poor supply to pump dont know what to do next

jammy_dodger

firstly forgive my long query but its hard to explain in fewer words i shall try and give a s much info as i can

i live in a rural loaction and having trouble with water supply

i have a pump that supplies water to a tank in my loft since before christmas it has been "struggling " making a louder than normal noise sounding like it is going to pack in then eventually whirring into life

i initially thought problem was with the pump i have had engineers out finally this week they said the pump is working fine ( at the moment ) but the water supply to the pump is not getting getting through so the initial louder than normal noise is the pump working "dry " till the water eventually gets going through it to pump to tank

he checked my tank while the pump was going and only when the pump was making its usual noises was water running through as it normally does to fill up my tank

i fear if this continues my pump will burn out or stop working

so i contacted scottish water who eventually came out today , they cant confirm where my water actually comes from they said the supply is on the mains after doing a water test from my tap so i am not on a well

they tried to locate where my water came from ( i have no stop !!!! outside or anything else water connected )

they "think it is coming from 1km a way and w ent to check its pressure returned saying it was fne but they still cant confirm if thats where my supply is coming from and if it is what to do next

surely they should be able to find out ..they supply me after all..i am a loss what to do next , the man said he would make some enquiries but that doesnt give me any comfort in the short or long term and i fear my pump will die on me

any thoughts or advice appreciated

deanos

Cant be a supply problem if you are getting water to you house ,i presume they tested and its at the required minimum pressure ?

The external stop is probably 1km away where it comes off the main,that's how it usually works and after that its your responsibility,but as you are in Scotland it may differ

There is a way to check your pressure you fill up a bucket in a required time but cant for the life of me remember what it is now

jammy_dodger

thanks deanos he said the pressure was ok where he tested it but he cant be certain if thats the supply that goes to my home , i am only getting water to come through after the pump has struggled for some considerable time so i dont know what the solution is

sounds like there could be a blockage but how you would go clearing a pipe from that kind of distance up the main road i havent a clue

but t hanks for replying

deanos

Could be a blockage or could even be a leak that's causing pressure to drop

mart.vader

jammy_dodger wrote: »

i live in a rural loaction and having trouble with water supply

i have a pump that supplies water to a tank in my loft since before christmas it has been "struggling " making a louder than normal noise sounding like it is going to pack in then eventually whirring into life

i initially thought problem was with the pump i have had engineers out finally this week they said the pump is working fine ( at the moment ) but the water supply to the pump is not getting getting through so the initial louder than normal noise is the pump working "dry " till the water eventually gets going through it to pump to tank

he checked my tank while the pump was going and only when the pump was making its usual noises was water running through as it normally does to fill up my tank

i fear if this continues my pump will burn out or stop working

so i contacted scottish water who eventually came out today , they cant confirm where my water actually comes from they said the supply is on the mains after doing a water test from my tap so i am not on a well

they tried to locate where my water came from ( i have no stop !!!! outside or anything else water connected )

they "think it is coming from 1km a way and w ent to check its pressure returned saying it was fne but they still cant confirm if thats where my supply is coming from and if it is what to do next

surely they should be able to find out ..they supply me after all..i am a loss what to do next , the man said he would make some enquiries but that doesnt give me any comfort in the short or long term and i fear my pump will die on me

any thoughts or advice appreciated

I am not sure what the rules or practice is in Scotland, but down here you are absolutely not allowed to have a pump working directly off the mains - the main must supply a tank, then the water from that tank can be pumped into your loft tank. It's to avoid the risk of contamination.

All Water Cos are required by law, to have and maintain a set of maps or plans, showing where their mains are. You, or anyone with an interest, can request a copy of any part of those maps. The Water technician who came out and looked for your stopc0ck would have used the plans/maps to find out how far away the nearest water main is. You must be in a very rural location to have a supply pipe 1km long ! It's quite possible and likely, that somewhere along the 1km of pipe there is a leak that is taking part of the water that you used to get. Have the Water Co looked at that?

The Water Cos also have a duty to supply water at sufficient flow and pressure at the boundary to your property. The pressure requirement is different, in different areas, but it used to be 1 bar of pressure (1 bar is 33 feet, so enough pressure to send water up a vertical pipe 33 feet high, can't remember what the flow rate is, off-hand, I think its 7 litres per minute)

In normal settings, this can be measured at the street (though for conveniences sake it is usually measured at the kitchen tap), but in your case, unless your house is set in your own patch of land, 1km away from the nearest street, who knows what the ruling would be.

If your pump is "running dry" then it probably will die on you, but whose fault that is, depends on the above.

jammy_dodger

many thanks for your reply mart vadar

it now appears i do have a storage tank at the back of my property that the "mains " water is fed too ( ive only been here 12 years and never knew of its existance )

neither did the scottish water until they spoke to local folk who gave them the information

i truly have been banging my head against a wall here over it

i found A local plumber by word of mouth and it seems it may be the foot valve in the under ground storage tank that seems to be faulty he has located a new valve and is coming at the weekend to fit it...its like i have a mains fed well ( he had never seen such a thing either )

so fingers crossed

he is at a loss as to why i have an underground storage tank in the first place the mains pressure feeding the tank seems serficient enough to supply my loft tank direct without the need for a pump

I aim to find out from scottish w ater if this is possible for me to do and also why i dont have a stop !!!! near my property as it has been confirmed the main supply is 1km away so if there was a leak i have no way to turn off the supply

i do hope that the valve sorts out my initial problem and that eventually i can cut out the middle man so to speak and do without the underground tank and pump its not as if i live in a high rise its a wee cottage

shall keep updated on progress