Reading this question, I suspect we have a bad check valve. How can we tell and how do I replace it? I have a submersible pump in a 100ft deep well and a pressure tank in my basement with a single PVC line coming from the well. Bill
Air in cold water line from well. How do we replace the check valve
wellwell-pump
Related Solutions
If the pump is a 3-wire submersible with a control box, you can do some basic troubleshooting with an ohm meter without pulling it. If you have a control box like this:
Then you can pull the top off. Inside there are terminals that have black, yellow and red wires that go to the pump. Inside the cover of the control box, it will tell you the resistance ratings (in ohms) between each of the colors, which you can check with any standard multimeter. If those readings are off, then the pump needs to be replaced. If they are OK, the next thing to check is the current draw. You need a multimeter with a current clamp on it, like this:
and you need to be able to clamp around one of the wires while the control box cover is on. The red wire is the starter wire, so it should have a high current then go down. The others should draw whatever the control box says is the normal current draw for the motor. You can measure either the wires going to the pump, or coming from the panel.
If the current draw is very high before it shuts off, the pump is probably jammed. You'll need to pull it and possibly take it apart to fix it.
If there is no or very low draw (and the ohm readings are ok), the control box is probably bad, and you can just replace it without pulling the pump.
I used to work for a company that did that kind of work. Anytime we installed a pump in a cistern like that, we would use a pitless adapter to attach it to the incoming pipe. They're normally used in drilled wells to be able to pull the pump.
If you are lucky, then yours has one too, and all you need to do is screw a threaded pipe into the top of the adapter to be the pull bar (typically 1 1/4"), and then pull it straight up and out. Because you are not using clean potable water, and especially if it hasn't been pulled in a long time, it may require some "gentle" persuasion to get it out. Wiggling and/or using a T-shaped bar (which you can hammer from the bottom) usually does the trick.
Before you put it back you should check the o-ring, and lubricate or replace if necessary. It's not really as important in a cistern as it is in a well, since if it leaks the water just goes back into the cistern, and the pump doesn't have that far to push water anyways, but it's just good practice.
I have run across cisterns where this wasn't the case though. If the pipes come in through the top, you may just be able to pull them and pull the pump out. If not, you may be able to cut the pipe, and then pull the pump from there.
If those methods fail, or if the pipe enters the cistern at the bottom, then the only way to get at it would be as @longneck says and drain the whole thing, then crawl in and get the pump out.
If you do have to drain it, it's a good oppertunity to clean it as well. There is likely a lot of sediment built up on the bottom that you can get out with a shopvac. Spraying it down with a pressure washer probably won't hurt either.
I would highly recommend that before you put the pump back in, you install a pitless adapter.
Assuming you have a shallow well pump. I would start looking from the pump to your well. This is where you will get air sucked into the water without having a water leak. Tighten all the hose clamps, you may need to add thread sealant to primer plug or any threaded fittings.
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Best Answer
You may want to call in a professional. To get to the check valve, also called a foot valve, you need to pull the pump up by its connecting pipe, which takes a strong back and/or special equipment, and is VERY easy to mess up and drop the pump down into the well which is a big ($$$) problem!
But if you really want to try it, you'll need to rig up something so that you can hold the pipe as you reset your hands to make the next pull. You will definitely need an assistant. Just disconnect the electric wires, pull the pitless adapter release, and pull up on the pipe. It will be HEAVY! Be VERY careful not to let go once it releases from the pitless or down it will go. Note that the well may be 100' deep but chances are the pump itself will be considerably less deep than that.
After you get some pipe above the top of the casing, most pros I've seen use a special tool that clamps the pipe to keep it from dropping down but some use a pipe wrench. This is where it gets tricky as you need to unscrew sections of the pipe as you go to avoid trying to hoist 50' or more of pipe above your head. Eventually it will bend and possibly break.
Once you get to where the pump is, you should be able to pull it out, remove the foot valve, and reverse the process to re-install the pump.
DISCLAIMER: This answer assumes that your well is installed using steel or rigid plastic pipe which is probably the most common in most areas until recently. Note, however, that it may be installed differently as noted in the comment below.