QueBota
Gold Member
I guess it isn't really a pump issue but the black "ABS?" line from the well to the pressure tank.
Pardon me while I ramble a bit.
Over the course of the past several months I have noticed the well pump cycling during the night. Our bedroom is directly above the utility room downstairs and it is very noticeable when the pump clicks on and off. I attributed it to a leaky facucet and toilet that I had been slow to repair. I repaired both of those items and the problem persisted. I thought it might have been the anti-drainback valve that was failing but there doesn't appear to be one on the inlet side of the pressure tank. We have the old, large, green, non-bladder pressure tank. Appears to be original to the house, circa 1979. The ABS? pipe enters the utility room through the bottom of the foundation just above the slab. Looks like some odd type of adapter that allows the ABS? pipe to be clamped (hose clamp) directly to the fitting(s) that eventually enter the bottom of the pressure tank at the floor. None of this stuff looks like it has ever been touched.
Discoverd what I think is the major source of the problems yesterday afternoon. We have finally had some rain after a very dry winter/spring. I think the rain, about 4" in about a day, saturated the ground enough to make the spot apparent where the ABS? water supply pipe is leaking between the well cap and the pressure tank. The ground is quite wet/saturated in an area that covers about 3 feet wide by about 8 feet long. There is a natural depression in the "lawn" at this point, which would account for the poolilng of the water.
I have never dealt with a specific situation like this but am pretty handy and do all most all of my repair work.
What is the recommend course of action at this point. I would imagine I have to start carefully digging and try to find the source of the leak. This process is complicated by the fact the my electical service runs in very close proximity to what I image the path the the water supply line to be. I have placed a call to Miss Utility, they indicated their response time could be anywhere from 1 May to 16 May.
To complicate things the area that is being saturated holds three large sweet gum trees that could do major damage to the house if the leaned/fell that way. Currently I have the well pump shut off, only turning it on when absolutely necessary to make my wife and daughters happy. Leak doesn't appear to be a major one at this point. The well pump will cycle about every 12 minutes which equals about 6 gallons of water if my math is correct.
Any advice will be appreciated, I can try to post some pics/drawings when I get off of work this afternoon. Going to go home and begin carefully excavating in search of the water line.
Thanks,
Dave
Pardon me while I ramble a bit.
Over the course of the past several months I have noticed the well pump cycling during the night. Our bedroom is directly above the utility room downstairs and it is very noticeable when the pump clicks on and off. I attributed it to a leaky facucet and toilet that I had been slow to repair. I repaired both of those items and the problem persisted. I thought it might have been the anti-drainback valve that was failing but there doesn't appear to be one on the inlet side of the pressure tank. We have the old, large, green, non-bladder pressure tank. Appears to be original to the house, circa 1979. The ABS? pipe enters the utility room through the bottom of the foundation just above the slab. Looks like some odd type of adapter that allows the ABS? pipe to be clamped (hose clamp) directly to the fitting(s) that eventually enter the bottom of the pressure tank at the floor. None of this stuff looks like it has ever been touched.
Discoverd what I think is the major source of the problems yesterday afternoon. We have finally had some rain after a very dry winter/spring. I think the rain, about 4" in about a day, saturated the ground enough to make the spot apparent where the ABS? water supply pipe is leaking between the well cap and the pressure tank. The ground is quite wet/saturated in an area that covers about 3 feet wide by about 8 feet long. There is a natural depression in the "lawn" at this point, which would account for the poolilng of the water.
I have never dealt with a specific situation like this but am pretty handy and do all most all of my repair work.
What is the recommend course of action at this point. I would imagine I have to start carefully digging and try to find the source of the leak. This process is complicated by the fact the my electical service runs in very close proximity to what I image the path the the water supply line to be. I have placed a call to Miss Utility, they indicated their response time could be anywhere from 1 May to 16 May.
To complicate things the area that is being saturated holds three large sweet gum trees that could do major damage to the house if the leaned/fell that way. Currently I have the well pump shut off, only turning it on when absolutely necessary to make my wife and daughters happy. Leak doesn't appear to be a major one at this point. The well pump will cycle about every 12 minutes which equals about 6 gallons of water if my math is correct.
Any advice will be appreciated, I can try to post some pics/drawings when I get off of work this afternoon. Going to go home and begin carefully excavating in search of the water line.
Thanks,
Dave
