. I'm not exaggerating when I say he waters 24/7, he actually has a number of large sprinklers going constantly. Could this be my problem?
What do you do if your water isn't running and the pressure meter is well below 0psi? We lost power in a bad storm and the temp dropped to 4 degrees F amd didn't get above freezing for a few days even though the power came back on.
Hey at 6:45 when you were testing your well pump, what settings did you have your volt meter at ? Amps ? power on ? . plumber from Canada . my experience is with new construction building 30 plexes. just moved from Nunavut to rural Ontario. thanks!
I love your videos and your style. One problem I have is using electrical tape in the well and I'm looking for alternatives. I found some 1/2" wide zip ties rated at 250 pounds. Also, what do you think about wrapping heavy duty hydraulic hose spiral wrap (hdpe) around the lowest section of the drop pipe, cable, and rope?
I only use 3m electric tape . Don't use zip ties! They cut your hand next time you go to pull the pump out, or they all slide down to the bottom. If you have a area that's keeps rubbing the wire, id recommend 1/2" conduit for the bottom 30-40ft.
Great video. Our well uses a 1/2 hp pump and the depth is approximately 150'. I'd like to order a pump before pulling the current one out to eliminate down time since it still works. Are all submersible 1/2hp well pumps standard or do I need more information? Would there be any advantage to installing a larger 3/4hp pump instead? What is the correct wire to use? Thanks.
I have a submersible pump not working, i replaced the breaker and pressure switch and still nothing, what else can i check or should i assume i need a new motor/pump
Nice video.....I have a .5 HP submersible 80 feet down feeding our pressure tank that normally gives good flow in routine house use (dishes, showering, etc) but when we put a heavy demand on like lawn watering, etc the flow stops. If I then turn the power off, wait a few minutes and turn power back on I can get back to routine flow ok if I decrease demand (i.e. no lawn watering, etc) Some handymen have told me ".....sounds like the pump" without going into why but I am also thinking maybe my well just can't keep up with the higher demand. Any thoughts on what might be going on and how I might check some things to get a better idea of what is really happening ?
Depending on the depth of your well & GPM gallons per minute. At 80' I'd guess your well is making 3-5gpm. Pumps will pump 10 gpm & each faucet uses 2 gpm. If your well is let's say 150' I'd put the pump down at 120'. If you have a 250' well, id change the pump to a 3/4hp & drop to a 7Gpm & not the 10gpm. Scheifer makes a great 3200 series 3/4 7gpm pump. Your just pumping your well faster than it can recover. Lowering the pump will give you more storage but it still can "run dry", you'll just have more water available. 1st step is figuring out the true depth. Most wells have a metal tag on the casing with all the info you'd need.
Does the torque arrestor help prevent the pump from hitting the sides of the well casing on the way down? Also I see that a lot of pumps should be installed about 10 feet off the bottom of the well . I guess to prevent ingress of sludge, what is the best way to know when it is that on a 100 foot deep well with 20 feet depth of water?
Never put a pump 10ft off the bottom. If a well makes 2 gpm or more, a 200 deep pump will supply any house. 10gpm or more a 100ft pump will work. Most plumbers, (not well drillers) will sell as much product as they can, that why they suggest it be 10ft off bottom. As for torque arrestors, they help prevent wire failure. I dont like them. Tape wire every 3ft & you'll never have a issue. Arrestors can cause bigger problems in the future.
Your pump should not be on the bottom of the well. Atleast 40ft from bottom. If well makes good water, set pump at 100ft. Theres no stopping silt. If its really bad, & the well is old with shallow casing, it might need to be camera'd and see if the casing is leaking in surface water. If a rain fall makes your water worse, that's the issue
Hi,got a pressure problem,I've metered my deep well pump and have 240 between l1 + l2. My amprobe shows 6 amps at pressure switch on both legs however I can't get anymore than 10 psi ,not even enough to operate cutin which is set at 18 psi for a 20/40 system?
You will have to pull your pump to do further trouble shooting. It could be a leak anywhere from the pump up. It may also be a worn out pump or the pump could be clogged up.
Tom Mcdonald normally in your case the pump fitting is plastic & has cracked. if you kill the power & your pressure drops the it's probably down the hole. a good test is to disconnect the pipe at the top and see if water pumps out strong, if it does then look for a brake somewere else
Love your videos I bought 12 acres with a well .I need to install a pump and according to my paper work the static water level is 250 feet.what size pump would you recommend and how deep will I need to set the pump? Any help you could give me will be appreciated Thank you Cam
So you have a Very deep water level. You'll need to follow my directions to a T. You need a 1Hp 5GPM 2 wire pump (Goulds or J-Class brand). 1" Poly Black Roll pipe "250psi" 400ft Stainless steel or Brass Fittings for the pump top & bottom. HD Steel Well Seal 10-2 Submersible pump wire 400ft 2 clamps at every connection
I got the right voltage going to and from the pressure switch. At the top of the well I only got 75 volts at the pump I only got 50 some volts in both wires y am I getting this voltage drop
Is it possible to check the pump resistance with a Ohm meter? I'm thinking is should be 4-7 ohms for a 230VAC pump. My new Vevor 1HP is 4 ohms with internal start capacitor. . Although my old one has internal start capacitor it measures 10.7 ohms. Also Id like to see a video on troubleshooting a PumpSaver 230P with the red LED (over current) light blinking. What are the causes and repair? One guy said there is a 470uf 25v capacitor inside the Pumpsaver that can fail. The replacement Capacitor is $10. Id like to see a repair vid if that's true. A new PumpSaver 230P is currently bout $250...... Update: I plugged my old pump directly into 230v by passed the Pumpsaver. No sound no water. Im now thinking I have a jammed impeller or dead start capacitor. I plugged the NEW pump into the PumpSaver It pumps water for 1 sec and goes into "over current" shut down I Adjusted to Min sensitivity same OC shut down I adjusted for Max sensitivity same OC shut down. Could both be dead? Both are abt 12 years old.
Low water pressure, checked copper nipple had lot of rusty stuff, shut power off bled air tank, pressure very low, (40-60) switch, added 38 psi leaving faucets open, immediately pressure improved, next day washing clothes, water pressure in all house faucets low. ( not waterlogged) ck for that, wondering if bladder is weak in tank, pump kicks on at 40 and off at 60 as expected. ? Recent issue. Well 40 ft depth.
Jet pump? Possibly running the well dry You'd be the 3rd 40ft well this month that has had the same problem on my channel. I'd say if you using more water recently, you might be sucking it dry faster than it can recover. But it also could be other possible issues. 40ft is very shallow
Power box? Is this a constant pressure system. Or just a pressure switch. If it's a p.s. turn off power. Un do wire nuts out at the well. Turn on power & test the wire coming from home. It should read 220+. If you have wire nuts connected & testing shows low voltage. Then test red wire with electric meter with red probe & use the black probe on the ground. Should read 110v. Test the black wire the same way for the same 110v results. One will probably read less. Reason why you wont get 220v when the wire nuts are all connected to all wires, down in the well either a black or red wire has rubbed the coating off & the voltage is dissipating out into the water/ground. You can call me if you need help with testing.
Hi sir from md ,my well is 190' I started to see water on top of ground next to my well casing I started digging and found a crack at the Pitt less valve.when I turned my pump on to see how bad the crack was it did not come back on the second time I tried it.so I started troubleshooting from electric panel to the wires at the top of well all was showing 230 volts,I also put in a new pressure switch in . I was getting 230 volts after the pressure switch but it was not sparking ..or arching when the switch made contact. This is the reason why I replaced it .I still have the same problem, no sparking when switch makes contact . I can hear with my ear if I put my head against the top of the 4'' pipe it sounds like it is trying to do something but it just stops ,this is probably maybe 5 seconds after the breaker is turned on.The pressure switch stays closed all the time . Any ideas that could help me would be very appreciated . thanks
installed new deep well submersible pump, 1 HP, new tank, new switch, and new control box. I get 240 to the switch but drawing no amps from pump. I did not replace the 12/3 with ground?
