At the beginning of the week we got a call from a customer who just moved into a house they bought with a water well system. This person had never owned a home with a water well system before. While taking a shower Sunday morning; he ran out of water. Our on - call technician received a rather panicked call from this person...& proceeded out to the home.
Upon arrival, our tech immediately performed some basic electrical checks & discovered the pump had 80% + "shorts to ground". This is indicative of a couple possible issues. Either the motor has electrical shorts in its' windings - or the pump cable is broke or chaffed. The pump needs to be pulled to determine the actual problem. Additionally; my tech also discovered the well tank was NG.
After receiving a reluctant "OK" to move forward; our tech pulled the pump
& discovered several bare spots in the pump cable. After replacing the cable & re-installing the pump, the (now agitated) owner proceeded to question whether or not this problem should have been detected by the home inspector, or if the previous owner should have disclosed the problem to him.
Feeling overwhelmed - my tech did the right thing & passed the customer onto me! I explained to him that home inspectors usually give a general observation of the system & don't really delve too deep into the system's operation because it's simply beyond the scope of their abilities. I also explained that most homeowners will typically address no water issues to avoid disruption to their daily activities.
Having made those points; the reality is that a pump can operate without noticeable ramifications with issues such as exposed bare pump cable. It defies logic - but it happens. And then - for whatever reason; all of a sudden things stop working.
While we can make no guarantees on future performance based on our inspections...we can give a more detailed picture of the current condition of the water well system. An ohms & running amps test can give a general indication of pump motor & cable condition. We also have equipment to measure water levels which can be utilized to accurately determine recovery rate.
Listing or selling a home with a water well system? Strongly consider having a licensed well pump company perform the well system inspection.
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