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During a power outage, you may have drained all the water from the plumbing line causing the pump to lose its prime thus it’s critical to prime your well pump after a power outage.
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Why Is My Well Pump Not Working After A Power Outage?
When you experience frequent power outages, you won’t have heat or running water when the power goes out.
Even if it is restored, you may still have trouble getting your water supply back up and running. Here are ideas to assist you in troubleshooting your well pump after a power outage:
Examine The Circuit Breaker
A tripped circuit breaker could be the source of the problem. Locate the circuit panel in your home.
When you open the panel door, the circuit breakers should be visible. The function controlled by each circuit breaker should be indicated.
Look for the one labeled “well pump”. The breaker has tripped if it is pointing in the opposite direction as the other breakers.
Simply flip the breaker to face the same direction as the others. If that was the issue, you should now be able to hear your well pump working.
This should solve your problem. If you are not comfortable working on it, you can employ an electrician.
Examine The Pressure Switch
A pressure switch alerts your pump that the pressure is low and that it should begin pumping more water.
When you continue to use water during and after a power outage, the pressure switch may reset to an “off” setting because the pump cannot supply any more water.
Following a power outage, some pressure switches may need to be reset. This is usually a simple process; simply turn the lever to “auto” and hold it there until the pump turns on.
If you’ve never seen a pressure switch before, search for a little gray box attached to a line leading to your pressure tank.
Pressure switches do not all look the same and do not all have levers to reset them. You should also check the pressure gauge to see if it has risen as well.
What pressure you should see is determined by your well pump.
Examine Your Pump Protection System
If you have a low-yielding well, an additional control box may be placed to prevent your pump from emptying the well and becoming blocked with sediment.
If this is the case, your protection system may have turned off the pump during the outage.
It will usually turn back on without your assistance, but it may not happen right away. Examine your control box and pay close attention to the lights that are on.
If the red light is on, the system is resetting itself and you may need to wait a few moments.
Do I Need To Prime My Well Pump After A Power Outage?
A common result of a power loss is your pump losing its prime since it could have drained the plumbing lines, depressurizing them.
As a result, the performance of your well pump is hampered, and it may no longer draw water (or suffer very low pressure) since it is unable to pump as needed.
Even after the power is restored, your well pump may still be unable to function. Check both the circuit breaker and the pressure switch to get it back up and running. If these are working properly, priming your pump should solve the problem.
This system requires water to provide suction, as you’ll know from building your shallow well pump, but if you’ve been using water during a power outage, the pressure can drop to the point where air can enter the system.
An airlock might produce pressure oscillations and reduce your system’s siphon power.
Filling your pump with clean water to eliminate any airlocks or debris that are keeping the pump from running properly is a simple operation whether you have a convertible jet pump or a centrifugal one.
After a power loss, even self-priming pumps may require manual priming. The self-priming procedure cannot occur if the water level is too low, and your pump will require some TLC to get back up to speed.
After a power loss, priming a pump is a simple operation that can immediately restore your well pump’s usual functioning.
By switching off your water supply as soon as the electricity goes out, you can avoid the need for priming after a power loss. This helps you to keep the system’s water level higher while also preventing air from entering the pipes.
If all else fails, keep a good well hand pump on hand as a backup.
How Do You Prime A Well Pump After A Power Outage?
Priming A Jet Well Pump
For a jet well pump, you’ll follow the following procedure:
1. Before beginning the priming process, turn off the electricity to your well pump. When the pressure is restored, this will prevent the pump from automatically activating.
2. Open one faucet in your house to relieve any residual water pressure from the system, then close it again.
3. Most jet pumps have a common design, with the priming plug located on top of the pump mechanism. Depending on the manufacturer, the priming plug is typically a hexagonal or square metal threaded plug that is unscrewed with a combination or adjustable wrench.
4. After removing the plug, fill the priming port with water. Most jet pumps require about two gallons of water.
5. Fill the priming port until it begins to overflow, then replace and tighten the priming cap.
6. Reconnect the power to your pump, keeping a watch on the water pressure gauge, which should begin to rise steadily. The pump’s sounds should also change from the raspy gasp of a dry mechanism to the muffled sound of a water-filled system.
7. Repeat the priming process if the pressure does not rise or the pump continues to make that raspy noise.
8. Open a faucet and let the water flow for a few minutes once normal water pressure has been restored. This procedure will purge the system of any pollutants that may have entered during the priming process.
Priming One Or Two Line Well Pumps
1. Run water from the donor building through the garden hose to clean it out.
2. Connect the garden hose’s ‘free’ end to a faucet near the damaged well pump.
3. Next, open the water shutoff valve in your building briefly to let the air out of the water faucet.
4. Then you run water through it. The water is then turned off. The aim is to raise the pump pressure to 40 psi.
5. Disconnect all water tap connections on both hose ends.
6. Now that you’re ready to test for priming, turn on the pump motor.
7. If it comes on, pumps water, and then shuts down, the flow of water has been restored, and priming has been completed successfully.
The Most Effective Method For Priming A Centrifugal Well Pump
Although certain centrifugal pumps are self-priming, if air enters the system, the self-priming process will fail, requiring you to manually prime the pump. To accomplish this, take these steps:
1. Fill the priming port on top of the pump with water.
2. Open the suction isolation valve and the air vents on both the suction and discharge pipes gradually.
3. Wait for the pumped water to flow out of the vents before closing both the air vents and the suction isolation valve.
How Long Does It Take For A Well Pump To Reset?
Aboveground water pumps that carry well water into a building have a cut-off valve that disconnects power anytime the pressure drops to the point where there is insufficient water inside the pump.
This prevents overheating of the pump as a result of a dry run. An electric water pump’s cut-off switch is situated near the pump so that homeowners may easily reset it.
A power loss may cause your well pump to cease working. Sometimes resetting a breaker or replacing a fuse damaged by a power surge or brownout will cure the problem.
If the well pump’s circuit breaker has tripped, the well pump itself may be failing. Then, turn on and off the circuit breaker.
Generally, resetting a well pump is a simple process that won’t take much time. Approximately 30 minutes to an hour is enough to complete the whole procedure. You just have to follow the steps carefully to successfully reset the well pump.