The H2O Mechanic I am a well water professional of 25 years... I would never post any how to videos on TH-cam, too many variables and takes away from our trade to school the public on a job that should always be performed by professionals in our trade.
The people who visit TH-cam for well repair are most likely people who would have a issue with payments of $1000. So for the few homeowners who want a proper DIY they watch my videos. & for 25 years experience you know that just changing pumps doesn't fund a million dollar business. I'm sure 95% of viewers watch so they understand their well related issues. The 5% are DIYers.
I want to compliment this young man for illustrating why pumps need to be installed by professionals rather the uncle Fred and his drunk neighbor. I am a National Groundwater Association Master Groundwater Contractor and while I don't agree with EVERYTHING said in the video it is close to 95-6% correct on everything. What was pulled out and he explained with the type of wire used, the lack of properly securing the wire, the wire splice technique etc. is a perfect example of why pumps/motors fail in a short period of time.
Michael Keen Sr. Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm 28 and my father raised me up as a well driller so I try my best at professionalism to help info others. idk if you know of Hensley Well Drilling in Clarksville va. but that us.
@@h2omechanic yea, I suppose I haven’t seen one set at less than 280’ yet. All 3 wires. I think this area is kinda unique in that most of the private wells are set up hydro pneumatic with an air charge delivered every pump cycle. So the check at the bottom is drilled and there’s a check 40ft from the top with a snifter right below it. Hung from a pitless or monitor.
My well breaker in my main box kicks sometimes once a day and sometimes several. I ordered a new control box hoping that could be the problem but it’s not here yet. Is it possibly just a bad control box or a pump going bad? The pressure is fine when the breaker isn’t kicked, thanks for any advice sir.
Typically if its tripping the breaker, the well pump is pulling over 15 amps & eventually pops the breaker. It runs at 6 amps normally. If the pump is 13-16 years old its probably going bad. Internal bearing failures happen around 15 years old
i just replaced mine in my backyard today. turned it on in water up here. Worked fine. put it down and 180 feet down it magically decides it doesnt want to work anymore. what could be the problem? Could it just need some time to get the water up? Thank you.
Probably it's a broken wire down in the well going to the pump. (If you used the old wire & didn't look it over closely) once the wire is put in water, it shorts out
H20 Mechanic I have a question for you, my cold water lines are plugging up at the spigot screens and aerators with what looks like plastic/fiberglass shreds. Nothing on the hot water lines. Is this an indication that my well pump impellers are going bad?
It could possibly be , corroded duct tape. Unfortunately , people use duct tape to fasten the submersible pump wires to the water line going up the well casing. Over time , duct tape WILL FALL APART, leaving fibers like you mentioned , in your well. Hope I helped you👍👍 , and yes I know my help came a year after you asked this question.
Have a question , hope someone ca n steer me in right direction. We were getting intermittent water pressure at our cottage, replaced old tank and switch, worked fine, well seems as if it cant keep up, all pressure is good, 40/60, on at 38,off 58. If i run too many things, water stops. Well is 20 yrold but only gets used about 2 to 3 month a year. New pump time? Sediment? Curious . Ty in advance
Could be time for a new pump. If you use it & it quits, but in 3-4 minutes it is back on id say the pump is over heating and cutting off. If pump is 20 y/o, then the bearings are worn out & causes internal friction and the electric motor will cut off until the well water has cooled it down. If you've never ran the well dry before this, replace the pump!
My well is not keeping prime. Opened up the valve on the pump side got a bunch of air got prime. Woke up this morning same thing a lot of air. Ran fine after priming last night ,my pump house is above my plumbing in the house 30 feet higher
Good morning, sir! I’ve watched all of your Q&A’s over the last 12 hours to no avail, hoping you can help. Moved into a new property with a cistern about three weeks ago. Pump worked fine, cistern ran dry mid last week, had water delivered yesterday and now the pump just “hums” when I turn it on, no water pulling into the system. Tried priming multiple times, no luck. I know the pump only ran dry for a few minutes and was at least trying to pull in water the evening before we had water delivered so I don’t think it’s seized. Any words of wisdom, sir?
I'm assuming it's a jet pump pulling water from the tank. Try cutting off the valve that feeds the house. You have a air lock Trapped in one of the pipes(suction) . 1st off I hate jet pumps. For the reasons your experiencing. It could be a number of things. Maybe take off the priming cap & hook a strong shop vac to it & see if it'll pull water through & suck out the air lock. The check valve is probably stuck slightly & once it frees up, then it will work right
@@h2omechanic just like you said, closed the intake, stuck the shop vac on the open priming cap, slowly re-primed and we’re back in business! I can’t begin to thank you enough, bud. Do you have a Venmo or something I could toss you a tip on?
Actually that Romex is for outdoor and underground installation, interior Romex is typically white or yellow so I would think is would be OK for a well installation but I'm no expert.
Please, help me! I bought this very old house and there was water when I first checked. Then I turned the pump off and came back like a week later (pump back on) and no water was coming out. I changed the pressure tank, switch, valve and every piece that went with the set up (including the pipes) and still no water. I can feel the pipes close to the well pump vibrating a little bit and also hear a water noise coming from the underground when the pump is on. I believe the pump is working, everything else is brand new, so any idea? I left the pump running for about 4 hrs and no water, no pressure...please...give me an idea. There was a lot of iron bacteria in the old pipes from when I first ran the pump. Thank you!
Send me pictures of the well area & of your tank area. 4342101376. From your description you gave, you can feel & hear the pump run & can hear water moving. Try disconnecting the pipe at the well allowing it to shoot water onto of the ground see if you get water there. But send pics first. You might have a bad fitting in the well spraying out all your pressure.
What do I do if my switch arks, then clicks once like 5 seconds after the switch arks and the pump never runs? Im gonna get my buddys multi meter later today and test everything for proper voltages
Pump is running, thats why you see the ark. You could have a hole in a fitting or pipe in the well not allowing water to get to your tank. You can also have a bad tank if it clicks in 5 seconds. Watch a few videos on my channel, they explain how you test your tank to see if its good. Sounds to me like your tanks probably out of air & thats short cycling the switch which will hurt the pump eventually.
My well is crackling. Can't get anyone right away. I'm in a very rural area. Do I need a well driller or a plumber? Thank you. I shut the breaker and have no water.
Well Drilling companies will be cheaper than a plumber and way more knowledgeable. Plumbers are more for toilets & sinks ect. But are still capable. Watch my many well related videos, you'll be able to diagnose the problems most likely.
I'm about to tackle a pump from the late 80s early 90s that's over 200 ft deep. You have a recommendation on type / brand of pump and bladder I should buy?
@@h2omechanic do you think 1hp goulds 18g p.m. 3-wire would be Overkill? We raise Hogs and go through over a hundred gallons of water a day just on livestock. What do you think I should do on the bladder
@@bigred7322 2wire is simple...3 wire requires control box. Id stick with a 1hp . 18gpm head is too big for 300ft deep. A 10gpm head will give 15gpm & id use a 44 or 36 gal tank
@@h2omechanic I believe the existing is already three wire with a control box. Even if not, I'm not too concerned about simple, just want to make sure I put the best back in the ground so I don't have to do this again for a very long time. Would it hurt to run an 86 gallon bladder, or is that too big?
