It has been years ago but was at one time associated with this industry. Know quite a bit about it so that is not really the nature of my post but feel free to chime in.

I think I am due to replace. it is 15 years old now. A 2hp I believe. All associated components are in the crawl space and I have not ventured there yet. It could be a 1-1/2hp.

Anyway my volume and pressure are down. Still pumping some water. But fear I am on my last leg.

I could call a pump dealer and have him come check and replace. But we do a lot of our own work here. Just how it is. We can yard it out from a couple hundred ft. Replace it and hook it back up. Plan on an entirely new pump, motor and control box. By doing it ourself we can easily save a couple grand or more.

I see Aqua Science is an online vendor and factory direct source. Anyone ever buy from them?

Or recommend a good online vendor for this type of supplies?

Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: old rugged cross,

I've purchased from Aqua Science out of RI and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

Thanks Sandman. I have a line on a local source. If it does not pan out it may very well be a Gould's package from them. I am glad to hear your experience was positive. Very helpful.

How about Sta-Rite?

Yep, Sta-rite would be fine. Do they use Franklin Motors on their liquid ends? Do you have a good source Ecam_man?

Thanks.

My dad has sold pumps for 50years now, they have a 450ft well in western NC and he has a submersible. I think it’s a Gould’s, I could be wrong...he also considers them consumable items...eventually they will die. So he us7ally just buys what’s available and cheap that will fit the scenario.

If your pump is under the house, then your well is not all that deep, I would suggest crawling under there, take a few pics of the motor and pump tags and replace it with what you have....then just google one and compare to what a nearby well guy would charge you.

I don't do wells, but have an outlet for Myers and Flint Walling.

Might look around on supplyhouse.com for some ideas/pricing.
https://www.supplyhouse.com/sh...rsible%20well%20pump

I have a Franklin

Ok guys. My well is not under the house. The pressure tank and controls are. The well is just shy of 250' With the pumping level at around 225'.

Flint and Walling and Myers are both good along with Goulds, Grundfos and several other.

SC, Franklin does motors and Controls. Unless things have changed they do not make the pump ends. Never have in knowledge.

We bought a new construction home a year ago, but it’s not the typical new construction home. The property here had a small shack on it which was completely torn down and started fresh with new foundation etc. Everything is new except for the septic and well.

The septic is getting replaced next week due to the fact that absolutely nothing was done to it. We had no idea how inadequate it was (drain field consists of only about 60 ft of drain line) otherwise we would have never bought this place. Costing us around $8000 to replace it next week.

The well pump is still going but nobody has any idea how old it is. The shack that was here wasn’t used very much from what we understand, so hopefully the pump isn’t as used as it could be. We are hoping to get at least another year out of it because we weren’t planning on the expense of putting in a new septic system.

What are some signs that the pump is gonna go tits up on us? It’s a 130 ft well as per what the builder has told me. Submersible pump as well. The pressure cycles between 30-60 psi and when it gets down there you can definitely tell the pump just kicked on. It only takes a few seconds to really tell the difference. So I’m hoping that’s a good sign that it’s still going strong.

First, you should only have a twenty psi difference (differential) 30-50 or 40-60 on your pressure switch. This is so you do not over stretch the bladder in your pressure tank. This why when you buy a square D switch it is preset with a 20lb differential. Although it can be adjusted.
Also The air in your tank should be set at 2 psi below the cut in or turn on pressure. So if you are set at a 30-50 pressure switch setting. Your tank pressure should be set at 28 psi.

Maybe it’s 40-60. Come to think of it I’m pretty sure that’s what it is.

That is good. I forgot to mention your pressure tank draw down volume size should allow the pump to run for at a minimum of sixty seconds, more is better. From the turn on pressure (40) and the turn off pressure (60)

Why is that? Seems like more wear and tear on the pump if it’s pumping longer each time. I want to say our tank is 30-40 gallons but not sure.

The longer they run the better it is. Running does not hurt them. The stopping and starting (cycling) is what will kill them. A lot heat is created to start them. As they run they will cool. If they short cycle they never disipate the heat and will damage the motor windings and other components.

Gotcha. I didn’t think about heat since I figured it’s pretty cold down in the well. I was more thinking about the bearings more than anything. Figured the bearings seizing up would be the most likely cause of failure. Learn something new every day.

So are there any signs or warnings that the pump is about to go in the near future?

Loss of pressure and or volume. Mostly.
If your system has a control box and capacitors or relays start to go out. Probably a indication of pump problems

The control box is pretty simple. Looked to me like a pressure switch and that was about it. Nothing solid state in it at all. Like I said...nobody knows how old it is. So I’m sure it’s a fairly dated system. I’ll have pop the cover off again sometime, but I don’t recall capacitors or anything like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Largefarva:
The control box is pretty simple. Looked to me like a pressure switch and that was about it.

Then you may have a 2 wire pump. All the electronics are down the well in the actual motor.

If you have a 3 wire pump usually a capacitor, a relay and an overload are in a "control" box near the pressure tank and pressure switch.

We only installed three wire pumps because you at least had a chance to replace a failed part or two vs a 2 wire.

EDIT to add:
We also always included a lightning arrester at the pump controls to the install as well.

I have opened more then one pump house to find the contents of the control box scattered around the room and maybe the wires down the well melted! Back in the day pumps were frequently fed by overhead electric lines from the house to the pump house, sometimes pretty far.

Just looked and yup it’s a two wire pump. Two red and one green going in and out. Green is grounded to the box enclosure.