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PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
WATER PUMPS & TANKS & WELLS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  Basement Wells
  Cisterns
  Drilled Wells - steel casings
    Drilled Well with Submersible Pump
    Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump
    Well with Two Line Jet Pump
  Driven Point Wells
  How Much Water is In the Well?
  How to Test Well Water Quantity
  How to Get More Water From a Well
  Hand Dug Wells
  Springs as Water Supply
  Well Pits
  WATER PRESSURE LOSS
  WATER TANK TYPES
  WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
  WELL, PUMP, TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WELL PUMP PRIMING GUIDE

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Well Pits to Contain Water Equipment & Well Access
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Well Pits to Contain Water Equipment & Well Access

Types of wells and water supply systems and what to watch out for with each

Well pump & water tank diagnosis & repair procedures

This article describes Well Pits to Contain Water Equipment & Well Access. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong. Readers of this document should also see Water Tank Types and before assuming that a water problem is due to the well itself, see Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case which offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost. © 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Well Pits for Access to Well Heads, Pressure Tanks, Pumps, Controls

Photograph of sketch of the componentsof a well pit.

Photograph of a water pressure booster pump and tank system

Well Pits for drilled wells are excavations, usually outdoors, which were dug below to below the frost line (in freezing climates) to house the well top and sometimes the pump and water tank.

The photo above shows a messy well pit interior with a plastic bucket over a well casing and a glimpse of the water pressure tank. At page top we have a collapsing well pit with no cover whatsoever - a serious falling hazard.

The sketch shown above, courtesy of Carson Dunlop, demonstrates use of a well pit of capping and accessing drilled wells was used in order to provide ready access to the equipment while also assuring that the water line between the well and the building it serves was protected from frost. While the sketch places the water pump and pressure tank inside the building, in many instances the well pit may contain all of these items.

Well pits are very common in many areas all over the world.

Safety Warnings Regarding Well Pits

Well pit covers: As with our concern for dug well safety, a well pit should have a child-safe cover to prevent falling-in and injury.
Well Pit shock hazards: You should also be very careful of electrical shock hazards when entering a well pit. Often the well pit is wet or perhaps even flooded. In such cases be sure to turn off electrical power before entering in or working in the well pit.

At a property where we broke a water supply fitting we needed to shut off the water pump. The water pump and its controls were in an outside well pit. On opening the pit cover and seeing a foot of water therein we knew better than to jump down into the pit to turn off the pump switch. We used a dry broomstick to push the switch to the off position. We could also have found the main electrical panel and found and turned off the pump circuit there.
Watch for collapsing well pits such as the frost-damaged masonry block pit walls shown at page top.
Watch out for flooding well pits - especially if the well cap is located in the well pit floor. A well pit that floods risks leaking unsanitary surface water into the well - be sure that the well cap is water tight in these cases, and take steps to keep water out of the well pit.

At a property inspection we observed a well pit housing the well head itself as well as water pump and pressure tank. The well casing had no cover installed. It was raining. Water was running across the property from a pony stable down into the well pit and into the well. Manure-runoff was entering the drinking supply, making it unsanitary and possibly quite dangerous to the building occupants. The well needed to be sterilized, tested, and provided with a water-tight sanitary cover. The well pit needed to be protected from surface runoff from the stables. The building occupants needed to be informed immediately that their water was unsanitary.

A rough sketch of a well pit and a compression-type well sealing cap can also be seen at Components of a Well with a Two Line Jet Pump?

Water Tank Maintenance & Repair Chapter Index

Use links just below or at the left of each of the pages at our website to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
WATER PUMPS & TANKS & WELLS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  Basement Wells
  Cisterns
  Drilled Wells - steel casings
    Drilled Well with Submersible Pump
    Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump
    Well with Two Line Jet Pump
  Driven Point Wells
  How Much Water is In the Well?
  How to Test Well Water Quantity
  How to Get More Water From a Well
  Hand Dug Wells
  Springs as Water Supply
  Well Pits
  WATER PRESSURE LOSS
  WATER TANK TYPES
  WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
  WELL, PUMP, TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WELL PUMP PRIMING GUIDE

Technical Reviewers

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
WATER PUMPS & TANKS & WELLS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
WELL, PUMP, TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
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More Information on Plumbing & Other Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

Plumbing Diagnosis & Repair: Water supply, drainage, septic systems, water testing, water contamination, defective plumbing materials & products.

Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost
Water pressure tank failures & water pump short cycling diagnosis and repair
Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
Drinking Water Testing Advice for home buyers home owners home inspectors
Interpreting Drinking Water Test Results and Correcting Unsatisfactory Water
Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Allowed
Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: Testing & Correction - Advice (This Article)
Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
Water testing for Pesticides: comprehensive and pesticides-example parameters
Water Testing: background comments on classes of water contaminants, & links to home buyer advice about water testing, drinking water, water supply
When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination
Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
Typical Water Tests & Fees this water test fee schedule applies when testing is combined with other onsite building inspection services
Drinking Water testing, contamination, correction - all topics
General water testing and corrective measure advice: contact your local health department.

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