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OT: Sears Hydro-glass well pump repair/replace?

Hello all,

My lawn will thank me if I can get an irrigation pump working. I _think_ it is set up to pump water from a small creek at the back of my lot; at least the pvc pipes head in the general direction of it, and more pvc goes in the water :)

So far, I have confirmed there is electricity reaching it (120V), and the breaker marked for it cuts off same. The water line to the pressure switch is shot. That I could probably fix, but the entrails on the back of the motor (start capacitor, overheat cutoff perhaps??) do not look so good. Unless anyone disagrees, I figure the thing goes in the landfill.

There is a separate captive air tank. It might not hurt to check that it is in tact; suggestions are most welcome.

Before dumping money into this, I need to find out where the water would go from the tank. My primary interest is to use it to water the front lawn. Hoses would work if it is not already plumbed to some of the outdoor faucets, which I think is likely.

Have any of you tackled a job like this? Is it reasonable for a determined amateur to do, or should I wait until after my wallet recharges from the upcoming tree removal :( to hire a pro? I do not depend on it for water, and it seems unlikely to be able to do any real damage (unless it is indeed plumbed to the house and there is a pipe problem up stream), so I am tempted to have at it.

Comments or recommendations?

Bill

Reply to
Bill Schwab
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Shouldn't be a big deal from a machiery standpoint. Getting all the parts to run relatively leak free might try your patience a bit :)

My take on the priorities:

1) Check out the pump motor and see if it runs. You may have to bypass the pressure switch by either rewiring or take the top off and push the contacts down with an INSULATED screwdriver. If the pump is bad, you can see about rework or new. Here is the top of the line $$$
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2) Open the valves up by the house, then see if you can get the pump to pull a prime from the stream and pump water up to the house. If there are ANY cracks or leaks on the suction hose, it won't pull a prime, expect to replace that line. See if there are any broken pipes going to the house. If you have freezing temps, you may have a broken pipe. If you can get it running, let it go for an hour or two, see what leaks.

3) The captive air tank is probably a small tank with a bladder inside. It's purpose is to buffer the pump so it doesn't start and stop to often. Either it works or it doesn't. For test puproses you can ignore it, if the bladder is bad, just replace.

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4) Get a new pressure switch (about $10) and plumb it in.

5) Get the system balanced. I fiddled with my system so that if I run two of the larger sprinkler heads at the same time, the pump will run continuously (no stain from start/stop cycles). This also means that the sprinklers get max pressure and give a much better coverage and rate.

Have run getting wet and muddy before it all works right!

cheers.

Bill Schwab wrote:

Reply to
RoyJ

If it's a jet pump (like the Sears Hydro-glass well pump I've got), it is NOT self-priming and absolutely MUST be primed before you use it or you'll melt and destroy the impeller very quickly. There should be a little plug on top of the pump that you can remove to prime the pump, or you can just temporarily remove the captive air tank and pour the water down that hole.

Tove

Reply to
Tove Momerathsson

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