If your well stops pumping water, you don’t necessarily have to purchase a new well pump or dig a new well. As a general rule, well pumps are designed to continue working for years. In fact well pumps can last for as many as 20 years, some even longer. Your residential well is made up of many components and sometimes a malfunction or something as simple as ants in the contact points in your well pump pressure switch can stop your well from delivering water. Some of our competitors would charge you for an expensive repair but it’s actually a very easy DIY fix. You simply unplug the pump, take a nail file and clean the points! This is just one example and the experienced professionals at AAA Water Team are the experts when it comes to well pumps and how to troubleshoot and maintain them.
Some things to consider before calling for assistance from the professionals at AAA Water Team include:
Check Water Well Pump for Power: Before doing anything else, check your system for power. Check that the electrical circuit for your well pump has not been tripped. One of the most common problems that the experts at AAA Water Team experience is lack of power to the system. Often the gfi electrical plug pops and needs to be reset. This turns off the solenoid switch and prevents the aerator tank from filling. This is another easy fix – you just unplug the solenoid, push the reset button on the outlet and plug it back in! If you live in an area that experiences common power surges, it may be causing your circuit breaker to trip and shut the system down. Once you have located the circuit breaker for the pump, switch the circuit breaker off then back on again. It is not uncommon for a circuit breaker to trip and the system appearing to still be functioning when it isn’t.
Reset Your Pressure Switch: Your pressure tank and pressure switch are attached to the water delivery system. Too much draw on your system will automatically trip the pressure switch to shut the system off. This safety measure is designed to keep your system from pumping water continuously if a pipe breaks in the delivery system. Your pressure switch sits in a box on top of the feed line and right next to your pressure switch you will find a small bar. When your system is tripped, the bar will rest parallel to the ground. To reset your pressure switch, close the water valves leading to your delivery system. Gently life the trip handle until it engages. Once the pressure tank is full, slowly reopen your water valves.
Inspect Your Pressure Tank: If your pressure tank is malfunctioning and doesn’t have the correct air pressure inside it, it will fail to send a signal to the pressure switch to turn your tank on. Not only can your pressure tank become water bound, the tanks air bladder can also break. Utilize a tire pressure gauge and find your air fill valve which will be located on top of the tank. The correct pressure in your tank should be 2 pounds per square inch less than the setting which activates the pressure switch. In layman’s terms if the default setting on your pressure switch is 30 psi, the tank must be set at 28 psi.
Discolored Water: If your well has rust, or brown or black sediment in the water, your water may require a water filtration system to take care of the problem for you. Many residential wells can be drilled into an area that contains minerals including iron, sulfur, magnesium, calcium and many other naturally occurring minerals. Iron is responsible for leaving rust stains which can increase the production of bacteria inside toilet tanks. The bacteria closely resembles a red/brown fur. Manganese on the other hand leaves black stains on clothing and is also responsible for forming a coating inside your refrigerator water lines.
Water Well Pump Installation, Replacement, Emergency Repairs & Preventive Maintenance in Naples, Cape Coral, Fort Myers & Lehigh Acres, Florida
Contact your AAA Water Team for more information on water well pumps and fitration systems.
