Water well loses prime......novice here.

[greeneyegi]

when I moved into my place a few years ago there was a well,pump,tank.it hadn't been used in years.the tank was rotted out the pump rusted etc.
I purchased a nice Dayton pump and motor.about the same size as previous.the well is about 50' deep.
I only use it for irrigation.here in cali its a bit dry.
Do I need a pressure tank?is that why I keep losing the prime?
or can I use without the tank?
I just bought new pcv lines and its all new to the pump.
figured I wouldn't waste any more time, if I have to have one for the prime to stay.
once the pump is primed and pumps it works great.
just irritating having to prime everytime I want to water the plants.

 

[Bruce Urie]

You've got to have a pressure tank that holds the pressure from the pump PLUS you need a anti- drainback valve on the incoming line from the well to the pump...seems the water is draining back down to the well when the pump shuts off.........Lowe's and Home Depot sells the pressure tanks...they are usually blue in color...this allows your water to come out for a few minutes BEFORE your pump comes on, which is controlled by an electrical pressure switch.........take all the specs about your pump to the store when you go....I'll send you pictures of our home pump system that I installed in our house for our well water if you think this will help you somewhat....let me know and I'll be glad to do it.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Chuck Leeper]

The check valve is commonly known as a foot valve. It's at the bottom of the supply pipe coming from the bottom of the well...That valve keeps the entire piping run full of water.

 

[greeneyegi]

The check valve is commonly known as a foot valve. It's at the bottom of the supply pipe coming from the bottom of the well...That valve keeps the entire piping run full of water.

Yes that would be great thanks

 

[Chuck Leeper]

As Bruce said, the pump, even w/ a good foot valve will cycle almost immediately, w/o an accumulator tank. The tank will need to be periodically drained and recharged. Even w/ a good foot valve, should the tank become 'water logged", the pump will cycle very quickly, once a faucet is on.

 

[greeneyegi]

So in theory I would get the same size tank.but is there a way to find out the appropriate size necessary?

 

[S10xGN]

Reminds me of my younger days at the folks' summer home on Lake Sacandaga (NY), it had a 160' well that got hit by lightening every so often. Dad and I would pull up, unscrew, and stack eight 20' lengths of 2" pipe (3.62lb/ft = 580#), replace the pump, and reassemble it back down the hole. A "fun" day...

 

[greeneyegi]

yep this is "fun".............i cant imagine 150'

 

[greeneyegi]

so i put the pvc and new check valve on the supply to the pump.everything works good.still no tank.but after 24 hours had to reprime.is there a way to see where the leak is ?

 

[RmvBfrFlght]

The well here has a checkvalve at the bottom and another at the top right before the pressure tank. Although this is a submersible pump setup, don't know if that makes a difference. Pump is about 300' down.

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[greeneyegi]

its held its prime 2days in a row.everyday for 2 days now no priming!
I let the pressure off of the hose.just unplug from wall come out next day plug it in and water.
awesome.The girlfriend asked if we have to pay for the water?i told her yeah I got to call the well people and set it up.
guess I can buy more parts for the buick!hahahahaha.
its a good thing shes hot.

 

[Bruce Urie]

You may have a shallow well....wells LESS than 50' deep are considered shallow wells, deeper than 50' are deep wells.........the size of the pipe coming out of it, if it's shallow, should be 1 1/4" in diameter....if it's deep, the pipe should be 2" diameter.
Here's a picture of the pump for our well (shallow) in our basement...you may have the one with the pump actually at the end of the pipe IN the well.....

The check valve is the gray thingy on the right inline with the black incoming line from well....the pressure tank is blue. (100 psi max) All parts, including pump, from Lowe's. I put it in myself, and for once, DIDN'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

Sometimes, besides a leak, is the foot valve at the end of the pipe going into the well isn't fully submerged and should go down deeper (Just a suggestion)

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

For your information, this is what a footvalve looks like.....goes at the end of the pipe down in the well, as Chuck said...this is the old one that I replaced:

The footvalves below didn't work.....:

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[greeneyegi]

the pipe going to the tank their.what is the one next to it going?
yeah that feet valve is my problem,hahahaha!

 

[Bruce Urie]

The big black pipe (pvc) is incoming to the pump (from the well to the pump)....the lower black pipe is from the pump to the pressure tank (100 psi max)....the small white pipe is the outgoing water to the house system (main water supply to the house)...in my case, it runs to the water softener system, then to the house...the black box you see on the pump is the electrical power and the pressure switch....in this case, it's set to 55 pounds.....a gauge is a must. Pump shuts off after it reaches 55 psi.

Yeah, those other footvalves are no good.....but at least they were free.

Bruce '87 Grand National