@@h2omechanic Thanks for the reply. I meant how much depth can you go before you use the pump puller and not pull it out with a lawn mower or something similar. I see in your other videos you use small machinery. How much depth can you go with 2 average sized guys and the bully puller?
John Shaw plastics fittings are ok at 100ft max. use double clamps. the clamp holds the weight. 150' to 400' pumps need brass or stainless fitting in the pump & the 90elbow at the well seal. it's better to be safe than sorry.
Were you able to locate the name of the rubber tape? The closest I could find is the 3M Scotch 23 - Self Bonding Electrical Tape. It has the same waffle texture as the tape you were using; but, the liner is white, rather than blue. -- Thanks.
I have no water,.....I checked the pressure switch it had 240 volts then I removed the wire nuts at the well and tested it,...110 volts? I'm not an electrician. So should the well have 240 volts or 110 volts?
If you got 240 volts at the switch its a 240v system. If you removed both wire nuts completely from the wires going down the well & only got 110 then you have a bad wire in the ground between well & house. Remove all 3 wire nuts at well, use the ground wire as your neutral & test black you should get 110v then test white & should get 110v. 1 of them is going to read low voltage if you have a bad wire in ground. If you still had 1 or both hot wires connected to the well pump wires & got 110v then its a bad wire down the well. If the wire in the ground was ever cut years ago, then its probably bad. Ill answer any questions you may have. Test it again how I described & ill tell u what to do next.
@@h2omechanic well I'm just using a light,... it says 240 or 110,.... at the pressure switch it says 240. At the well there's only 2 wires a Black and a white I put the light on both wires and get 110. There is a green wire but it has never been hooked up. It's been fine for 4 years it had new plastic pipe and new wire ,new pump, new pressure switch and pressure tank. That was 4 years back. Then I came home and no water?
Your testing was correct then. The black & white are both hot & each should read 120v. So you have power out to the well & no water. Its 1 of 2 things.#1 Pump could be bad,which i doubt. #2 the wire going to the pump/down the well is broken. Time to pull the pump out if the well. And look closely at the wire, you'll find a spot where the insulation is worn off.
Pipe replace if its 100-125psi. If its 160-200psi black pipe it's fine to reuse. Tape every 3ft. & look carefully at wire for rubbed spots. If its warn down to copper, replace wire 12-2 submersible pump wire. Also at lowes. Dont use grey UF.
2 should read 230v+. If you had a Yellow wire on the old 1, the old one was a 3 wire. They have control boxes. You just remove the box & run the power wires to the pressure switch
@@h2omechanic thank u so much I've Ben thinking two wire should have 230 but I'm no plumber or electrician I'm try to do it my self guy cause I can't afford to pay some one so. I think I have a broken wire from the house to the well. Again thank u very much
Remove the wire nuts at the well & test each leg to ground using a volt meter. You will get 120v each leg. If 1 is lower then it is bad. Run a new wire from your switch to the well across the ground and see if it works. It should.
@@h2omechanic k so first answer says out will b 230 second say 110 so at my well there's three wires I assume one is ground or common wire I've heard it called and the other two I assume should have power. But is it 110 each or 230
@@h2omechanic My son and I pulled our failed pump only to find a piss poor install. Pump was fine, rewired per your perfection. Very satisfying fix, now we know it is tight. Felt really good feeding the pump back down with out all the wadded cords and un-taped wire, smooth. So much exposed wire from rubbed insulation and the wadded pump lead. OMG, that was done by pro's supposedly. You are THE well guy as far as we are concerned.
Idk if your still on TH-cam. I haven't seen my issue but did have. Freeze. The pump is working but no water. No pressure. Non bladder tank pump and motor above ground with a foot valve recently chanced the foot valve. Idk much about wells but need help.
Yes it was a Franklin. Amp tests confirm if a pump is locked up, open, worn out past its max amps which would be internal bearing failure. Always good to check & make sure the wire in the ground isn't bad too.
Hey man I've been watching all your videos and was wondering if you could possibly help me out cause I'm having a problem with my well. I'm not getting no water. My well tank is good, I just switched the pressure switch and pressure gauge. But still no water. If u could get back to me I'd really appreciate it thanks mane
you said "not pulling any amperage". Amps are a measure of current. You should say "not pulling any current". You also said "checking for a break in the ground". This sounds vague and someone may think you are talking about the ground wire.
Yes. Under the well cover you'll find 3 wires. Test the black & white wire with electric meter. You should get 240 between the 2. Then test white to ground & then black to ground "green". You should get 120v during each of those 2 tests using the ground. If either give you less than 120, you have a broken wire in the well. If all test out ok, and the pump doesn't come on, you have a bad well pump. Pull pump out, inspect wires & replace it "pump". Watch my other install videos for well pumps to do it properly.
Typically the 1 tool I use is $75 at lowes & it's a Amperage meter that clamps around 1 hot wire, either black or white or possibly red. It measures amp load. Anything about 8 is bad. Anything below 4, the main shaft is worn out. If it reads 0. Bad wire or bad pump
@@h2omechanic Does the amp meter have to set on a certain settingwhen clamped around the 1 hot wire? I will be testing mine soon ..I have pressure and voltage but no water ..when the power is on you hear a VERY faint hum for around 3sec then it goes off and repeats after about 15 sec, I replaced the pressure switch but not the controller.
Your pump is bad. The hum sound is a locked rotor trying to spin. It like turning on a ceiling fan & holding the blades. Pull out your pump, inspect the wires for rubbed off coating. Use 2 clamps at each connection and heat shrink for wires & electric tape. Follow my videos on pump install & take little notes. Small details of a install are key to getting 15/20 years out of it. Dont buy lowes pump or tractor supply. Stick with Goulds or Sheifer or Grundfos or J Class. I'll walk you through it if you need help. 4342101376
Wow I see a plastic pump head and on top of it being a scheffer brand of pump, very cheap of a pump and dont like plastic head pumps due to the head cracking over the years from all the torgue ,on and off.and I always install a torque arrestor where I splice in the pump..
I've never seen a plastic head crack. Typically the fitting will fail, not the pump. But I have seen a head blow out of the pump before. Typically deep set at 400ft. We dont use torque arrestors unless its absolutely needed due to a deviated bore hole. Once the torque arrestor wears out, & trying to pull out the pump it actually folds downward and wedges causing it to be very hard to pull. If it's set directly at the pump, it folds over the pump head. If that happens, you'll never get it out unless you use a tractor to pull with hydraulic power. If an old pump shows no signs of rubbing, then theres no need for them to be installed.
@@h2omechanic I totally agree with the torgue arrestor directly at the head of the pump and be hard to pull out, and if its taped correctly the wire not gonna rub anyway,like u stated in the video. 👍
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Good video man . I'm a plumber ( commercial work ) and I've worked on wells over the years , I understand how they work but I picked up a few tips that make sense about how to do a proper instalation . Thanks ✌️
Having watched many videos today, I will say your are the winner. You got the magic!
Great work, brother, thank you.
