Our shallow well jet pump continues to run and overheat when our well runs dry. I try solving the issue of the melting fittings by adding a dryer thermostat to the motor housing. The motor of this shallow well jet pump does not seem to have a working thermal switch for protection.

This blog post is based on the transcript of the video.

Issues with the Shallow Well Jet Pump

Hello everyone. Today I’m over in the corner of our property and I have an ongoing problem with my shallow well irrigation system that I really need to solve.

Shallow Well Pump Jet Pump Overheat Fix introduction

I’ve done a few videos on this pump system in the past and you may have seen them if you follow this channel. This system waters the garden and the flower beds around our house.

The Shallow Well Irrigation System

Briefly here is what we have: Off to the side, in the lowest point of the property, we have a shallow hand-dug well made of stacked concrete rings going down about 15 feet.

Animation of concrete stacked ring well showing section with water and black poly line

There’s a 1″ black poly line with a foot valve hanging in the well just about to the bottom. That line runs through the wall of the well and up a slope to the pump house. And it’s inside a larger pipe for protection.

15' deep shallow well made from stacked concrete rings — 15′ deep shallow well made from stacked concrete rings

Shallow well pump setup - drain valve outside doorway — Shallow well pump setup – drain valve outside doorway

In that line there’s a drain valve just outside the pump house. After that the pipe runs through the wall to the inlet of the 3/4 horsepower shallow well jet pump. When primed, the pump will draw water from the well and eject it out of this 1″ top outlet.

Shallow well pump setup - 1.25" pump inlet — Shallow well pump setup – 1.25″ pump inlet

Shallow well pump setup - 1" pump outlet — Shallow well pump setup – 1″ pump outlet

I have this plumbed with schedule 40 PVC pipe. It has a melting point or (should I say a maximum working temperature) of around 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

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And that bit of information will become more important as we go along.

Shallow well pump setup - 1" standard cross fitting — Shallow well pump setup – 1″ standard cross fitting

So, out of the top of the pump I have a 1″ standard cross fitting. On one side of the cross, water can flow into and fill a pressure tank. In the top of the cross fitting I have a half inch ball valve for priming the pump.

Shallow well pump setup - 1/2" ball valve for priming pump — Shallow well pump setup – 1/2″ ball valve for priming pump

Shallow well pump setup - spin down sediment filter — Shallow well pump setup – spin down sediment filter

Then the other side of the cross goes through a slip fitting to a one inch ball valve, a spin down coarse filter with drain, then another ball valve before it runs underground in a 1″ black poly pipe out to the gardens and house.

A simple low pressure irrigation time for our gardens

In line water filter for drip irrigation watering system

We have timers, filters, and pressure reducers in the gardens that feed drip irrigation lines. These timers turn the water on twice a day and run for 10 minutes at a time.

Shallow Well Jet Pump Wiring

This pump is wired for 240 volts from this panel and is strong enough to draw the water from the well and send it some 200 feet or so to the garden and around the house beds.

The ON and OFF pressure settings of the pump switch

This pump has a pressure switch that ranges from 30 to 50 psi. It turns off at 50 then comes back on at 30. And this tank holds some reservoir water at pressure so the pump does not cycle on and off too much.

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