Well problems

[jparrucci]

I have a house that has a well instead of city water for the first time. I moved in in March and haven't had any problems until recently (well except for the hard and smelly water). Where the well emerges from the ground, there is a slow steady stream of water coming down. Inside the house there is no problems, it maintains pressure and the pump there does not turn on. I assume there is another submerged pump as well? I can't hear it, but I have instant and constant pressure. As somebody who knows nothing about wells and little about plumbing, I assume this is not normal to have water constantly flowing from the top of the well. Anyone know what the root cause or problem would usually be, and what the fix is gonna run me?

[Jack Peterson]

Totally normal (at least ours and a few others I know does). Have any place for it to run off?

[highlife4me]

Some say it is normal but that does not mean it is right. A friend of mine had the same problem for years and finally he had a geyser at the well. Turns out his well pipe was cracked and had to replace the well pipe. This may not be the cause of your problem but it is certainly something you should monitor.

[jparrucci]

Upon futher inspection both outside and inside, I can say now that it is a submersible well. It does have some area to run off, but I would imagine there is going to be one heck of a lot of ice at some point. I am concerned considering the cold weather being forecast for the next few days that this could lead to the pipe or other components cracking. I am guessing this isnt something a typical plumber would work on, but having to call a well drilling company for?

[Surface Tension]

I'm not sure I'm following you completely.

Outdoors, you have water coming out the cap on top of your well casing?

I would think your pitless adapter sprung a leak or its not seated.

A well guy would be who you'd call for that.

[Jack Peterson]

Seems like some wells just naturally have so much water that they run out all year round. Especially at the lake cabin.

[Surface Tension]

The waterline to the house is below the frost line. From there its into the well casing.

The connection from your horizontal line to the drop line down the well is called the pitless adapter.

From that you can drain the vertical line or maintain the pump.

Turn the power off at the panel. Remove the well cap be careful about the wiring. There might be a cable on an S hook or something used to pull the pitless adapter out with. Don't let that fall down the well.

Get yourself a flashlight or better yet a mirror on a sunny day and look down the well casing.

Have an assistant turn the power back on. You'll see where the water is coming from.

Could be as simple as an O-ring at the pitless adapter. Or it could be a rotted pipe.

The fix is to pull the drop line out, yes the pump is at the end of the pipe.

You'll either have the cable or you use a pull pipe. Look in the garage or basement for a 6' section of 3/4-1" pipe with a T on the end. That pipe gets threaded to the top of the pitless adapter.

I recommend call your well guy.

If water is running from a well its because the pump is pumping the water out.

Artesian wells are a different matter and not the case here.

[DrKen]

I agree with Frank. it is never normal for a submersible well to run out the top(excluding artesians). this means your pump is constantly running and will have a shorter life. It can be a problem at the pitless adaptor, broken pipe underground or similar. Best option is to call your well guy.

[Tom7227]

It's going to cost whatever it costs and it isn't going to get cheaper if you wait until there's a mound of ice 2 feet tall and it's 20 below. Something is leaking and it needs to be repaired. Call the well guy. If there's more than one in the area you could call and see if they'll give you a price, but most likely they can't cause they don't know what they'll need to do.

While you're at it you may want to find out how deep your well is, where the water level is, and how far down the pump is. Write this info down on a wall or something with a dry marker so you know it for future reference.

[jparrucci]

I called 3 local well companies today. 2 of the 3 seemed to be, well I will just say less than informative or even able to comprehend what I was asking. The 3rd company said it was a fairly common for this to be occuring, especially in my area. He said something about pressue pushing excess water out of the top of the well, and that they could extend the top of the well which would help slow the problem for a couple of hundred bucks, but said it probably isnt worth my time and money to do that, and in his opinion it would be best to just leave it alone. He was well aware of where my house was at and sounded it like the excess pressure pushing up extra water was common in my neighborhood.

[BobT]

So basically you've got a flowing well spilling onto the lawn? That's going to be a mess this winter I bet.

[Surface Tension]

The well guy probably wasn't concerned because there should be a check valve in the house before the pressure tank. With the water off in the house is the pump turning on?

If you stand by your pressure tank the pressure switch will be close by. You'll here that click when it is shutting the pump off and on.

[jparrucci]

Here are a few pictures of the pressure tank. I do not see what appears to be any type of valve just before the tank, although I do hear the clicking, it sound like it is coming from the tank itself though.

[Redlantern]

If you're in the Forest Lake area, I'd give Andy Zuercher a call. He's on 61 between North Branch and Stacy. I've used him before and recommended him to friends. Good service at a good price. He's in the phone book.

[3pronghook]

Shut the breaker off to the pump. if it stops flowing you have a leak. if it doesnt it is an artesian well and it will continue to flow. my guess neighbors may have similar and you could check with one nearby. wintertime it will most likely freeze in wellhead and not flow. then it will warm up and flow again. by the looks of pressure tank everything is 20 plus years old. check with former owners? if it is a leak you need to fix it. it will increase power bill, wear out pump and certainely isnt going to go away.

by the way the clicking you hear is tghe pressure switch engaging and disengaging, if this happens and your not running water = leak.

[FISHINGFARMER]

The pressure switch is in the gray box cover that is sguare or rectangler.

The best way to see if you are having back pressure is like what is mentioned before. Shut power off to the entire system and see if you still have water flow from the well head. If not, you have problems in the well casing.

Even with a artisian well you can stop the flow of water from the casing head. I can,t recall what the device is, but we have put some on wells in pastures to keep water tanks from flooding the surrounding ground.

Farmer

[jparrucci]

Talked to a couple of more well guys, all are saying this is normal for my area, that there is fast moving water below me and it sometimes raises and pushes excess water out the top. I have noticed that it isn't always running, so hopefully I won't have a skating rink all winter. Thanks for the help guys.

[Nutty Fisherman]

If it runs all winter make a frame so you can make a skating rink. Sorry couldn't help that.

By the picture the check valve is in the well just above the pump.

[nobody05]

They do make a well seal that goes on the top of the pitless unit instead of the regular cap to stop the arteasian effect but with nowhere to go it is possible to freeze and bust the casing above ground!