We have a old house, built back in the 50's. It has a shallow well. We have no water pressure. We can not do any two things at once. And filling the washing machine takes forever. We were talking about replacing tank, and then maybe having the well punched a little deeper. Any suggestions to try before we redrill.

How many pipes go into the well, one or two?

I don't think a new tank will do any good. You have a volume problem, in that your pump does not seem able to supply a good flow of water. So the question is, why is that? Do you know how old the pump is?

This definitely sounds like a pumping problem. The impeller in the pump could be very worn and too much water is leaking past it and the pressure switch could be bad... age of the pump has a lot to do with this,,

The pump itself is probably 8 or 9 years old. The well was not used for several years, no one lived in the house for probalby 5 plus years until we moved in. We primed the pump and it works just has no pressure.

The seal on the impeller is probably dried out. It is possible to take it apart to see if the seal can be replaced or disconnect the pump completely and take it to a motor/pump repair company. Most plumbing supply places can do this for you. A new pump would probably solve your problem.

Kelly, you are saying there is no pressure. What you probably mean is that there is insufficient volume. Let's do a simple check.

1. When no water is being used and the pump is off, what does the pressure gauge read?
2. Find the nearest faucet to the pressure tank. Run water into a 5 gallon bucket. See how many gallons you get in one minute. Do this three or four times in a row. You should be able to get at least four or five gallons a minute steadily. Can you?
3. Again, how many pipes go into the well from the pump, one or two?
4. Do you have a filter or water softener that is on the water line?