Water Well problem

[stinkbelly]

I know there are a lot of guys that know about water wells on here and I also know there are a bunch of rednecks so I need to put that knowledge together to help me figure out what is going on with my water well so I can fix it.

The water well I am having issues with is on a 15 acre piece of land that use to be an emu farm. This piece of land has about 15 pens, 3 large fields, a barn, and a building all with water from the well. There is a well head in a round concrete housing outside and a shed that we call our well house. In the well house we have the pressure tank, pressure switch, backflow valve, gauge, etc. In the well head housing there is just the pipe coming out of the ground that does a U turn and goes back into the ground. On it there is a backflow valve. In the well house the pipe comes in, goes through another backflow valve, to the pressure switch, to the pressure tank, and then back out.

Now for my problem. The water to the south of the well seems to be on a different line than the remainder of the land. It seems like it doesn't come from the pressure tank, but directly from the well. Maybe it splits off before the well house. The reason I say this is that when I have done work on the well I can have zero pressure in the pressure tank and all the lines to the north do not work, but the lines to the south have full pressure. Once it builds up pressure they all work the same UNTIL NOW. I have had this land for 18 years and just this week it has become a problem. Now the lines to the south DO NOT work if the pressure tank is full and the pump is not working. Once the pressure switch shuts off the pump, the lines to the south have no pressure. If I bleed off the pressure and cause the pressure switch to turn the pump on, then all the lines have equal good pressure.

My thought is that the line comes from the pump and splits before it goes to the well house. One goes to the well house and the other goes to the south lines. Maybe there is a backflow valve that was not working for all these years and now it has started working so the lines to the south aren't getting pressure from the tank.

The only recent work that has been done on the well is that there was a small crack in the pipe right at the well head. I just replaced a small piece of PVC pipe.

So how would a redneck/well guy make the north and south lines different?

[abilliott]

I can't imagine a good reason on why they would have an ran an alternate line before the pressure tank? Like you mentioned the pump would have to be turned on and running to ever get water there. I'm having a tough time imagining what your plumbing looks like but if it was working up to now, I would guess that maybe you do have a defective valve of some sort?

[Hoggslayer]

I think somewhere you have a second pressure switch to turn the pump on when the South line pressure drops. That's the only way I think it could work like you are describing. Its plumbed like that for irrigation or filling up a tank, so that the pump can run for long periods of time without having to work against the tank pressure.

[stinkbelly]

I think somewhere you have a second pressure switch to turn the pump on when the South line pressure drops. That's the only way I think it could work like you are describing. Its plumbed like that for irrigation or filling up a tank, so that the pump can run for long periods of time without having to work against the tank pressure.

So are you thinking that the line splits before the pressure tank and on that line to the south there is a pressure switch I don't know about? All of that line to the south is underground. Is it likely that there is a buried pressure switch I don't know about?

[Hoggslayer]

So are you thinking that the line splits before the pressure tank and on that line to the south there is a pressure switch I don't know about? All of that line to the south is underground. Is it likely that there is a buried pressure switch I don't know about?

Something like that. If it has 2 back flow valves, then the area between the 2 valves acts like a little pressure tank. When you open the line to the south ,the pressure drops fast and turns the pump on. So somewhere there must be a second switch or something.

[2B4Him]

My line tees off right at the well head - one line goes north to a storage tank I use for irrigation, one line goes south into the pressure tank for the house. If either the pressure tank or the float valve in my storage tank tell the pressure switch for the pump at the bottom of the well to turn on, it comes on.
I can't imagine a 'back flow' valve being involved - the pressure tank sends pressure in only one direction, not back toward the water source.
Sounds like the pressure switch for the power to the well pump is currently only recognizing a drop in pressure from the pressure tank, not the south lines. Could your PVC work have impacted this?
I have used Watts Drilling for work on my well - Tim Watts lives just down the street from me and his dad drilled my well in 1985 (before I owned the property). Tim can look at it and tell what is going on and probably won't charge you unless he needs to do something.

[Stolle]

Seems strange that you would have full pressure on the south section if you turn off the pressure switch. The pump will only turn on when the pressure switch activates it.

Are you positive the pump is cutting on when you isolate the south side? Could you have another check valve somewhere that doesn't allow you to bleed pressure back through the pressure tank?

I hate dealing with plumbing that was buried by someone else.

[stinkbelly]

All I replaced was about 1 foot of 1" PVC. It did screw into the back flow valve at the well head, but there was nothing else done. If I screwed up that valve I would either have no water flow (by putting it on backwards) or have flow in both directions by damaging the back flow valve. Damaging it would allow the pressure from the south side to bleed off, but I don't see that being any different than opening a valve to the south.

Yes I am sure the pump is turning on when I get pressure to the south. I can bleed the north and watch the pressure gauge. When it gets to the low pressure set point I hear the contacts clicking over and then I get pressure.

[Stolle]

Yes I am sure the pump is turning on when I get pressure to the south. I can bleed the north and watch the pressure gauge. When it gets to the low pressure set point I hear the contacts clicking over and then I get pressure.

So maybe you have check valve between the pressure switch and the pressure tank?

Can you post a schematic showing where your check valves are in relation to your tank and isolation valves?

[Briar Friar]

Good lucky Stinkbelly. Wish I could be of assistance.

Who knows...since you didnt mention a prefilter maybe some sand or gravel was lodged in an unknown Pressure Regulating Valve or Backflow valve...keeping it open.

I dont have a filter/prefilter on my well system so periodically I have to clean out my washer water connection of gravel. In town on city lines I see: gravel block toilet fill valves regularly and gravel keeping irrigation valves from closing too.

Maybe take a metal detector and wand where you think lines might be run...to find buried metal check valve. At minimum Id dig to find the south lines and install a quarter turn cutoff to isolate line.

God bless and good luck Brother.

[stinkbelly]

Here are pics of everything above the ground.

In the first picture the water comes in from the right. It goes past the backflow valve and pressure switch past the gauge to the pressure tank and then out the left side.

The second picture is the backflow valve and pressure switch.

The third picture is the Wellhead inside the well housing. It has just a backflow valve in the PVC pipe.

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[Hoggslayer]

Is there another pipe coming out of the tank?

Hoggslayer

[Mex. Bowhunter]

Shut the Ball Valve Off and See if You Maintain Water on the South Side Line. That would Tell you if The Line Tee's off Before The Well House.

[Stolle]

If the south side is tied in prior to that shut off valve on the left you will always have pressure.


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[stinkbelly]

There is no other pipe in to that tank.

The ball valve is on the outgoing side to the north and there is the backflow valve on the incoming side (right) of the tank. The backflow valve keeps me from having pressure to the south. I just don't know why I have always had it in the past.

This past winter my heater failed in the well house. The tank froze solid. All the pipes you see in the well house exploded. They had ice hanging out of them. With all that going on, I still had pressure to the south. It has to have a line before the well house, but why did it use to have pressure. I think I am going to have to dig up the lines (water and electricity) and see what is going on. If I don't find any pressure switch on the south side my only guess is that the backflow valve at the tank has always been bad but it just started working.