Well Jet Pump Check Valve

Steps to prime a shallow well pump.

Well jet pump check valve.

Inspect the pump and connectors for damage or cracking. Atop some pump assemblies you ll see a removable pipe plug which permits water to be poured into the pump to prime it. Use 24 inches to be safe. Use a straight section of pipe at the pump s suction port between the pump and the first elbow tee or check valve that is a minimum of ten times the pipe s diameter.

Check the pressure tank s air valve unscrew the plastic cover from the air valve on the top of the tank. Having an elbow tee check valve or other disruption too close to the inlet of the pump can cause cavitation inside the pump. Turn the pump off and disconnect it from electrical outlets. Leaks in piping or valves.

Some installers but not all also install an indoor check valve near the pressure tank. Because shallow well jet pumps use water to draw water they generally need to be primed filled with water before they ll work. To keep water in the pump and plumbing system from flowing back down. Buy a check valve.

What they are how they work and why they must. The check valve helps assure that the jet pump can suck water out of a shallow well most water pumps cannot move water if the inside of the pump assembly itself is air bound. If you keep losing prime at the water pump where a two line jet pump is installed it s probable that a check valve at the pump or more likely at the foot valve in the bottom of the well needs to be replaced. A leaky foot valve or check valve allows water to drain slowly down the well piping and flow back into the well.

As long as a check valve or foot valve is installed on the suction pipe and you never lose suction you should not need to re prime the pump again. For those that don t pump installers usually install a check valve in the well immediately above the submersible pump. When water pulses at the spigot it usually means you have a waterlogged tank. Use a small screwdriver to depress the air valve to see if water comes out.

At some point this will reduce the pressure in the pressure switch causing the pump to cycle back on to increase the pressure. See well piping foot valves for details about this component.