I had a welling company come to my house and check to see if well was broken.

The ran a couple of tests and determined it was all working correctly.

So I have a broken water line running uphill to my house.

The PSI from the pump is 30.

I'm about 300 feet uphill to the house.

There's no sign of water from the dirt road that we could find.

They want to rip up the road to find the break.

One guy said that there is a math problem to determine the distance as long as we know the PSI.

Any help I would love to have if possible.

Also they don't have a leak detection tool. One guy wanted $3200 just to come out.

the way i see your problem is...
what material is the 300 foot long underground pipe?
if there is one leak could there be more in the near future?

you need to sit down with a contractor you trust and discuss possibilities.
one possibility being complete replacement.

Water line is 2 feet deep.

This is what I don't want to do.

I only visit the house 12 tomes a year.

Hardly anyone drives on it.

30 psi will only 'lift' water a MAXIMUM of 69.3 feet

so, if your house faucet is exactly 69.3 feet higher than the pump you will have ZERO pressure


1 psi = 2.31 feet of water 'head'

1 foot water = .434 psi



these numbers are for static conditions - friction losses through long pipe runs will further reduce flow (if any)

==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

So if I walk up 23 yards I should have a idea of the break point.

Thanks

if the house is 65-70 feet HIGHER than the pump there will be NO pressure at the house even with an intact pipe

not FURTHER as the crow flies but HIGHER



if the house is significantly HIGHER than the pump your system will not work


you will need a higher pressure pump


? did you have adequate pressure BEFORE with 30 psi at the pump ?

==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



Edited 1 times.

NO! If you "climb" that high, you will find how far the pump will "push" the water, but it will have absolutely NOTHING to do with a broken pipe>

As I once told a construction company trying "suck" water while erecting a high rise, "You can PUMP the water to the moon, but you can only "suck" it 30 feet."

yes we had pressure to the house before the pump.

Reading 30 psi from the well as of last week.

SO well is working.

Do you measure 69 feet high then go horizontal and that should be the area of the leak or close to it?\


Thanks

there is no magical formula for locating an underground leak.
you either dig or use a leak detection company.
you might.. disconnect the piping at the house, hook an air compressor onto the pipe coming from the well and hit it with 100 PSI of air. you might get lucky and the increase in pressure will show up at the leak point.

I called a Leak company and they wanted $3200 just to come out. 3 hours away.

I just don't want to rip out my driveway SO I'm kinda stuck.

I second Packy's suggestion.

Leak detection companies in my neck of the woods will often inject compressed air into the line to help find the leak.

Need to isolate line first.

What is the actual elevation of the house ?

What is the actual elevation of the pump ?



(elevation of house - elevation of pump) X .434 = psi at pump required to push the water uphill to the house WITHOUT ANY ACTUAL FLOW


until this question is answered you do not even KNOW that you HAVE a broken pipe


as an example of the concept of elevation: [media.cheggcdn.com]

==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

I will get the info in March 11th

Thanks