OT Well waterpump recommendations

I don't know where to post this but here, I can't find an Off Topic page. I'm having to replace the pump at my sons house. It's a deep well, 225' with the pump set at about 190', I THINK, my Dad installed it and he's passed away. I had just replaced the dang thing about 18-24 months ago. I think the pump was warrantied for 3 years, but the well guy that replaced it has too passed away. Anyone got an opinion of what brand to look for or for any brands to stay away from? I don't wanna to have to do this again real soon.
Thanks for any help. Tim

I have an A.Y. McDonald pump and have had good service with it to date (about 8 years). Make sure your pressure tank is functioning properly as well.

I'd be more worried about what actually went wrong. No brand pump under normal use goes bad in two years unless it's had some severe defect or was installed incorrectly. Pumps of any brand often last 20-30 years if installed correctly. They just about all use Franklin motors - at least all that I've installed. If torque restraints weren't put in properly, the pump and pipes will shuck back and forth and break the wires after a short while.

Also wondering how deep is your water-head? The pump might be 190 feet down, but the water might only be 50 feet down.

You may need to raise the height of your pump. What's happening with the pump? You can pull the old pump and see if the impeller is worn as it could be picking up sand. There should be a name plate on the pump and since you installed it's probably still available. I would look for the receipt on the pump so there's no question as to how long you've had it. There may be a hole in the plastic pipe if you're losing pressure. Hal

are you sure its the pump and not the control box?that sure dont seem like much service life,and I buy the cheapest ones i can find .I dont pay any attentin to brand if i need one so I really cant suggest one brand over another.What is your pump doing?I would think if it were sand killing them that fast you would see it in the water,look in the bottom of the toilet bowl tanks and see if theres a lot of sand buildup.If yours has a external control box,look at the capactitors.In between the wires on the top of them will likely be a fiber disc.If its cracked,burnt or blown out that cap is likely bad. We had several fail, a couple of years ago for some reason,then have not had any trouble since.Another thing,make sure you have voltage going to the well wires.Pressure switch can close and not make contact.they spark a little each time they close,sometimes they can get burnt enough they wont make contact(ants make a excellent insulator by the way and they love pressure switches for some strange reason).Then you have to clean them or replace switch. Not saying you dont need a pump,but if you dont fix whats killing it you WILL be pulling it again shortly,regardless of how many you put in.I think all of our pumps are now franklin brand just because they are cheapest around here.

LJD & others, TY again for the replies. The water in the well came up to around 40' when it was drilled. With the drought we went through I can't guesstimate where it at's today. I'm a paraplegic and can't get close enough to the well to measure what the head is until this weekend, when my son will be out of school. I learned later that the older guy that replaced it last time is notorious for doing as little as possible to make a buck. He probably didn't use the torque restraints. I used them on my well last Fall, the pump had twisted against the casing until it rubbed through on the bottom. That pump would probably would be working today but somebody left off a dang $9.00 part.

I agree with everything everyone else has said. These pumps come as 2 wire or 3 wire plus a ground. If you have a 3 wire there is a control box up top which contains the starting capacitor and a reset switch. The brand name would be there. On 2 wire pumps those parts are built into the pump. Jaccuzi makes a very good pump and so does F.E. Myers. The pump you have should be under warranty if not eaten away or plugged by sand.

If it is a brand name pump any dealer SHOULD honor the warranty, Any sub. should last longer than 2 years unless you have a LOT of iron,or some sand, Only other thing is a lemon pump or not put in right. I'd be checking out wireing or other stuff. What is it doing?

I guess a couple of questions - is it a submersible pump or a deep well pump. Does it run and just doesn't pump water or is has it just died. The different types of pumps can have different types of problems.I just replaced all the plastic tubing to my well as almost every year for the past few years due to the tubing springing leaks and created problems and it had nothing to do with the pump except it ran a lot. All systems have some type of pressure control to control on and off of the pump - they can go bad. Lots of things to consider unless the pump is just dead.

I've had a Hoosier in the bottom of my well pumping water for a couple of decades. 160'

Got two of these
gitrib
The Best

My well is 280 feet. The local well guy replaced my goulds pump with a AY Macdonald, he told me they r hand made and are a good pump?? Been in since 9/22/09 and no problems.

Some things to check:

1) Does your son have it covered under his home owners policy??? I carry a rider on all of my houses with wells. Insurance guy recommended it years ago.

2) I have seen the pumps damaged by lightening that will not show up for a few months and they they go out. When the pump was pulled you can see where the wirings was damaged. Most good well guys can tell.

3) Are you sure that it is the pump??? It can be the supply wire or pump control in the house.


The best Pumps I have found lately are the A. Y. McDonald ones. They are US made and last well.

(quoted from post at 07:03:15 02/03/12) Some things to check:

1) Does your son have it covered under his home owners policy??? I carry a rider on all of my houses with wells. Insurance guy recommended it years ago.

2) I have seen the pumps damaged by lightening that will not show up for a few months and they they go out. When the pump was pulled you can see where the wirings was damaged. Most good well guys can tell.

3) Are you sure that it is the pump??? It can be the supply wire or pump control in the house.


The best Pumps I have found lately are the A. Y. McDonald ones. They are US made and last well.

Click to expand...

JDSeller, I had forgotten that we had thunderstorms a couple of weeks ago. I hope that's the problem. I put my Amprobe on the pump side wires of the pressure switch last night. We got power going to the pump. It was too dark to try and see where the water level is. We'll pull the pump this weekend and I'm planning on replacing the pump, pipe and the 10/3 wire. My wife says the last power bill from this house was much higher than usual. I hope I don't have a leak in the pipe going from the pressure tank to the house, it's buried about 3'.
Thanks for all the replies & recommendations.

I"ve had a "GRUNDFOS" for about 8 years. It"s a
variable volume..the more faucets that are open
the faster it pumps...so you don"t get a flow
drop when someone flush"s and you"re in the
shower. A flow senser is connected to a little
computer box. Grundfos also makes a 12 volt pump
that can be run with a small solar panel on your
roof, and a battery in a battery box. No worry
about water if the electric goes out. They are
very good quality..but Not Cheap!

Tim,Is it a 2 or 3 wire pump,If its a 2 wire pump and lighting hits you pull the pump to replace the Capacitor,If its a 3 wire the Capacitor is in your control box, which is a lot easier fix,Around here Gould pumps are used a lot

jimmy

It was the pressure switch. They were burnt black on one side and the springs on that side were shot. I'm thinking the guy that worked on it back in 2-3-2010 may have used my old pressure switch when he changed the pump.

I learned more than I may need to know and so did my son. As we say down South,'Much obliged' to all that responded.