Most Suffolk homes on wells draw from deep aquifers: in a Virginia Cooperative Extension clinic of 204 Suffolk households, the average reported well depth was 371 feet. So when a pump fails here, the job usually involves a submersible hanging a long way down. This illustrative walkthrough from Wellborne shows how such a job typically runs.
The call
The homeowner reports no water at any tap. The pressure gauge on the tank reads zero, the breaker is on, and there was a thunderstorm the night before. They know the well is “deep” but not exactly how deep, and they have an old invoice from a previous pump service.
Those details already narrow it: a storm points toward a surge, which often damages control parts before it damages a motor.
Surface tests
At the house, the tests run in order:
- Voltage at the pressure switch and control box: present on both legs.
- Pressure switch: contacts look sound and close when called.
- Control box: on this three-wire pump, the start capacitor tests good.
- Amp draw: when called to run, the motor draws high current briefly and trips its overload.
- Insulation test on the motor leads from the surface: low, pointing to a fault down the well.
The readings point to the motor or the cable. The homeowner is shown the readings and agrees to pull the pump.
The pull
The pump, drop pipe and cable come up through the pitless adapter. On a well this deep, that is hundreds of feet of water-filled pipe, lifted with a pump hoist. As each section comes up, couplings and the cable are inspected. The splice just above the pump is checked first, because a failed splice is a common, cheaper fix. In this illustration, the splice is sound but the motor’s windings test shorted. The motor has failed.
Deciding what goes back
The pump end shows wear from years of service, so replacing the whole pump on this pull makes more sense than paying to pull it again later. With the pump out, the static water level and the pump setting are measured, along with the old pump’s size from its nameplate.
The replacement is sized from those numbers: the depth to water, the pressure switch range and the household’s peak demand. The cable is checked for size against the depth. Two corroded couplings and an old check valve are replaced while the pipe is out. The pressure tank holds its air charge and is the right size, so it stays.
Back down and back on
The new pump, motor, splice, check valves and pipe go back down. Power is restored, and the system is run through full cycles: the pump starts at cut-in, reaches cut-out and shuts off, and the amp draw matches the motor’s rating.
Disinfection and testing
Because the well was opened, it is disinfected before the water is used, as Virginia’s private well rules require: chlorine at the strength and contact time the regulation sets, then flushed through the house plumbing. The homeowner is told to take a bacteria sample from a cold tap once the chlorine smell is gone, and, for a deep Suffolk well, to consider adding fluoride and sodium to that test.
The paperwork
The pump’s make, size and setting, the water level and the amp readings are written down for the homeowner. Next time the well needs work, the visit starts with facts.
No Virginia Department of Health well permit is needed to replace a pump. The work is carried out by water well systems providers certified through DPOR. For a pump that has stopped, call (757) 919-1972.