Phil you give me hope for younger Americans, great help thanks
Phil: Then, here's another huge "Thank you!", this time from a 69 year-old first-timer (-: Thanks to your excellent video, that covers just about everything 'down the well', I've running water again. -- My well head is 3 feet below ground, surrounded by a cement casing. Your bull wheel shot, toward the start of the video, prodded me to build a 4"x4" frame, to fit within the casing, on which to mount a couple of wheels at a 45 degree slope, using nothing but 2"x12" pressure treated and bolts from Tractor Supply. - I was able to pull all 130 feet of drop pipe, effortlessly, with my lawn tractor and a nylon rope, using what's called a pipe hitch. What I particularly like about your video is the detail you gave regarding the splicing, as well as protecting the wiring from abrasion. Since I was so paranoid about the splices being waterproof, I ended up using the Everbilt submersible adhesive-lined heat shrink kit available at Home Depot, followed by some longer adhesive-lined heat shrink from eBay, followed by the 3M Tape 23 (Self-adhering, rubber splicing tape that's very similar to the tape you use), and, lastly, some 3M Tape 22 Professional Electrical Tape. -- I hope it's not me that's the next person to have to undo all of that waterproofing (-: -- One thing I would like to mention is that, in having to replace the old 2-wire cabling (1970s) with 3-wire cable, at Wire&CableYourWay.com, under Portable Cord, I found some excellent, reasonably priced, 'heavy duty, flat-jacketed, submersible pump cable' that is purchased by the foot. Each wire has a 45 mil THW covering and the jacket is also 45 mil, which provides good protection from abrasion. -- So, thanks again, Phil. There's nothing like doing it, to be able to really appreciate it.
Excellent videography!!!! These tutorial video are great. Keep up the great work. Glad your over your illness and looking forward to more educational videos. Have a safe day!
Thanks for getting back, but I can talk to myself any fucking time or day of week
So informative. I was worried about my situation before but now I’m confident we can take care of it
watched 10 of these videos, dont mind the camera phone, cause the advise is already 10x more valuable.
Much appreciated! Thanks
Nice video. You do a nice job of pointing out potential issues. Thanks.
Great video bud. Glad to see someone I know so close to home doing great work!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. What awesome work ethic you have. With that attitude you will always have work! Have a blessed day. 🙏🏻❤
Wow. I love the way you explain everything in your video. Me and my husband was able to fix our problem with our pump. Thank you so much.
Thanks man!! Just saved my job ! Lol. But yeah gotta love interweb ha
Good job young man.
You Sir; a professional of rare quality.
Pos.i .Trump . Thanks. I strive for professionalism in my company
philip hensley Yes Sir my pleasure. I'm an Electrician for 30 years and would trade a 100 peoples for one of your quality. Refreshing!
Thanks, this was helpful!
Nice job. Thanks for sharing
Thankyou for replying,turned out to be impeller problem,dropped new pump and everything's fine,happy Easter
Hi Tom, I know this is 8 months old, but how did you get to know that you had an impeller problem with your pump. I have something going on similar to what you posted above. My pump comes on at 30psi and only makes it to 45psi. I have to manually shut off the switch at the pump. If I wait 3 minutes, it starts pumping again, but not for long. Is this what you were experiencing?
Happy Easter! Thought this was a cool coincidence seeing this today.
Thank you.
Thank you for the well explained video! My elderly parents need a new submersible pump. Their jet pump has been nothing but problems. Portrait mode videos are more challenging to watch.
This was my first TH-cam video! I've learned alot on proper filming & editing since then. But the info is still useful nonetheless! Happy to have helped!
Good job on your first TH-cam video! The hardest thing is just getting going...
You're beast man👍
Nice work
Very Good.
You need a tork arrester and an I bolt for the rope. You want to keep the rope out away from the sunlight and rats. Everything you said was great. I have installed 100’s of pumps.
Ropes can fall & nest up around the pump trapping it. & arrestors can wear inhalf and fold over the pumo trapping it. Both will require a crane to Rip out the stuck pump. I dont recommend using either item bc they cause more problems than they prevent
Excellent, thank you :-)
VERY helpful video, thank you Phillip. I would like to say though , I found my pump not to be grounded yet I still had 240 volts. I have been here 35 years and had the pump replaced 3 previous times professionally. It seems no one ever has addressed the ground issue. I changed everything myself this time and found no ground wire going from the home to the underground well pit. No ground wires on the pressure switch either.
Code has changed over the years. Ground wires aren't necessary for a well pump due to the fact that it is a metal casing that is already in the ground surrounded by water. If you feel like you need something, add a 4ft ground rod at the well & tie the pumps ground wire to it. Or attach it to the metal casing (if its not plastic)
@@h2omechanic I have something similar, my house-to-well head wire is two wire (no ground, but it's submersible) and continues down the well that way. I guess it should have been underground wire, then submersible, and with a ground. When I replace the pump I'll ground it near the well head with a rod (my case is pvc)....thanks again for a great video!
Hey buddy how are you ? I just installed a new 1 hp irrigation pump for a customer. There was no pressure tank it had a irrigation timer box with a 240 contactor/relay. The owner told me that he didn't know the depth I figured that out when I pulled it. He said he had about 12 zones about 5 heads per... rotating. The issue wasn't the pump it was the wiring, and I meged it and confirmed. After install the sprinkler guy said that there wasn't enough "pressure" ... most of heads were busted but how could this be that I do not have pressure ? I do have pictures of my install. Appreciate your time and videos 👍
Thanks for information, very knowledgeable. Does the casing have to replace together with the pump?
Thank you sir
If I am tapping into my well pump plumbing with a lawn irrigation system , should I tap in right at pump or after pressure tank for best pressure? In your opinion!!!
Nice video
Great Videos lots of good info. I have a question. So... i have a deep well system 1.5hp and about 500ft. The Well seems to be producing water however, I'm getting really low pressure. Like about 1.5 gal per min. I put in a new control box thinking that was the issue but seems to be same. My well pump doesn't have a pressure switch. The way it is set up, it pumps water and send directly to water storage tank. So im not sure how to increase pressure? help please?
awesome video we have a well on our property its been here since a good while before we bought the place we had to replace the wire an a few pumps in the last few yrs last yr we bought a bladderless tank an pump a new pump on well it lasted a yr an we had to replace the pump a month ago we havent had the best luck with pumps id say
Bladderless systems are not the best for a full time home. Same for a constant pressure system. The electric motor don't like starting & stopping that much. I recommend a 20 gallon bladder tank & as for pumps. Goulds, jacuzzi, J-class, or Red jacket. Cheap lowes pumps or Amazon pump are all Chinese crap. Pumps that are $400 last roughly 15 years. Hope that helps!
It has a pressure switch i just realised i forgot that we aren't the only house on the well. I told my dad since there is multi houses on the one well we might need a bigger tank or a bigger tank
@@h2omechanic man, you are a Godsend for speaking to what you've seen on Brand Names. Thanks SO MUCH FOR POSTING!!
@@h2omechanic so, if I found a much larger bladder tank that was only in use 6 months in a business that failed financially,, when I repair my pump, putting the larger tank into service will be a good thing, right?
@@patrickwayne3701 absolutely! Bigger tanks prolong the life of the pump. Just be sure to check the air pressure at the top of the tank & set it 2-5psi below the "On" number of your pressure switch. You'd either be around 26psi or 36psi of air pressure. Air setting is key!
Great video, please provide additional light. :)
Great Video, Question is the a check valve or foot valve at the bottom of a submersible well pump?
I need some advice to confirm my suspicions please.
Re: Well water pump loses prime when power goes out for any length of time.
History: We live in eastern NC and have a well that is forty plus years old. The drop pipe is sixty-five feet long and the static level is twenty-five feet.
We’ve had a continual problem with pepper sand so I “blew” the well about 1.5 years ago and installed a new foot valve along with new leathers-that helped improve things for awhile.
Current situation: We had to cut the power one week ago so electricians could install a Generac back up system. I had trouble reprimimg the pump after only a four hour power outage. I reprimed the system with forty gallons of water and flipped the breaker. It pumped up and shut down at sixty psi. Wonderful! Then the gauge started that familiar slow decent 55,50, 45, 40 and then bam “0.”
