2 Well Pump Issues Good Maintenance Service Can Help Keep In Check

Many of today's homeowners are looking for ways to make sure they have a reliable supply of water on their property. A popular way to achieve this is by drilling private wells to back up their municipal water supply. Well pumps are required to move the water from the depths of the well to storage tanks. But if neglected, these pumps can experience problems that may prove too costly to repair. Here are two big issues you can prevent by giving your well pump the right maintenance attention.

Leaks

One of the commonest reasons why well pumps fail to run efficiently is the presence of leaks in the system. Leaks typically occur at joints due to bad connections. Leaks will affect the performance of your well pump in two ways. First, they will allow water to drip when your pump is priming, meaning that not all water pumped from the well will be moved to your water collection points. Second, leaks allow air into the system, undermining your pump's efforts to fully fill up the water lines. This is because the space that should have been filled with water ends up being occupied by air. This can cause your pump to run dry.

While some leaks may be visible and can be fixed with little skill, others may require the experience of a professional contractor to identify and fix. Therefore, be sure to seek the help of a pump repair whenever you suspect that there are leaks in your pump.

Incrustation of minerals

Another big problem associated with well pumps is mineral incrustation. Mineral incrustation is most common in wells with shallow water tables where there's plenty of dissolved minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese, and magnesium. As water is being pumped from the well, pressure and temperature variations take place. This sets the perfect environment for minerals to precipitate, leading to a buildup of scale on the well casing, perforated liners and the pump screens. When this happens, you will experience a reduction in well yield.

Adopting management practices that reduce the concentration of minerals in your water can go a long way in combatting the effects of mineral incrustation. You can dissolve incrusting minerals using strong acid solutions and pump the minerals out from the well together with the acid solutions. Also, practice pumping water from the well at a reduced rate with extended pumping intervals. This will help in preventing mineral incrustation of your pump screens and perforated liners.

Just like any other mechanical equipment, water pumps too can break down. But the frequency of failure can be minimised through proper maintenance of the equipment. Look for a professional to help keep your well pump working efficiently for as long as possible.


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