If you have no water at all
- Is the breaker for the pump on, and has it tripped? A tripped breaker that resets and trips again is telling you something and should not be reset a third time.
- Is the pressure gauge reading zero, or reading normal? Zero points at the pump or the well; normal pressure with no flow points at the plumbing.
- Can you hear the pump running? A pump that runs but delivers nothing is a very different fault from one that never starts.
If the pump runs constantly or clicks on and off
- Tap the pressure tank low down and high up. If it sounds full of water all the way up, the tank has waterlogged — that is the single most common cause, and it destroys pumps if left.
- Note the cut-in and cut-out pressures on the gauge. Common settings are 30/50 or 40/60 psi.
- Check for a running toilet or an open irrigation valve before assuming the worst. A leak downstream looks exactly like a pump fault.
If the water changed rather than stopped
- Sand or grit: note whether it appeared suddenly or built up. Sudden usually means something failed down the well.
- Rotten-egg smell: note whether it is on hot water only, which points at the heater rather than the well.
- Orange or brown staining: that is usually iron, and it is a treatment question rather than a well fault.
- Cloudy after heavy rain is worth taking seriously — it can indicate surface water reaching the well.
Have these ready before you call
- Roughly how deep the well is, and how old, if you know.
- Whether it is a submersible pump, a jet pump or a windmill.
- When it was last serviced, and what was done.
- Whether the property has a well log — it is the most useful document you own and most people have never looked for it.
If you can answer even half of these on the phone, we can usually tell you what it is before we arrive, and bring the right parts the first time.
Ask us about your specific case