I’ve had to do this twice before so please tell me if I’m wrong.
I have to pull the drop pipe and replace the foot valve. Yes or No?
Love your channel!
Thanks for your time and advice!!
Yes, the foot valve is leaking 99% sure. It's a 1% chance that it could be a cracked pipe where a threaded connection is made down the well.
First off love all your video's. I am reaching out to you to ask for some advice about my well. I currently have no water after replacing the entire tee, pressure switch (40/60), wiring, and have verified that I have 38psi on my pressure tank with no water insight and has passed all the tests like tipping and sounds hollow. After replacing everything I just listed I had water for 2 weeks, then out of no where the pressure switch continued to trip and the lever on the pressure switch had to continue to be reset. So I went and bought a new pressure switch 40/60 with no lever. After installing the new pressure switch the water was workimg perfecting for 2 days then my well pump started to sputter and sound like it was calling for water but no water was coming in, then when it did finally come into the house it was almost black. How I know that is was black is because it turned my clear large sediment filter completely black and it was almost clear before then. Lastly it then started to trip the circuit breaker every 10 seconds. Water does come into the house when I hit the breaker but only for 10 seconds until the breaker trips. I have called the company that installed the well pump originally, and they are extremely busy and I have 2 children with no working water. So I am wondering if you happen to have any advice for me on what the problems could be, and the steps I could take to get it done myself. I apologize for such a long comment but all the other companies around me are to expensive and I really cannot afford to wait for the pro's to do it when I feel I am competent enough to get the job done correctly with the right guidance.
Your running the well dry. The key is all the sediment that you got. Leave the well breaker off when your not using water & ill bet it begins to work fine.
Go around to all toilets and look for 1 that has a leaky flapper. If you turn each toilet off, the back tank will empty.
That's the most common problem.
If they seem ok, go under the house & look for leaks & look for wet areas in the yard.
If you don't believe you have a leak, check your psi gauge, it'll be on 60 & then kill the power, & go see if the gauge slowly leaks to 0. This will be a true test.
If you truly don't have a leak, then the well has slowed its production rate & youll need to look into finding a hydrolic fracturing company if you have a 6" well.
If you have a sand well (coastal) your in a drought . If you have a 2ft Diameter well (bored) then all you can do is wait for rain
Hope this helps
I have a shallow well at 41ft, I'm about 1/2 mile from the Okanogan river here in okanogan, WA. I have had a new neighbor move in recently on property that is a little higher than mine, we are on a slight incline so I'm down the hill from him. I have never had any real issues until he moved in and began watering his 5 acre parcel 24/7. He now has a beautiful full yard completely covering what was once a bare 5 acre parcel. I now have no water and have tested and/or replaced everything on or in my well to no avail. Could he be depleting the water in our water table because of all the watering he does. I'm not exaggerating when I say he waters 24/7, he actually has a number of large sprinklers going constantly. Could this be my problem?
Have you done a farm well conversion of a pumpjack system converted to a black way or pvc deep well system video?
What do you do if your water isn't running and the pressure meter is well below 0psi? We lost power in a bad storm and the temp dropped to 4 degrees F amd didn't get above freezing for a few days even though the power came back on.
Hey at 6:45 when you were testing your well pump, what settings did you have your volt meter at ? Amps ? power on ? . plumber from Canada . my experience is with new construction building 30 plexes. just moved from Nunavut to rural Ontario. thanks!
I love your videos and your style. One problem I have is using electrical tape in the well and I'm looking for alternatives. I found some 1/2" wide zip ties rated at 250 pounds. Also, what do you think about wrapping heavy duty hydraulic hose spiral wrap (hdpe) around the lowest section of the drop pipe, cable, and rope?
I only use 3m electric tape . Don't use zip ties! They cut your hand next time you go to pull the pump out, or they all slide down to the bottom. If you have a area that's keeps rubbing the wire, id recommend 1/2" conduit for the bottom 30-40ft.
Great video. Our well uses a 1/2 hp pump and the depth is approximately 150'. I'd like to order a pump before pulling the current one out to eliminate down time since it still works. Are all submersible 1/2hp well pumps standard or do I need more information? Would there be any advantage to installing a larger 3/4hp pump instead? What is the correct wire to use? Thanks.
bigger pump equals more GPM.
I have a submersible pump not working, i replaced the breaker and pressure switch and still nothing, what else can i check or should i assume i need a new motor/pump
Nice video.....I have a .5 HP submersible 80 feet down feeding our pressure tank that normally gives good flow in routine house use (dishes, showering, etc) but when we put a heavy demand on like lawn watering, etc the flow stops. If I then turn the power off, wait a few minutes and turn power back on I can get back to routine flow ok if I decrease demand (i.e. no lawn watering, etc) Some handymen have told me ".....sounds like the pump" without going into why but I am also thinking maybe my well just can't keep up with the higher demand. Any thoughts on what might be going on and how I might check some things to get a better idea of what is really happening ?
Depending on the depth of your well & GPM gallons per minute. At 80' I'd guess your well is making 3-5gpm. Pumps will pump 10 gpm & each faucet uses 2 gpm. If your well is let's say 150' I'd put the pump down at 120'. If you have a 250' well, id change the pump to a 3/4hp & drop to a 7Gpm & not the 10gpm. Scheifer makes a great 3200 series 3/4 7gpm pump. Your just pumping your well faster than it can recover. Lowering the pump will give you more storage but it still can "run dry", you'll just have more water available. 1st step is figuring out the true depth. Most wells have a metal tag on the casing with all the info you'd need.
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So I have power at the low pressure cutoff switch. But it won’t build pressure on the valve. No power at the relay at the top of the well. Bad pump?
Does the torque arrestor help prevent the pump from hitting the sides of the well casing on the way down? Also I see that a lot of pumps should be installed about 10 feet off the bottom of the well . I guess to prevent ingress of sludge, what is the best way to know when it is that on a 100 foot deep well with 20 feet depth of water?
Never put a pump 10ft off the bottom. If a well makes 2 gpm or more, a 200 deep pump will supply any house. 10gpm or more a 100ft pump will work. Most plumbers, (not well drillers) will sell as much product as they can, that why they suggest it be 10ft off bottom. As for torque arrestors, they help prevent wire failure. I dont like them. Tape wire every 3ft & you'll never have a issue. Arrestors can cause bigger problems in the future.
@@h2omechanic Thank you for that information, how do you stop the silt or sludge at the very bottom of the well fouling up the inlet filter?
Your pump should not be on the bottom of the well. Atleast 40ft from bottom. If well makes good water, set pump at 100ft. Theres no stopping silt. If its really bad, & the well is old with shallow casing, it might need to be camera'd and see if the casing is leaking in surface water. If a rain fall makes your water worse, that's the issue
Hi,got a pressure problem,I've metered my deep well pump and have 240 between l1 + l2. My amprobe shows 6 amps at pressure switch on both legs however I can't get anymore than 10 psi ,not even enough to operate cutin which is set at 18 psi for a 20/40 system?
You will have to pull your pump to do further trouble shooting. It could be a leak anywhere from the pump up. It may also be a worn out pump or the pump could be clogged up.
Tom Mcdonald normally in your case the pump fitting is plastic & has cracked. if you kill the power & your pressure drops the it's probably down the hole. a good test is to disconnect the pipe at the top and see if water pumps out strong, if it does then look for a brake somewere else
Love your videos
I bought 12 acres with a well .I need to install a pump and according to my paper work the static water level is 250 feet.what size pump would you recommend and how deep will I need to set the pump? Any help you could give me will be appreciated
Thank you
Cam
So you have a Very deep water level. You'll need to follow my directions to a T. You need a 1Hp 5GPM 2 wire pump (Goulds or J-Class brand).
