Jet Pump Service

stevej37 · 01:16 PM

Last night around 9pm went to wash my hands in the bathroom....no water, not even a drop. Checked the downstairs breaker....wasn't tripped.

At 8am today I called my local water well guy and explained that I have power at the pump, but it won't start.
He sends out a truck with two of his sons and they remove the regulator and need to bring it back to the shop because of the old style. They return two hours later and hooked it back inline. Now the well had lost it's prime.

Another hour of loading water and trying...it finally took off.

Very happy to get 'same day service'....the guy said they have been swamped with calls from frozen water lines.
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masraum · 02-10-2026, 01:59 PM

Yes, same day service is a wonderful thing when it comes to water. Our recent well stuff took about 4 hours from start to finish. Fortunately, we weren't out of water, I just knew that we had an issue that needed to be taken care of.

stevej37 · 02:10 PM

Every faucet aerator and shower heads had to be cleaned afterwards....he warned me of that.
Not a big deal.

The guy was built like a football lineman. I wondered if he was going to have trouble sliding into the well pit. He did it like it was nothing. I asked him about it and he said "I've been in a lot of worse ones"

rfuerst911sc · 02-10-2026, 02:50 PM

A jet pump is above ground ? Generally a shallow well ?

stevej37 · 02-10-2026, 02:59 PM

^^^ Mine is in a concrete 'coffin' about 5ft below grade. I think it's about 4'x5'

I've never seen one above ground here in MI

The opening is smaller.....about 2'x2'...making it easier to get out of the thing.
I place 2x6 boards, cut to he opening size, across the top and then a rubber pick-up truck bed liner over the whole works. It keeps it from ever freezing.

The well itself is 70 ft deep.
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masraum · 02-10-2026, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

A jet pump is above ground ? Generally a shallow well ?

I think I read that jet pumps can be for shallow or deeper wells.

quick check on my browser history yielded
"The jet pump’s installation will depend on whether it’s “single-drop” or “double-drop.” Single-drop models, which are most suitable for shallow wells, are inside, either in your house or in an outbuilding. Double-drop models, which are most suitable for deep wells, require a split installation. Though the jet assembly is in the well, the motor must stay above ground.

While the upfront costs for submersible pumps are often higher, their generally lower maintenance costs make them a cheaper long-term investment."

I'm assuming the reason for Steve having the pump in a pit has to do with the cold and frost lines and that sort of thing.

Our well pops right up out of the ground and initially had no insulation on any of the pip that was out of the ground, then there's what's essentially a large doghouse right next to the well head that also had a bunch of exposed pipe and held the pressure tank. I've since insulated all of the pipe.

stevej37 · 02-10-2026, 04:13 PM

^^^ Yes...with the well head and bladder tank all 4-5 feet below the ground, there is not much chance of it freezing. Unless a person made a mistake of not covering the opening up.

Living in MI...the setup would be different than southern states.

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

I've been through this a few times since I bought my house around 1992. I have a shallow well with water at about 20'. I use a shallow well pump. Jet pump is needed for lower water levels to create a low pressure area to increase suction in the pipe. The other option for deep wells is a submersible which can go down hundreds of feet, and push water up instead of using suction. They use a pitless adapter below the frost line.

In the early years I would call the plumber, but quickly learned to deal with the basics. I keep a new spare pump and foot valve at all times.
The first sign I get is a bit of air spitting out with the water. Losing prime is the main thing. It is usually due to a leaking foot valve. I just put in a new one yesterday. In my situation they last about 7 years. I get my neighbor over, we pull out 35' of poly line, install new foot valve and drop it back down. It takes a little over a gallon of water to reprime the line.
I had one occasion where the pump was air bound and running dry and burned the pump impellor out. My wife and I had jut come back from vacation, she took a shower and yelled to me the water pressure was dropping fast. I had her turn off the shower and I ran to the well. Changing the foot valve takes a half hour. New pump install takes about an hour. She was able to finish her shower.
The other thing to watch for is the well tank. If the internal bladder fails and it fills with water, the pump will short cycle. That can severely shorten the pump life. Well-X-Troll is a top brand. Cheap ones can have a much shorter life span. Getting the tank size right is important. Too small and it cycles the pump a lot, too large and you spend a lot of time with low water pressure before the pump kicks in. The tanks air pressure needs be 2 psi lower than what the pressure switch low cut in is set to.
My well originally was an 8'x8' five feet deep with a basic lean-to structure about 25' from the house. I built a garden shed over it with an access panel and ladder down to the well. I have the pump, pressure tank, particle filter, sump pit, and water softener in it. The pipe is copper with heat trace and insulation over it. Temperature generally can go down around 0 degrees at the worst, like this past 2 weeks. The lowest I've recorded in the pit is 37 degrees, but generally is around 42 degrees in winter.

stevej37 · 10:39 AM

^^^
Mine is exactly as the lower left in your diagram.
Only one pipe going down.
It has a well point because they had to replace it once and I disposed of it.
No foot valve.
They told me it was 70 ft deep

