A couple of months ago I posted a thread about a failed SQFlex pump. I now believe I have finally discovered the root cause of the failure. After replacing the pump and still not getting good production, I dug out the pitless adapter and plumbing outside the well casing to discover that the pitless adapter and the check valve were both split apart. Actually, they are hard to see as only little hairline cracks that I'm sure open up under pressure, as I've seen before. Also, I could blow air through one of the threaded fittings. This is a classic example of plumbing that has been frozen. This is kind of a surprise since we did not have all that much cold last winter, and the pitless is 2 ft underground. The well is in a low spot in a meadow however, where colder air does settle. The well casing also sticks up about 3 ft above ground level, so I guess was more exposed to the cold air. I did that because of surface water in the wet season. So, I think that the pump probably ran while the plumbing was frozen, deadheading it causing the pump failure. I am surprised it did not blow apart the drop pipe which is 300 psi poly, but it was apparently unscathed.
I've now replaced the pitless adapter and associated plumbing with stainless steel. Not that it would withstand freezing, but the items I got are so much higher quality that the brass I've been getting lately, and not much more expensive anymore. I purchased the stainless fittings from RPS Water Pumps and they were the nicest machined fittings I've ever seen. The union is particularly beautiful with a nice taper seal instead of the usual. I also have wrapped the well casing with reflectix and covered it all in a poly mail drop box. That should keep it from freezing again. The drop box looks like a monolith out the field but I have not noticed any radio signals toward space :). Now the system is back up and running fine. Brad Bassett
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