Well Pump and Pressure Tank Maintenance Checklist

Nobody inspects a private well for you. The EPA does not regulate private wells, and the owner is responsible for the water and the equipment.^[2]

Every month: the five-minute cycle check

This single check catches a failing tank, a drifting switch and a weakening pump months before any of them leaves you without water.

1. Stand at the pressure tank and open a nearby faucet. Watch the gauge fall.
2. Note the pressure when the pump starts. That's your cut-in.
3. Close the faucet and time the pump until it stops. Note the pressure where it stops — your cut-out.
4. Write down all three numbers with the date.

For scale: Franklin Electric's submersible motor manual calls for a pump to run at least one minute per start.^[3] If yours runs for a few seconds, don't wait for next month.

Every spring: the walk-around

The CDC's advice is to check your well every spring to make sure there are no mechanical problems.^[1] Everything on this list is done with your eyes, with all covers left on.

• The wellheadThe EPA says to periodically inspect the exposed parts of the well for a cracked, corroded or damaged casing, a broken or missing well cap, and settling or cracking of the surface seal — and to slope the area around the well so surface runoff drains away from it.^[4]
• What's stored and used nearbyThe EPA advises against mixing or using pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, degreasers, fuels and other pollutants near the well.^[4]
• The pressure tankRust streaks, weeping seams, water on the floor, or moisture at the air valve on top. Amtrol warns that a corroded or damaged tank can burst if its air charge is adjusted.^[5]
• Pipe fittings near the tankDrips, green or white crust. Square D's maintenance bulletin lists fittings that are secure and free of white residue (lime deposits) as a routine check.^[6]
• The pressure switch — from outsideWater or corrosion under it, a cracked cover, signs of insects. Square D's bulletin has service personnel check for insects and nests inside the switch, and lists insects between the contacts as a cause of severely burned contacts.^[6]
• The control box, if you have oneDry, upright, out of direct sun, not hot to the touch. Franklin says control boxes should never be mounted in direct sunlight or high-temperature locations.^[3]
• The relief valvePresent on the tank tee, with nothing capping or plugging its outlet. Amtrol requires a relief valve on its tanks.^[5]
• Freeze protectionInsulation and heat in the well house or pit are intact before next winter.

Every year: water testing and the tank's air charge

Test the water

Both the CDC and the EPA recommend testing at least once a year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH.^[1][4] The EPA says to use only laboratories certified for drinking water testing, suggests testing more often if small children, elderly adults or someone pregnant or nursing lives in the house, and notes that your local health department can tell you which substances are common in your area's groundwater — and may test private wells for free.^[4]

Check the tank precharge

The air charge in a diaphragm or bladder tank should sit 2 psi below the switch's cut-in pressure, measured with the pump off and the tank drained.^[5] The Water Systems Council describes the procedure: shut off power to the pump, open a faucet near the tank and drain it completely, then read the air valve with a gauge.^[7] Full walkthrough: pressure tank precharge.

Keep the record

The EPA recommends keeping accurate records of well maintenance.^[4] Add your water test results, your monthly numbers, the pump's make, horsepower and depth, and every invoice. That folder is the first thing a new contractor will ask for.

After a flood, a storm or a repair

• Flooding. The EPA's flood steps: stay away from the well pump while it is flooded to avoid electric shock, don't drink or wash with water from the flooded well, and have a well or pump contractor clean and disinfect the well before the pump is turned back on.^[4] Then test the water.^[1]
• Any repair. The CDC and EPA both recommend testing after any part of the well system is repaired or replaced.^[1][4]
• A change in the water. A new taste, smell or color is a reason to test without waiting for the yearly date.^[1]
• Lightning or a power surge. Run the monthly cycle check that week. If the breaker has tripped, reset it once only — see breaker keeps tripping.
• A long outage. If you ran the pump on a generator, read the operating rules first.

What a professional service visit should cover

How often? Amtrol's tank manual says a licensed professional should check the complete system, including the tank, yearly — and more frequently as the system ages.^[5] Whatever interval you settle on, book a visit when your monthly numbers change, when something on the spring list looks wrong, or when you have just bought a house with a well. For any new well construction, modification or closure, the EPA's advice is to hire a certified well driller.^[4] HomeGuide puts a professional well inspection at $250 to $550.^[8]

Maintenance not to do

• Don't take the cover off the pressure switch or control box with the breaker on.
• Don't file or sand switch contacts.
• Don't add air to a corroded tank.
• Don't cap or plug a dripping relief valve — find out why it opened.
• Don't remove the well cap or pour anything into the well. Disinfecting a well is a procedure with its own rules.