1" Poly Black Roll pipe "250psi" 400ft
Stainless steel or Brass Fittings for the pump top & bottom.
HD Steel Well Seal
10-2 Submersible pump wire 400ft
2 clamps at every connection
I got the right voltage going to and from the pressure switch. At the top of the well I only got 75 volts at the pump I only got 50 some volts in both wires y am I getting this voltage drop
Is it possible to check the pump resistance with a Ohm meter? I'm thinking is should be 4-7 ohms for a 230VAC pump. My new Vevor 1HP is 4 ohms with internal start capacitor. . Although my old one has internal start capacitor it measures 10.7 ohms. Also Id like to see a video on troubleshooting a PumpSaver 230P with the red LED (over current) light blinking. What are the causes and repair? One guy said there is a 470uf 25v capacitor inside the Pumpsaver that can fail. The replacement Capacitor is $10. Id like to see a repair vid if that's true. A new PumpSaver 230P is currently bout $250...... Update: I plugged my old pump directly into 230v by passed the Pumpsaver. No sound no water. Im now thinking I have a jammed impeller or dead start capacitor. I plugged the NEW pump into the PumpSaver It pumps water for 1 sec and goes into "over current" shut down I Adjusted to Min sensitivity same OC shut down I adjusted for Max sensitivity same OC shut down. Could both be dead? Both are abt 12 years old.
My pump doesn't pump water but when u switch on it work but water doesn't pump up whats a problem?
Low water pressure, checked copper nipple had lot of rusty stuff, shut power off bled air tank, pressure very low, (40-60) switch, added 38 psi leaving faucets open, immediately pressure improved, next day washing clothes, water pressure in all house faucets low. ( not waterlogged) ck for that, wondering if bladder is weak in tank, pump kicks on at 40 and off at 60 as expected. ? Recent issue. Well 40 ft depth.
Jet pump?
Possibly running the well dry
You'd be the 3rd 40ft well this month that has had the same problem on my channel.
I'd say if you using more water recently, you might be sucking it dry faster than it can recover.
But it also could be other possible issues. 40ft is very shallow
I have a new Franklin power box, but I’m not getting 220 voltage to the pump, any ideas? Thank you!
Power box? Is this a constant pressure system. Or just a pressure switch. If it's a p.s. turn off power. Un do wire nuts out at the well. Turn on power & test the wire coming from home. It should read 220+. If you have wire nuts connected & testing shows low voltage. Then test red wire with electric meter with red probe & use the black probe on the ground. Should read 110v. Test the black wire the same way for the same 110v results. One will probably read less. Reason why you wont get 220v when the wire nuts are all connected to all wires, down in the well either a black or red wire has rubbed the coating off & the voltage is dissipating out into the water/ground. You can call me if you need help with testing.
Hi sir from md ,my well is 190' I started to see water on top of ground next to my well casing I started digging and found a crack at the Pitt less valve.when I turned my pump on to see how bad the crack was it did not come back on the second time I tried it.so I started troubleshooting from electric panel to the wires at the top of well all was showing 230 volts,I also put in a new pressure switch in . I was getting 230 volts after the pressure switch but it was not sparking ..or arching when the switch made contact. This is the reason why I replaced it .I still have the same problem, no sparking when switch makes contact . I can hear with my ear if I put my head against the top of the 4'' pipe it sounds like it is trying to do something but it just stops ,this is probably maybe 5 seconds after the breaker is turned on.The pressure switch stays closed all the time . Any ideas that could help me would be very appreciated . thanks
Sounds like the pump is locked up and needs to be replaced
installed new deep well submersible pump, 1 HP, new tank, new switch, and new control box. I get 240 to the switch but drawing no amps from pump. I did not replace the 12/3 with ground?
Probably a bad spot in the wire. Watch my most recent short & I show you how to test each leg. One will be low voltage most likely
Pulled the pump, broken wire. Replaced wire and the new pump set up is working as designed.
Thanks for your videos and help.
Nice to school homeowners.
Evan Robert thank you. I'm here to answer any & all well related questions.
The H2O Mechanic I am a well water professional of 25 years... I would never post any how to videos on TH-cam, too many variables and takes away from our trade to school the public on a job that should always be performed by professionals in our trade.
The people who visit TH-cam for well repair are most likely people who would have a issue with payments of $1000. So for the few homeowners who want a proper DIY they watch my videos. & for 25 years experience you know that just changing pumps doesn't fund a million dollar business. I'm sure 95% of viewers watch so they understand their well related issues. The 5% are DIYers.
The H2O Mechanic None of these jobs are DYI when dealing with potable water. Thanks for listening, please at least understand my point.
If there’s power going to switch and box and replace pump what else can it be
I want to compliment this young man for illustrating why pumps need to be installed by professionals rather the uncle Fred and his drunk neighbor. I am a National Groundwater Association Master Groundwater Contractor and while I don't agree with EVERYTHING said in the video it is close to 95-6% correct on everything. What was pulled out and he explained with the type of wire used, the lack of properly securing the wire, the wire splice technique etc. is a perfect example of why pumps/motors fail in a short period of time.
Michael Keen Sr. Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm 28 and my father raised me up as a well driller so I try my best at professionalism to help info others. idk if you know of Hensley Well Drilling in Clarksville va. but that us.
Michael Keen Sr. Drunk neighbor? I resemble that remark.
We use 3” green electrical tape every 10’. We only hang pumps off sched 120 pvc though.
Every area is different. We use stick pipe when we run into deep wells & deep static levels.
@@h2omechanic yea, I suppose I haven’t seen one set at less than 280’ yet. All 3 wires.
I think this area is kinda unique in that most of the private wells are set up hydro pneumatic with an air charge delivered every pump cycle. So the check at the bottom is drilled and there’s a check 40ft from the top with a snifter right below it. Hung from a pitless or monitor.
My well breaker in my main box kicks sometimes once a day and sometimes several. I ordered a new control box hoping that could be the problem but it’s not here yet. Is it possibly just a bad control box or a pump going bad? The pressure is fine when the breaker isn’t kicked, thanks for any advice sir.
Typically if its tripping the breaker, the well pump is pulling over 15 amps & eventually pops the breaker. It runs at 6 amps normally. If the pump is 13-16 years old its probably going bad. Internal bearing failures happen around 15 years old
The H2O Mechanic , man I really appreciate you answering that. Looks like I’m going to have a job on my hands this week. Thanks man.
No problem! I can help you out if you have any questions on installation
My pump is over 15 years old how much is a new one so I can start saving
i just replaced mine in my backyard today. turned it on in water up here. Worked fine. put it down and 180 feet down it magically decides it doesnt want to work anymore. what could be the problem? Could it just need some time to get the water up? Thank you.
Probably it's a broken wire down in the well going to the pump. (If you used the old wire & didn't look it over closely) once the wire is put in water, it shorts out
Should have checked the ohms. Would have told you wire issue or motor. There is also special duct type tape for well pumps.
What is a normal amp draw reading?
My small solar pump seems to run but is not pumping water out. Instead it is like is vacuuming or taking air in. What might be the problem
Pull the pump out. You have a hole in the pipe or a failed fitting in the well
H20 Mechanic I have a question for you, my cold water lines are plugging up at the spigot screens and aerators with what looks like plastic/fiberglass shreds. Nothing on the hot water lines. Is this an indication that my well pump impellers are going bad?
