WE have recently been losing water pressure so I went to the well house to check it out and we only showing 20 lbs or less on gauge. When I shut breaker off to pump the pressure immediately dropped to zero. I put a new check valve in my line where it come out of the ground. It stoppped the water from going back down the line but my pump won't shut off because it won't build up enough pressure to fill the bladder tank and kick off the pressure switch. There is also a lot of spitting and sputtering whenwe turn the faucet on. Is my pump junk or is my well running dry? The line leading down to the pump is approx. 175 feet deep and when I pulled the pump awhile back it was wet up to about 30 ft on the line.

How old is the pump? Sounds more like a bad pump to me. Also, is the wellpipe galvanized or PVC?

It's nice to have a CV at the wellhead, but there should be one right at the pump which is really the only one you need. If that one is bad, and from your description it plainly is, and you have any kind of leak in the wellpipe, then you could be drawing in air each time the pump kicks off.

Well could be low on water, but from what you describe, that would not seem to be the case.

The pump is only about 5 yrs old. When I turn the power on to the pump it won't kick the points in the pressure switch to shut off because it won't build up to the 30 pound shut off pressure.Around 20 pounds is as high is it will go. I even shut off the main valve on the inlet line that leads to my house to make sure I didn't have a leak somewhere. The line in the well casing is the black plastic line that is used in underground applications(PVC). I put a new pressure switch and CV in yesterday with no results.I am wondering if a crack or hole in the line somewhere between the pump and the switch could be the problem. I plan to pull the pump tomorrow but I don't want to replace the pump if I don't need to because it will cost about 500 bucks to replace it and once I install it there is no returning it if it doesn't fix my problem. At the present, I am just using my breaker to get water in the house.I turn it on to get water, and turn it back off as soon as I am done. I am trying to keep from burning up the pump, Not to mention save electricity.I am dreading to see how much my next electric bill is going to be because we were living with this pressure loss for a couple weeks before I had time to investigate and discover the pump wasn't kicking off!

Should be a CV right above the pump. I'd replace that. Check that well pipe carefully. I'm going to guess you are going to find a problem with the pipe.

Thank you for your response. I figured out what was wrong with it by pulling the pump. I left it hooked up to the water line and put it in a barrel of water and turned it on so I could check the line for leaks. There were no leaks in the line so I determined that the problem was with the pump. I tore into the pump and when I disassembled the impeller part of the assembly I discovered that it was completely wore out. It was still functioning but it wouldn't pump enough water to push the pressure up to what I needed. It just so happens that I had another pump that a guy from my church had given me a few years ago but the motor was too small for my well. I done some measuring and luckily everything matched up for me to put my bigger motor on the pump assembly from the smaller one. I got it all put back together and did another barrel test and within 10 seconds I had 50 pounds of pressure! I dropped it back down the well and powered it up and so far, we have had better pressure than we've had for a long time! I got it fixed and it only cost me about 50 bucks for a new CV and a few fittings! God definitely watches out for His kids. I posted this response in hope that somebody else might be able to learn that thing are sometimes easier and less expensive than we think they will be. God Bless

I had the same problem and you were correct... my pipe was clogged up with debree and small rock from my well. Thank you. You saved me $250. Plus
A very grateful new fan of folks that make a difference. If you are a father, Happy Father's Day and if your dad is living, thank him for teaching you the caring act of helping others. Again Thank you. Ckwizdom

I have a filter between my pump and my house that I installed a faucet on to be able to flush out the filter out without having to remove it (the filter). I also installed a fitting in between the pump and the filter that has a lever on it to cut the water on and off allowing me to remove the filter if need be to dump out debree and small rock trapped in the filter, (pvc like you use say in a small pond) so you won't flood you well shed. Once I took the filter off, I opened the faucet and then I opened the fitting and blew out the debree and small rock that was trapped in the pipe between the pump and filter. Worked like a champ. Thank you

Glad it worked out for you.

Sounds like the problems Im having. Now to find out "how" to do this. Im a handyman so... off I go. Thanks for posting---Bless God