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Author:
James147 (CA)
Hi everyone,
About a week ago we noticed the well seal has water on it, the amount has not changed(has been a consistent amount on the seal) and there hasn't been anything on the floor. When we got the house(1.5 years ago) we put "new tank tee" on our list and planned to clean up all the well piping electrical, guessing this may be time. I have a huge concern messing with the PVC fitting on top of the seal and that its possibly holding the pipe/pump from falling. A neighbor told us the pump was replaced a couple years ago when a freeze burst a pipe and burned it out(was unoccupied). Can someone give me an idea/instruction on what I'm looking at getting myself into? I really don't want to be "that guy" who caused the pump to fall. As a note we haven't noticed any problems with our well system.
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Author:
m & m (MD)
You're right, the pump is hanging on the 1" PVC female adapter (as well as any compression provided by the well seal rubber). You're also right that the system needs a tank manifold tee to clean out the galvanized fittings and replace with PVC and now would be the time to do so. The galvanized nipple should unscrew easily from the PVC adapter and continue on with a male PVC adaptor.
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Author:
James147 (CA)
Thanks for giving me some direction on this. We have slightly acidic water at a PH of about 6.5, would you put a brass or stainless(304 is all that I've been able to find) tank tee? I'll probably remove all the galvanized and get the new tee in place, then have a well driller lift the pipe and fix the leak. Does this sound right?
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Author:
m & m (MD)
I'd use SS. I think the lead free brass on well systems appears to be inferior to the leaded. Just use teflon tape designed for SS materials. Is the leak just under the seal where you can hear it spraying? Otherwise, I would think the leak is at the union and dripping down onto the seal.
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Author:
James147 (CA)
I filled the pressure tank full to 50 PSI and let it sit for a few hours, there was no pressure drop. I felt around the top of the PVC coupler that sits on the seal and all around the galvanized union, no wetness. I got down and put my ear up to the well seal and heard nothing that sound like running or spraying water. Would the leak then most likely be the pvc coupler that's holding everything from falling and the pipe that goes into it? And would it be more probable that the PVC coupler is built in to the well pipe underneath or just screwed onto it? Again, I really appreciate all this, i'm okay with everything except for the area with the coupler supporting the pump.
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Author:
m & m (MD)
You won't lose pressure back to the well because there is a check valve in the pump discharge pipe (with pressure switch screwed into it). You would have to listen for leakage in the well when the pump is running.
The PVC fitting on the well seal is either a thread X thread coupling or a thread X socket adapter- can't tell by photo. Why not dry all fittings off from well seal forward and run pump again while looking for leaks?
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Author:
James147 (CA)
I went ahead and dried off the entire top of the well seal and waited to see if any more water continued to seep out under the white PVC Coupler and it began to, very very slowly within a minute(it's been 15 minutes now and still barely any water) . I then completely dried it again and after draining a little bit of water I activated the pump and listened/locked for water or any observation of an increase in the water seepage, nothing heard or seen. A couple things to note with pictures, first I found a little bit of water in the hole where the wire goes into the seal and if you look at the way the seal is on, it's at a total angle(one of the nuts was completely loose on the seal). Do you think if I remove all the piping the seal will naturally sit back flush without causing any major problems? Please let me know your thoughts and I'm more than willing to test anything else.
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Author:
m & m (MD)
You'll need to use a hammer to set the well seal flush and I wouldn't recommend that now. It's been like that since it was last worked on. As for the leak, if it is on the bottom of the white fitting, it will require removing the well pipe at least partially to repair it.
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Author:
James147 (CA)
I'll order the stainless tee and get going on it. Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions.
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Author:
ravi102769 (VA)
I would still pull the pump and reinstall with a pull rope and solid fittings. The water you are seeing could be caused by condensation.
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Author:
James147 (CA)
Thanks, I never considered condensation. In our area the wells are approx 60'(I still need to measure the depth of ours), I could probably pull it up with a friend.....probably will pay our local driller to do it though. Can you please explain the solid fitting and pull rope. Thanks
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