The first thing to check is the main breaker in the breaker box.
IF you're smart, you also have a fuse/breaker box at the pump as well.
Last time I had that happen, I had to patch the electrical line to the pump. I have an underground line run thru conduit from the breaker box to the pump, and it was mowed over and cut several years ago.
I recently had to replace the starting capacitor in my pump motor. The motor was replaced about 10 years ago, when a mouse chewed thru the insulation in the windings. Of course, this happened when the only place in town that would have one was closed, SO I found the older motor, which ran for 15 years before the mouse, and removed the capacitor from it. Pump works, and I have purchased a spare capacitor for it. I also have a spare set of contacts for the pressure switch, just in case.
This pump is over 25 years old, still works fine. As long as you don't let them freeze, and don't pump water with a high amount of sand or grit, they are basically trouble free. I also check the pressure in the captive air pressure tank about once a year.
The worst thing we ever did was sign up for the water district when they came thru!
I didn't have much choice at the time as my deep well was only puttin' out about 3 gallons a minute due to a prolonged drought. For the money I have given to those people I could have had my deep well drilled deeper and not had to rely on those crooks!
It was real reasonable to start with, cause there weren't that many people on it. The higher the demand, the more they started charging. I now have a rate according to me being classified a Ranch, go figure! Horses and cows drink a heckuva lotta water!
I have a pond, but am not able to give access to all the livestock at once. Sometimes "they all just don't get along"!
Used to be just a monthly fee, but they put a meter in and now I'm ****ed!
Back to the original topic, it has been my experience, like you said, it's either somethin' as simple as the breaker, although, the breaker tripping is usually the first indication of something else more serious, or the starting capacitor.
Sounds like a shallow well from her description. I have an underground tank the deep well used to pump into, then a jet pump that pressurized the system. The capacitor is the weak link. If not that, then it was usually nothing more than oxidation on the points of the pressure switch, or the pressure switch malfunctioning itself.
Pretty simple! But, we
are talkin' DUmmies here! So..........
