Well Pump sucking air

[Rusty Karel]

I have a well that is 40 feet deep and has 10 feet of water. (water level is 30 feet down from top of well casing.) My submersible pump is set 3 feet from bottom of well. When i start my pump it works fine for about 20 seconds and then starts to suck air and very little water pressure. If i shut off the pump for a few minutes the water level comes back up the casing to the 10 foot level.Could my casing be to close to the bottom of the well not allowing steady flow of water? Maybe from some settling at the bottom of the well? If so what could be done? The well is 6 years old. I just installed new pump and piping.

[Rod BickhamParticipant]

Your pump is undersized and cavitating or unable to get required influent flow and cavitating. As you said if this pump can not get enough water because of the location next to the well floor it will cavitate. Somehow drawing air from a leak in a line above the waters surface (Venturri effect) could also be a possiblitiy. Make sure all connections are secure and sealed properly.

[Rod BickhamParticipant]

Your pump is undersized and cavitating or unable to get required influent flow and cavitating. As you said if this pump can not get enough water because of the location next to the well floor it will cavitate. Somehow drawing air from a leak in a line above the waters surface (Venturri effect) could also be a possiblitiy. Make sure all connections are secure and sealed properly.

[Rod BickhamParticipant]

it sounds as if the well screen may be partially plugged. at the bottom of the casing, there is a large, fine screen. this strains the water keeping out clay and sand. the well may not be properly developed (a process done by well driller, pumping water out of well and blowing compressed air into casing to make the area (ground) around screen let water flow more freely into screen), the screen may be plugged or your well may not be deep enough. water tables under ground can change from time to time, a depth that may be adequate years before can go dry. you should really have more than 10 feet of water in your well. darren: I have a well that is 40 feet deep and has 10 feet of water. (water level is 30 feet down from top of well casing.) My submersible pump is set 3 feet from bottom of well. When i start my pump it works fine for about 20 seconds and then starts to suck air and very little water pressure. If i shut off the pump for a few minutes the water level comes back up the casing to the 10 foot level.Could my casing be to close to the bottom of the well not allowing steady flow of water? Maybe from some settling at the bottom of the well? If so what could be done? The well is 6 years old. I just installed new pump and piping.

[Rod BickhamParticipant]

Since you said that the pump is a submersible, the problem can not be because the pump is undersized. I agree that it is probably the well. I would like to see more than 10 ft. of water too. The screen being pluged is an possibility if there is a screen. I dont know where your from but wells are made differently depending on geology. Many wells wont have a screen. Also the screen could be perfectly clean but since the water only comes up into the well 10 ft. this tells me there may not be enough static pressure on the aquifer to push the water into the screen fast enough. What is the diameter of the well? If the well is bored or maybe hand dug (as opossed to drilled) it may be completed in clay soils. These type of wells are often slow yielding but store alot. This type of well will be affected by drought very easly. So you can see there is a lot to consider and more info is needed: I have a well that is 40 feet deep and has 10 feet of water. (water level is 30 feet down from top of well casing.) My submersible pump is set 3 feet from bottom of well. When i start my pump it works fine for about 20 seconds and then starts to suck air and very little water pressure. If i shut off the pump for a few minutes the water level comes back up the casing to the 10 foot level.Could my casing be to close to the bottom of the well not allowing steady flow of water? Maybe from some settling at the bottom of the well? If so what could be done? The well is 6 years old. I just installed new pump and piping.

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