Okay, so here’s the deal with turning off a well pump. I recently had to figure this out myself, so I thought I’d share my experience and what I learned.
First off, I needed to be out of town for like, five days at a time. And my biggest worry was, “What if a pipe bursts while I’m gone?” I definitely didn’t want water running non-stop for days. That would be a total disaster. So, I started looking into whether I could just shut off my well pump.
I found out that, yeah, you can totally turn off the pump. It’s not like it’s sitting at the very bottom of your 300-foot deep well or something. The water naturally rises up a bit, which they call the “head.”
I did some digging and discovered that cold weather is the main reason pipes burst. It made sense to try to avoid that whole mess, especially with freezing temperatures.
Here’s what I did:
- Located the breaker: First, I found the breaker for my well pump. It was in my main electrical panel. I tested the switch a couple of times to be sure.
- Flipped the switch: Then, I just flipped the switch to the “off” position. Simple as that.
- Test the water: After I shut the breaker off, I ran the faucet to be sure there was no water.
- Turn on the pump:After 5 days, I returned home and turned on the well pump breaker. The water was running normally.
So, based on my experience, you can definitely turn off your well pump for at least five days, maybe even longer. It worked out perfectly for me, and I didn’t have to stress about potential water damage while I was away.
Of course, every well system might be a bit different, but hopefully, my experience gives you a good starting point. Just remember to locate your breaker and give it a test run before you head out of town. Better safe than sorry!
