Reviving an old well

[habsdoc]

Hi, I am trying to get an old water well going with a "new Monarch Jet (.5 hp) pump. Well pipe is 1.5" dia. that is 22' long. There is an old check valve 12' down and 2.5' of water in the 4'X4' casing. The pump I am trying is a jet pump with 1.25" suction and 1" discharge. I have set it up with 1"quick connect suction hose (stepped down) as the 1.25 hose was not in stock. I have set the piping up with T's and ball valves so I can prime both the pump and well pipe with water. This not my first time using pumps, but it is the first time trying to draw water from 20' down. Everything was sealed up properly and I do not believe that there are any air leaks. Tried for 4 hours on Saturday and was not successful. Any "Help" or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks Randy.

[Steve]

My last experience with wells and pumps was over 20 years ago, so technology might have changed a bit.

I was told then that there was about a 20' limit on the lift. If there was a horizontal run between the well and the pump, you had to figure that in, too, and reduce the lift height by a portion of the run (I don't remember what portion). We were running dry a couple times a week, afraid we would have to dig a deeper well. The pump guy came out, determined that, in spite of the dry season we were experiencing, we were recovering at about 25 gallons per minute at the bottom of the well (53'), so we converted from a jet pump to a deep-well pump and pushed the water from the bottom, rather than sucking it up. We were MUCH more satisfied with the results of the change.

.

[JTGS850GL]

I have a 2' diameter bore well that drops to about 50' depth. The water table is about 20' down. I use a two hose jet pump. The only connections between the pump head and the bottom of the well are two hoses (1.25" and 1" diameter), the injector assembly and the foot valve. When I prime my pump I disconnect the top of the diaphragm pressure regulator and pour water down until I have no airspace between the foot valve and the regulator. Usually takes about a gallon of water to fill in my case. I reassemble the diaphragm assembly and start up the pump. It should pull water right away and begin to show pressure building on the gauge.

On my system the only check valve is the foot valve below the injector assembly. Like I said, it's a two hose down pipe system with the jet assembly at the bottom and pump head at the top. I wasn't clear as to how many pipes went down the well on your system. When you say pressure side are you talking down the well like mine or after the pump?

Here's a diagram of one like mine:


Edit: One other additional thing associated with reviving an old well. If the well has remained unused for a long period of time then take 1/2 gallon of Clorox bleach (unscented) and dump it down the well to sanitize it. Don't drink the water until you've pumped out enough to no longer smell the chlorine. Have the well tested afterwards to make sure there are no other physical or biological contaminants present. When I purchased our house it had a well that was unused for over 2 years. The procedure above worked perfectly and we've been using the well as our sole source of water for over 20 years.

[GregT]

In my limited experience with a single pipe well, if the check valve isn't at the bottom of the pipe run, you're not priming it fully.
From what i read of your post, the check valve is part way down the pipe - correct ?
If this is so,it won't draw.
Ours draws from about 4.5 meters - say 15 feet.

[habsdoc]

Hi, and thanks. The well is a single pipe 1.5" dia. that is 22' deep with 2.5' of water in a 4' X 4' cement casing. The well was an old hand pump well built 100 years ago. Hand pump almost never needed any priming and was working still up to about 5 years ago. I have removed the pump rod and worn out leather cup from the 3.25"chamber and left the old lift up and flop back down check valve in place. This 3.25" dia. X 1' tall chamber is 10' or 11' down the well, inorder to be below the frost line I guess. I have resealed and reattached the chamber top and pipe. If an old hand pump would draw water from this well with no problems, shouldn't a mechanical pump work as well if not better??? I will probably remove this chamber and old style check valve this weekend and just try an union connection instead as my next step.

[JTGS850GL]

A foot valve (screen and check valve) should be at the bottom. A non self priming pump will have difficulties drawing water if not cleared of air. Here's a diagram of a single pipe jet pump with the injection assembly at the pump head:


I know that the drawing shows the pump located in the house basement, but the concept is still the same if the pump is located at the well head.