Andrew Arroyo possibly. You can time how long it takes to fill up your tank. It should take no more than 20 sec to pump up from 30 to 50 psi.
Thanks for your response and Yes the pressure tank takes less than 20 seconds to refill
Was yours a new install? Lotta people are messy when they cut plastic pipe and leave the shavings. Just lazy.
It could possibly be , corroded duct tape.
Unfortunately , people use duct tape to fasten the submersible pump wires to the water line going up the well casing. Over time , duct tape WILL FALL APART, leaving fibers like you mentioned , in your well.
Hope I helped you👍👍 , and yes I know my help came a year after you asked this question.
you might also want to purge your hot water tank because of the fiberglass and plastic that might be swirling around inside of it.
Have a question , hope someone ca n steer me in right direction. We were getting intermittent water pressure at our cottage, replaced old tank and switch, worked fine, well seems as if it cant keep up, all pressure is good, 40/60, on at 38,off 58. If i run too many things, water stops. Well is 20 yrold but only gets used about 2 to 3 month a year. New pump time? Sediment? Curious . Ty in advance
Could be time for a new pump. If you use it & it quits, but in 3-4 minutes it is back on id say the pump is over heating and cutting off. If pump is 20 y/o, then the bearings are worn out & causes internal friction and the electric motor will cut off until the well water has cooled it down. If you've never ran the well dry before this, replace the pump!
Tyvm, makes sense. You explained more than any other videos here!! Keep up the good work.
My well is not keeping prime. Opened up the valve on the pump side got a bunch of air got prime. Woke up this morning same thing a lot of air. Ran fine after priming last night ,my pump house is above my plumbing in the house 30 feet higher
The foot valve is leaking or the check valve is leaking
Good morning, sir! I’ve watched all of your Q&A’s over the last 12 hours to no avail, hoping you can help. Moved into a new property with a cistern about three weeks ago. Pump worked fine, cistern ran dry mid last week, had water delivered yesterday and now the pump just “hums” when I turn it on, no water pulling into the system. Tried priming multiple times, no luck. I know the pump only ran dry for a few minutes and was at least trying to pull in water the evening before we had water delivered so I don’t think it’s seized. Any words of wisdom, sir?
I'm assuming it's a jet pump pulling water from the tank. Try cutting off the valve that feeds the house. You have a air lock Trapped in one of the pipes(suction) . 1st off I hate jet pumps. For the reasons your experiencing. It could be a number of things. Maybe take off the priming cap & hook a strong shop vac to it & see if it'll pull water through & suck out the air lock. The check valve is probably stuck slightly & once it frees up, then it will work right
@@h2omechanic you, sir, are a saint. Thank you so much for the speedy response, going to give this a try and will report back.
@@h2omechanic just like you said, closed the intake, stuck the shop vac on the open priming cap, slowly re-primed and we’re back in business! I can’t begin to thank you enough, bud. Do you have a Venmo or something I could toss you a tip on?
Actually that Romex is for outdoor and underground installation, interior Romex is typically white or yellow so I would think is would be OK for a well installation but I'm no expert.
Please, help me! I bought this very old house and there was water
when I first checked. Then I turned the pump off and came back like a
week later (pump back on) and no water was coming out. I changed the
pressure tank, switch, valve and every piece that went with the set
up (including the pipes) and still no water. I can feel the pipes
close to the well pump vibrating a little bit and also hear a water
noise coming from the underground when the pump is on. I believe the
pump is working, everything else is brand new, so any idea? I left
the pump running for about 4 hrs and no water, no
pressure...please...give me an idea. There was a lot of iron bacteria
in the old pipes from when I first ran the pump. Thank you!
Send me pictures of the well area & of your tank area. 4342101376. From your description you gave, you can feel & hear the pump run & can hear water moving. Try disconnecting the pipe at the well allowing it to shoot water onto of the ground see if you get water there. But send pics first. You might have a bad fitting in the well spraying out all your pressure.
@@h2omechanic Hi! I've sen't the pictures. No rush on getting back to me. Just wanted to know if you've received them. Thanks, brother!
What do I do if my switch arks, then clicks once like 5 seconds after the switch arks and the pump never runs? Im gonna get my buddys multi meter later today and test everything for proper voltages
Pump is running, thats why you see the ark. You could have a hole in a fitting or pipe in the well not allowing water to get to your tank. You can also have a bad tank if it clicks in 5 seconds. Watch a few videos on my channel, they explain how you test your tank to see if its good. Sounds to me like your tanks probably out of air & thats short cycling the switch which will hurt the pump eventually.
Where is your tork arrestor and pipe centralized?
Ronald Krigin never use either of them . They can cause big problems over time. If you tape wire every 2 ft it will prevent rubbing
Trouble priming jet pump pressure builds to 30psi not pumping water
My well is crackling. Can't get anyone right away. I'm in a very rural area. Do I need a well driller or a plumber? Thank you. I shut the breaker and have no water.
Well Drilling companies will be cheaper than a plumber and way more knowledgeable.
Plumbers are more for toilets & sinks ect. But are still capable.
Watch my many well related videos, you'll be able to diagnose the problems most likely.
I'm about to tackle a pump from the late 80s early 90s that's over 200 ft deep. You have a recommendation on type / brand of pump and bladder I should buy?
3/4 hp Goulds pump. 10GPM 2wire
@@h2omechanic do you think 1hp goulds 18g p.m. 3-wire would be Overkill? We raise Hogs and go through over a hundred gallons of water a day just on livestock. What do you think I should do on the bladder
@@bigred7322 2wire is simple...3 wire requires control box. Id stick with a 1hp . 18gpm head is too big for 300ft deep. A 10gpm head will give 15gpm & id use a 44 or 36 gal tank
@@h2omechanic I believe the existing is already three wire with a control box. Even if not, I'm not too concerned about simple, just want to make sure I put the best back in the ground so I don't have to do this again for a very long time. Would it hurt to run an 86 gallon bladder, or is that too big?
@@bigred7322 86 gallon tank would lengthen the pumps life.
Cool tool! How much depth do you go before you actually use a pump puller?
We pull 400ft pumps 1hp & up with the electric puller. By hand is always faster & great exercise 💪
@@h2omechanic Thanks for the reply. I meant how much depth can you go before you use the pump puller and not pull it out with a lawn mower or something similar. I see in your other videos you use small machinery. How much depth can you go with 2 average sized guys and the bully puller?
Did I see the pump hanging from a plastic fitting at the well head?
John Shaw plastics fittings are ok at 100ft max. use double clamps. the clamp holds the weight. 150' to 400' pumps need brass or stainless fitting in the pump & the 90elbow at the well seal. it's better to be safe than sorry.
No torque arrestors??
What's the name of the 3M rubber tape that you recommended in this video. I can't locate it on the 3M site. - Thanks.
Callme Skeptical I'll check & send you the info
Were you able to locate the name of the rubber tape? The closest I could find is the 3M Scotch 23 - Self Bonding Electrical Tape. It has the same waffle texture as the tape you were using; but, the liner is white, rather than blue. -- Thanks.
Callme Skeptical
Callme Skeptical yea I looked all over it & there's no name on is. it's not 3m like I thought. it's called self bonding rubber tape.
Callme Skeptical I found out it's not 3m. There's no name on the roll. comment at top said it's rubber self adhering tape. he said 3m 23tape but idk
I have no water,.....I checked the pressure switch it had 240 volts then I removed the wire nuts at the well and tested it,...110 volts?
I'm not an electrician.
So should the well have 240 volts or 110 volts?
