A well problem, please help!?
Answers:
first, is it a submerged pump ? you cant lose prime if it is. rust holes? it would have to be pretty old. a lot of newer ones use pvc. foot valve,, just buy a new one, should be a "union"that would allow you to take the plumbing apart to service it if you have galvinized pipe. if its pvc im sure you know what to do. a leak anywhere "behind" the foot valve would cause it. i dont know what you mean by "a foot of water on top of the well" but if you mean above ground the the leak has to be above that. spray some soapy water on the pipe joints, if the suds get sucked in theres your leak. one more thing, run the pump, get the system full of water, {up to the valve at least} take the pipe off directly ahead of the foot valve, place your palm against the open end of the valve, if you get any suction, its the valve.
Other answers:
call a plumber.
call a plumber.
If you are planning on tackling this problem yourself. I would suggest doing some research on the web. I've learned that you can find good information on any subject if you are willing to hunt.
Good Luck
when i have well and septic problems i check with the guys at our local plumbing supply house, they are very helpful.
you may find this site and the link on it much more informative though. good luck. we are... we are almost 300 ft deep so we have jet pump. but this guy describes an inertia pump with photos of foot valve assembly. it take a little adjustment to get the floow right but he explains it all, looks not too hard. good luck Ps you can email him directly with questions you may have.
A Foot valve is only used on jet type pumps. It is a check valve that holds the water in the two pipes going down in the well. A jet pup has the motor above the ground, usually in the well house. A submersible pump only has 1 pipe going down in the well, and doesn't use a foot valve. The motor is at the bottom of the pipe in the well. You have to pull the two pipes all the way out of the well and change the foot valve. It is usually a inexpensive part, but can take a while to get the pipes up and out. You can check the foot valve by gaining access to the top of the jet pump(usually a gauge) and filling it with water until the water stands at the hole where the guage was. It shouldn't go down at all. If it does, the foot valve is bad. Have fun with this one.