So would it be a 'shallow' or a 'deep' well? (because it says shallow only down to 25 ft.)
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E Sully · E Sully's Garage

Keep in mind I am not a well expert.
Total depth of the well is different than the static water level. My well, although I cannot find any official records, was drilled to 300' according to my elder neighbor that grew up here as a farmer. A steel sleeve (PVC liners are common today) is installed to a depth of about 60'. The static water level runs about 15-20' depending on rain and drought situations. Since I have good water supply and good makeup a shallow well pump is all that is needed. I could install a submersible pump at a deeper level if I wanted.
Your well is a different style. Well points are used in softer or sandy soils. They screen the loose soil or sand out. You would have to ask your well guy for more precise information, but it would seem he found that 70' was deep enough to supply the amount of water you need, but the static water level would be 25' or higher if he found it only needed a shallow well pump.
The well point is filled with small holes to filter out soft soil or sand, and needs a check valve right above it to maintain prime. Mine can use a foot valve since it is inside the casing with no loose soil or sand being drawn in.

stevej37 · 01:52 PM

^^^ Ok...thanks.
When they pulled my well point...it was orange with sand/clay and the holes were almost all filled.
He said it wasn't worth trying to clean it and just replaced it. (at that time I remember it being about $80)
When he was out yesterday, I asked him about someday drilling it larger for more water. He said a new well (with a submersible pump) would be best...done with a rotary drill...whatever that is.

masraum · 02-11-2026, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E Sully

The first sign I get is a bit of air spitting out with the water. Losing prime is the main thing. It is usually due to a leaking foot valve.

So the air spitting out with the water is a sign of a bad foot valve? I'll remember that, but hopefully, won't have to worry about it for a while.

Great "pump house". Ours is a pain. It's small, with a small door, so it's a nightmare to have to work in. We don't have to worry much about freezing, but I'd love to have a better pump house. I think ours is designed more to let hot air out than anything else.

stevej37 · 02-11-2026, 02:06 PM

Here is where mine resides....took a lot of shoveling to clear it yesterday. Everything is 5 ft. below the lawn grade. Pic taken just now.

masraum · 02-11-2026, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevej37

Here is where mine resides....took a lot of shoveling to clear it yesterday. Everything is 5 ft. below the lawn grade. Pic taken just now.

I suppose kneeling outside of mine is easier than dropping into a hole in the ground.

stevej37 · 02-11-2026, 02:17 PM

^^^ Yep...but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. Just sit down on the edge with your feet in the opening. Use your arms to lower your body down. To get out...just do the reverse.
It's not bad.

Once in, it's just like a small room...and I've even put a plastic chair down there to get comfortable.
.

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

It was a lot of work replacing my well shed. The cement blocks were shot and the upper lean-to was only standing because the carpenter ants were holding on tight. I just couldn't stand not having it look nice and be useful. Foundation being 8'x8' gave me something to work with. I had to replace a lot of blocks, then I inserted rebar and filled it with cement. 24 bags hand mixed and bucket poured. Fortunately my neighbor, who would have been 97 today if still with us, was a union trained carpenter and electrician. He taught me enough about framing and roofing to get by. Every day as soon as he heard me start work would come out and made sure I did it right. You better believe my foundation was level and square. Got to love retirees. I'm one now.
I added a section to the well pipe. Original was only a few inches above the floor. New code requires at least 18' high. I also put a sump pump and pit in. With the water softener out there I needed something to deal with the water it puts out when cycling, plus one year when we had a horrendous 100 year storm and 3' of water in the pump shed floated the well tank and pipes connected to it. Plumber came and pumped it out and repaired the piping. I was lucky he could come that day, he had a lot of calls coming in from the storm. Quite expensive. Back up generator and transfer switch keep everything running now.
As for the foot valve, it was a very slow leak. In my case I have noticed if I'm losing a bit of prime, the upstairs toilet will give a puff of air when flushing after sitting overnight. As I mentioned earlier I just put a new foot valve in. The date stamp was from 9/18 so about 7 years. Life span is different depending on water Ph type. Mine is hard water, and I get a bit of green buildup from the minerals. In the future I will change it every 5 years.

stevej37 · 02-11-2026, 04:34 PM

^^^ Nice work...it looks great.

My 'pit' is all poured concrete...it must have been a job to form it all up. The floor is dirt.
My septic tank is also poured concrete. A good chance that both were done at the same time.

That kind of work is something that is rarely done today.

stevej37 · 02-11-2026, 05:27 PM

Just discovered that one of the toilets needs to have the fill valve replaced after the work done yesterday.
It's a valve that works by the water pressure to regulate the fill level. I noticed that it was taking a long time before shutting off and looked inside the tank. Water was only coming out half of the areas. The sediment released from the work is plugging it up. Amazon has a new one coming tomorrow.