If you got 240 volts at the switch its a 240v system. If you removed both wire nuts completely from the wires going down the well & only got 110 then you have a bad wire in the ground between well & house. Remove all 3 wire nuts at well, use the ground wire as your neutral & test black you should get 110v then test white & should get 110v. 1 of them is going to read low voltage if you have a bad wire in ground. If you still had 1 or both hot wires connected to the well pump wires & got 110v then its a bad wire down the well. If the wire in the ground was ever cut years ago, then its probably bad. Ill answer any questions you may have. Test it again how I described & ill tell u what to do next.
@@h2omechanic well I'm just using a light,... it says 240 or 110,.... at the pressure switch it says 240.
At the well there's only 2 wires a Black and a white I put the light on both wires and get 110.
There is a green wire but it has never been hooked up.
It's been fine for 4 years it had new plastic pipe and new wire ,new pump, new pressure switch and pressure tank.
That was 4 years back.
Then I came home and no water?
Your testing was correct then. The black & white are both hot & each should read 120v. So you have power out to the well & no water. Its 1 of 2 things.#1 Pump could be bad,which i doubt. #2 the wire going to the pump/down the well is broken. Time to pull the pump out if the well. And look closely at the wire, you'll find a spot where the insulation is worn off.
how complicated is it to pull the pump out? i might need to replace mine
Not hard. Need 2-3 ppl. Cut pipe. Undo wire nuts. Pull up on pipe to pull it out. It just sets on the 6" casing. Dont drop anything!
@@h2omechanic did you use the same pipe and wiring or changed the wiring? also, how do you joint the wires being underwater?
@@Sean-Aviation go to lowes. They sell a heat shrink kit that are specifically for under water
Pipe replace if its 100-125psi. If its 160-200psi black pipe it's fine to reuse. Tape every 3ft. & look carefully at wire for rubbed spots. If its warn down to copper, replace wire 12-2 submersible pump wire. Also at lowes. Dont use grey UF.
@@h2omechanic thanks!
I just pulledy pump and changed it it is a two wire pump but has three wires should two of those have 220 volts
2 should read 230v+. If you had a Yellow wire on the old 1, the old one was a 3 wire. They have control boxes. You just remove the box & run the power wires to the pressure switch
@@h2omechanic thank u so much I've Ben thinking two wire should have 230 but I'm no plumber or electrician I'm try to do it my self guy cause I can't afford to pay some one so. I think I have a broken wire from the house to the well. Again thank u very much
Remove the wire nuts at the well & test each leg to ground using a volt meter. You will get 120v each leg. If 1 is lower then it is bad.
Run a new wire from your switch to the well across the ground and see if it works. It should.
@@h2omechanic that is my plan for today. Thank u again.
@@h2omechanic k so first answer says out will b 230 second say 110 so at my well there's three wires I assume one is ground or common wire I've heard it called and the other two I assume should have power. But is it 110 each or 230
Phillip do you live anywhere close ot Salisbury NC
About 3 hours away. Too far for service though
Don't you use torque arrestors?
My 98 ft well pump didn't use a torque arrestor but its 1 HP I'm concerned a torque arrestor is a possible point of failure later on. But IDK.
What did you call the wire splicer? A piton?
are they a specific type of butt connector?
Staycons
@@h2omechanic thank you
@@h2omechanic My son and I pulled our failed pump only to find a piss poor install. Pump was fine, rewired per your perfection. Very satisfying fix, now we know it is tight. Felt really good feeding the pump back down with out all the wadded cords and un-taped wire, smooth. So much exposed wire from rubbed insulation and the wadded pump lead. OMG, that was done by pro's supposedly. You are THE well guy as far as we are concerned.
Thanks! Happy to help ☺
Idk if your still on TH-cam. I haven't seen my issue but did have. Freeze. The pump is working but no water. No pressure. Non bladder tank pump and motor above ground with a foot valve recently chanced the foot valve. Idk much about wells but need help.
Please!
What is Opsi?
Zero pressure. "0" PSI.
Why do you need to do a amp test . Is that a franklin pump
Yes it was a Franklin. Amp tests confirm if a pump is locked up, open, worn out past its max amps which would be internal bearing failure. Always good to check & make sure the wire in the ground isn't bad too.
Also wasn't a torque arrestor on it
Hey man I've been watching all your videos and was wondering if you could possibly help me out cause I'm having a problem with my well. I'm not getting no water. My well tank is good, I just switched the pressure switch and pressure gauge. But still no water. If u could get back to me I'd really appreciate it thanks mane
you said "not pulling any amperage". Amps are a measure of current. You should say "not pulling any current". You also said "checking for a break in the ground". This sounds vague and someone may think you are talking about the ground wire.
Is there a way to test a submersible pump without pulling the pump?
Yes. Under the well cover you'll find 3 wires. Test the black & white wire with electric meter. You should get 240 between the 2. Then test white to ground & then black to ground "green". You should get 120v during each of those 2 tests using the ground. If either give you less than 120, you have a broken wire in the well. If all test out ok, and the pump doesn't come on, you have a bad well pump. Pull pump out, inspect wires & replace it "pump". Watch my other install videos for well pumps to do it properly.
Typically the 1 tool I use is $75 at lowes & it's a Amperage meter that clamps around 1 hot wire, either black or white or possibly red. It measures amp load. Anything about 8 is bad. Anything below 4, the main shaft is worn out. If it reads 0. Bad wire or bad pump
@@h2omechanic Does the amp meter have to set on a certain settingwhen clamped around the 1 hot wire? I will be testing mine soon ..I have pressure and voltage but no water ..when the power is on you hear a VERY faint hum for around 3sec then it goes off and repeats after about 15 sec, I replaced the pressure switch but not the controller.
Your pump is bad. The hum sound is a locked rotor trying to spin. It like turning on a ceiling fan & holding the blades. Pull out your pump, inspect the wires for rubbed off coating. Use 2 clamps at each connection and heat shrink for wires & electric tape. Follow my videos on pump install & take little notes. Small details of a install are key to getting 15/20 years out of it. Dont buy lowes pump or tractor supply. Stick with Goulds or Sheifer or Grundfos or J Class. I'll walk you through it if you need help. 4342101376
If that gauge is accurate, there is only 20psi of air in the tank
Lenny C the gauge on tank does determine air pressure in tank. It had a 20/40 switch on it
The H2O Mechanic, lol, I was nit picking you. Good job. I like your wheel mechanism too.
WTF,? Who the Hell did that Butchering Job on that Well pump Before.? Etc.
Wow I see a plastic pump head and on top of it being a scheffer brand of pump, very cheap of a pump and dont like plastic head pumps due to the head cracking over the years from all the torgue ,on and off.and I always install a torque arrestor where I splice in the pump..
I've never seen a plastic head crack. Typically the fitting will fail, not the pump. But I have seen a head blow out of the pump before. Typically deep set at 400ft. We dont use torque arrestors unless its absolutely needed due to a deviated bore hole. Once the torque arrestor wears out, & trying to pull out the pump it actually folds downward and wedges causing it to be very hard to pull. If it's set directly at the pump, it folds over the pump head. If that happens, you'll never get it out unless you use a tractor to pull with hydraulic power. If an old pump shows no signs of rubbing, then theres no need for them to be installed.
@@h2omechanic I totally agree with the torgue arrestor directly at the head of the pump and be hard to pull out, and if its taped correctly the wire not gonna rub anyway,like u stated in the video. 👍
Can one reach you by text or email?
Contact forms on my website/ store or at
Hwdracing@gmail.com
Your tank needs air.
Doesn't it just piss you off
When you have to do all that work because of STUPIDITY
Yes, but it's slightly better if it was someone else's stupidity. Much worse when it's my own!