DIY Homestead Well Pump Replacement

Learn everything you need to know about a well system.

Reader Contribution by Kerry W. Mann, Jr. and Homesteadhow
Published on August 6, 2021
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by Kerry Mann
Replacing a well pump.

I recently went to our homestead kitchen faucet to get a glass of water and nothing came out!

What a “sinking” feeling that was!  After checking the breaker, testing the well control box and pressure switch, I determined our well pump was at the end of its life and so we decided to try to remove the old pump (over 100 feet in the ground) and replace it all by ourselves.  did a video showing this entire process here.

YouTube video

We’ve been homesteading for about 6 years now. When we lived in the city we had a simple water pipe entering our home with pressurized water at the pipe. We sure did take that for granted. After moving to our homestead and switching to a well system we learned about all of the additional components involved with a well.

I love our well water. It’s the best water I’ve ever had. We actually have extended family who bring empty jugs to fill up on it. Absent our well though we don’t have any rivers or water sources nearby. Last year we attempted to manually dig an emergency backup well by hand but after 40 feet and no water we gave up. We had an old well at 25 feet on another part of our property but it must have dried up. We later learned that our main supply well is over 100 feet deep!

In my attempt to fix our water, I learned a lot about how a well system works, there is much more involved than simply the pump. It all starts at the circuit breaker for the pump and that was the first thing I checked. Then we have power going into the well control box. I learned that this box is like a big switch with a capacitor on it that sends power to the well after getting a signal from the pressure switch. The capacitor energizes and helps get the big well pump motor initial turning. Later I troubleshooted and learned how the pressure switch works. Ours is a 20/40. When the pressure in the well pressure tank goes under 20 PSI the pressure switch clicks and contacts and sends voltage to the well control box which then sends electricity from the capacitor and control box to fire up the well pump. The pressure switch sort of keeps an eye on the pressure gauge and when it hits 40 PSI it turns OFF the power sent to the control box and the pump turns off. Throughout the day the pressure switches goes on and off many times energizing the well. The pressure tank holds about 40 gallons of water and there is a big bladder/ almost like a waterbed filled with air inside it that keeps pressure on the water. Because of the pressure tank we have pressurized water (like the city used to provide at the pipe) and it provides a constant supply of pressurized water so that our well pump doesn’t have to turn ON every-time we open a faucet. Without a pressure tank we’d put a lot of extra wear and usage on the pump.

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