No Water within house/well/pump? All of a sudden I have no water coming to the house/anywhere...
All of a sudden I have no water coming to the house/anywhere from the pump/well outside. It's a newer capably, good water body (Florida...no dry up problems), no sand in water. I'm unusual to this house and don't know much about the pump stuff. Is there something I should look at or switch on/off. The breaker is ok. Help, I entail a shower! :) Oh, there were in the order of 15 ants around some box, but it didn't look connected to the pump...it's a box to the pool filter thing.
Answers: First, turn the breaker to the well pump adjectives the way off, later back on. If that doesnt do the trick, then you'll necessitate to look at the pressure switch, which is usually a small grey box near the well herald. It probably has "Square D" on it. There is a nut on top, which you can unscrew to look at the contacts. Ive found that ants can sometimes get within here, and plug it up, so that it stops working. Sometimes 'tapping' it will jar it just enough to bring back the contacts to click. If you DO see a lot of ants, go shut the power rotten at the circuit breaker, come back out, and either blow them out beside an air compressor, or hit them with some small shots of ant spray.
If at hand are no ants. when you remove the cover from the pressure switch you should see two contacts with springs. Sometimes these will rust a bit, and stick. (or freeze up during winter, hehe). Ive used a plastic putty knife to jiggle the contacts on affair (careful, they'll spark as the pump starts to run, hehehe). If a spring is broken, you can replace it, or the whole pressure switch. (Sometimes the sensor inside the unit go bad, in which casing, you'd replace the whole thing). A 'contact cleaner' will usually get some more vivacity out a sticking pressure switch. You can find it at Radio Shack.
Pressure switches usually come in a couple of ranges, so get like type as you have currently, if you need a exotic one. (Woudlnt hurt to buy one in the near adjectives anyway, just to have it on appendage, in case it go bad 'after hours', hehehe -- I keep a couple on paw all the time, in defence I get a call for one.)
Here is what a typical pressure switch looks resembling -
http://www.deanbennett.com/pressure-swit...
Now, if the pressure switch is working ok, the next thing to check would be the bladder container (if you have one). This will be a small tank, near a valve stem (like you see on your car tires). Near that stem, should be a sign, or stamp into the metal, how many pounds of air pressure it should enjoy in it. Use a tire gauge to check it. If it is low, donate some air (air compressor, bicycle pump, etc). If it will not hold the air pressure, consequently the bladder is probably ruptured, and you need a new reservoir. As you can see in this photo, they come in tons sizes (and colors) -
http://www.yourwaterneeds.com/images/WT_...
On some 'jet' pumps there is a 'foot valve' that occasionally needs to be replaced. (A spray pump is above ground, with no bladder tank)
http://www.sharptools.com/images/jet_pum...
Typically, you see jet pumps on shallow well, and submerged pumps in deep well.
Occasionally a capacitor goes bad, and requirements to be replaced. This is what actually provides the power to the pump, to kickstart it. Its usually a small cylinder with two wires connected to the top of it... might be 1.5 inches diameter, and anywhere from 2 to 5 inches long. Usually a brown, or black shell. You need a multimeter to check one of these...if its not actually showing some char at the contacts. A typical capacitor will cost smaller quantity than $10... but if its bad, the pump wont work, hehehe. This is what a typical well pump motor capacitor looks similar to -
http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/index.asp...
And last but not least, is the submerged pump. This pump in truth is down inside the well casing. Usually towards the bottom of the crust. If you have to pull it, it involves disconnecting the electrical and plumbing lines, and literally, pulling it up by the cuff or pipe. It could be a few hundred feet down. If it comes to this, I'd suggest calling in a plumber or economically technician.
If you dont like the idea of running down this unharmed list, then telephone a plumber, or well technician, and let them chase it down.
Good Luck
If you are sure you hold power to the unit, go to the pressure cistern. There should be a pressure control switch with wires going in and out. It may hold a reset switch that you can try to reset. You usually have to hold the switch for several seconds for the hose pressure to build up past 20 pounds before you release the switch. You can notify if this is working by hearing water flow thru your pipes and/or watching the pressure appraise on the unit. Are you sure that's not the pressure contacts to your well them little rascal love electricity and it kills them. I bet your contacts are full of ants and are not working to turn your pump on. Turn the power bad and take the cover off and see if it is full of ants verbs them out put the cover on and turn the power back on.