HELP NEEDED BADLY with Pump running but no water

[ctutuncu]

I had written earlier about our pump not being able to stop by itself..(please see the other thread I posted).. After disconnecting the pressure switch from the pump, I found out that there was a lot of red rusty dirt plugging the bottom of the P/S. I cleaned that up and will go and buy a new P/S tomorrow (as the current one is pretty old, and new P/Ss don;t cost that much). I was told that I may need to prime the pump (now that there is air between the well and the pump) and that I would need to pull the plug on top of the pump and pour water from there while running the pump at the same time, and that should solve all of my problems.

My questions are:

1) Is the stuff above correct?

2) I have two suspects as for what might be the plug to pull in order to prime the pump. One is right above the top one of the two hoses that are running from the pump to the well. It is rather small (I'd say slighly less than 1/2" in lenght and in diameter). The second suspect is what looks like a bolt and lies between the dial gauge and the point that the P/S assembles. It is much thicker than the first one but I don;t know how long it is as I was unable to pull it out so far.

3) I am thinking I may as well buy a brand new pump as well. The current one is 1/2 HP but I do not know what else I should pay attention to when buying a new one. All suggestions will be deeply appreciated.

Thanks to all that will help.

jon

[Gary Slusser]

Turn the pump off before it burns up. If the pump got real hot and didnt' shut down, you may have a bad impellor now if it's plastic. Clean the switch out and then any tubing and its fittings where they screw into the pump wet end - to/from the pressure switch if it is on the side of the pump motor.

Usually (here) we have a plug on the top of the outlet plumbing from the pump to the pressure tank. Sometimes instead of a plug, the pressure gauge is screwed into a bushing that can be taken out to allow priming.

A 1/2 hp motor is usually large enough for the 'average' household and it's the wet end that determines gpm/flow that the pump will deliver.

Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2

[ctutuncu]

Gary hi, thanks for your reply.. I had turned the pump off.. no worries there.. in my case the switch is mounted on top of the pump casing, I tried to clean the fitting etc.. I tried to follow your explanation on the plug but am not very clear.. on the plumbing path from the pump to the tank there are no gauges.. there is only a small square headed piece just before the tank but it is ata much lower elevation than the pump so I am not sure if I could use that to prime (I don;t see how I could fill that with water so that water reaches the pump).. any suggestions?.. now that I have the switch removed can I use that hole to fill water?

[Mike Swearingen]

To prime a pump:
You need an adjustable wrench or a pipe wrench, teflon tape, and a gallon of drinking water.
1. With power off or unplugged, unscrew the largest plug on top of the pump head.
2. Wrap 2-3 flat wraps of teflon tape on the male threads of the plug clockwise only as the bottom of the plug faces you.
3. Fill the pump head with water, and start the plug.
4. Turn on the power to the pump and continue to hand-tighten the plug. Air and water will bubble out around the plug as you hand-tighten it, but that's normal.
5. Allow the pump to pick up the prime. If it picks it up, finish tightening the plug with the wrench.
If it doesn't pick up the prime and run until cut-off, repeat the steps above until it does.
Good luck!
Mike

[ctutuncu]

Mike hi, I removed the largest plug on top of the pump, started filling water, but the water still does not seem to overflow (fill the chamber of the pump).. does that mean it is running back to the well, or do I need to turn the valves from the pump to the tank and from the tank to the house off while I am filling the water? Also at this time I have the pressure switch off its location at the top of the pump.. Must I first install the pressure switch and then do as you described.. I guess I should..what do you say? thanks..b

[Gary Slusser]

To prime means to fill the wet end of the pump AND all the tubing to the foot valve in the well. And if you have a two line deep well jet, you have to fill both lines. That is done as you fill the wet end of the pump. So having more water than will be needed is a much better plan than not as much as you need. Yes the water could be running into the well through an open foot valve or any other 'leak' in the pipes and priming is impossible in those cases.

Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2

[Mike Swearingen]

The "how to" that I gave is for a shallow well (25' or less) pump with a check valve near the pump between the pump and the well.
If you have a deep well, be prepared to fill in FAR more water. If you have a leaking foot valve, as Gary said, you will never prime it until you pull it and repair the problem.
Try my method. If it doesn't prime, I hope that you have a nearby neighbor with a long water hose.
Good lucK!
Mike

[nomind]

Hi Ctu , ( and everybody else)
-now i'm getting a little :confused: We seem to have 2 threads going with overlapping times on the same problem ? I originally suggested priming the pump and said how to do it. ( I don't think I or anyone else said that would solve all your problems) I requested you to post back and we'd go from there.
Where does it stand now ?? Is it primed, or will it not prime?? :)

[ctutuncu]

Mike, Gary and nomind.. thanks a lot for all your help.. nomind, I am sorry if I confused things a bit.. as I am new to the forum I mistakenly started a second thread on the same problem.. anyway, I posted the final status on the problem at the first thread.. cheers.. jon