Venturi was changed because over time the venturi port widens, producing less velocity and therefore less lift. Do you have one pipe or two pipes going out to the well? It is possible that the foot valve(basically a check valve with a pickup screen on one side) has failed. Only way to know is to pull it and inspect it. Sometimes its obvious, other times you have to put an air test on the line. I've seen everything from a failed spring, a hole in the side of the valve body, to even the pipe itself split. Could also be the pitless adapter if you have one, but it doesn't sound like you're sucking up air, so chances are its leaking below the static water level. Have you opened your well head at all?

@@GodwinAndSons Thanks answering. We have the 2 pipe deep well setup. I have not uncovered the well cover yet. I still have to determine its exact location but I just have to do some measuring. I have been here 3 year and I know that the previous owner changed the foot valve before but I don't know how long before. I hope that it's the foot valve but if so it seems to fail often enough. Your video gives me a good idea what to do and expect. I don't think our well is as deep as the one in your video but I can expect it to be difficult to pull a column of water over 100 feet. You made it look easy.

They could have used a cheap foot valve, I've seen some fail in a relatively short period of time. I don't know what your water is like, but the pipes can get a bit slippery, especially if they're covered in iron slime. It's also possible the pipe split somewhere underground. Sometimes while backfilling they aren't careful and will place rocks right on top of the pipe. I've also seen the fittings at the top of the well head split. I'll cross my fingers for you that it is something obvious and easy to fix. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

@@GodwinAndSons There is a fair amount of iron and etc. in the water. If a tap drips in less than a day it will start staining a sink or bathtub. That is a bit of a concern I have, that this might become an occurrence every few years. At least it's summer, would not want to attempt to do this in the winter at 30 below. I will let you know how we make out. Have a few other must dos to get to first unless it becomes more serious. Thanks for your time and help!

It's not so much a matter of benefit as it is that jet pumps have been around longer than submersibles. I suppose there is an argument to be had that if you're limited on power you can run a jet pump on 115v versus the 240v for quality submersibles and that you don't have to run wire out to the well head. Other than that it's really just age related and the fact that most people don't want to spend the extra money to convert.

Jet Pumps are finicky things. First thought is it sounds like a priming issue. Pipes are definitely purged of air? Best way to be sure is to fill them up at the well head or have a means of pumping water in via a transfer pump or something similar. If that's not it I'm sure you were careful, but is it possible a small stone or sand got into the pipe and clogged the venturi(Don't ask why I ask, haha)? What's the overall well depth and static water level depth, pump is the right size?

@@GodwinAndSons thank you for responding. Yes I made sure the jet assembly was all clean including the Venturi. They could definitely have had air in them. I kept opening the top plug bolt on the j5 pump To let air out. Is that the correct one to open? The well is 80 feet and we cut the line to about 72 feet So it’s 8 feet from the bottom of the well. Is there anything that has to be done with back pressure? I prime it right from the top where the gauge goes… the setup I have is the pump, 90 degree Elbows straight down the well from the pump. 1-1/4 hose and 1 inch hose. Top is a tee with a gauge, pipe with a ball valve to the tank than a ball valve to the house. I close the ball valve to the tank and pour water down the top of the pump with the gauge off. Usually takes about 5 gallons. As I’m pouring in I cycle the pump till I hear it pulling water. I keep pouring in before the water goes down. I cycle the pump till the water comes up then I put the gauge on. Did all that yesterday got the prime but like I said just only makes 20 psi. The discharge pipe is the 1 inch line right? Yes the newest version of the j5n pump we had down there with no problems at all since 1990. We replaced it with a j5 pump. Same exact specs. 3/4 Hp. Not sure if the water level put last time we measured the water line on the hose we took it there was about 60-50 feet of water. It’s a summer house so we don’t even use the water that much. Plus it haven’t been on for over a year now. I replaced everything yesterday before the old setup was giving us the same problem. Had a hole in the larger line. We replaced everything. Made sure everything was tight and I would of bet my life on it working perfect! Nope! Man was I wrong. Only builds to 20 psi. Once I shut the power off to the switch the gauge drops to 5 psi We made sure not to kink the hoses and everything. It’s 160psi hose so it’s tough also.

It sounds like it is still not fully primed. Sometimes they'll catch for a minute and then will just sit at like 20/30psi. The gauge gives a false reading as the impeller pressurizes the housing of the pump, but there isn't actually any water moving. If you have 20psi with the valve to the tank off and the pump is not clicking on/off/on/off then you are just reading housing pressure and there is no flow because it is still air bound. Do you have a boiler drain somewhere between the pump output and the valve to the tank? That can allow you to provide a place for extra water coming to the pump to flow out while it pumps what it can in the housing back down to the jet. This circulates the air in the line and eventually bleeds it out. Having a drain also allows an easy means of pumping water back in. Pouring it in through the gauge works... eventually, but it takes FOREVER and is a royal pain to have to keep threading and unthreading the gauge. The other thing about pouring it in vs. pumping it in is you don't get any pressure in the line. A transfer pump can pressurize the system up to about 20psi and will force a lot more water in which shrinks the air pocket so that when it does finally come up to the pump you get more air out at once. In the video I used the pressure and volume of water in the tank to re-prime rather than having to pump it in from an external source. Do you have a neighbor you can connect up to? Run a hose from their outside faucet to the pump and use that water to pump into your system.

@@GodwinAndSons thanks for the response. I’m going to try again tomorrow. I have a relief valve for the tank before it goes into the ball valve to the house. I may try that. I’ll have more time tomorrow to mess with it. I definitely think it’s air bound. Thanks again !

That sounds most likely. When you get the 20psi, open the drain, if you're desperate you can open the house and a hose faucet or even a sink, but make sure you're getting a flow. If you have running water and it's maintaining 20psi, and it will maintain that flow and pressure for 10minutes or more then you can start thinking about other possible issues. If the pump can't move water while maintaining 20psi for longer than a minute or two then its more likely than not that you're air bound.

Some insert fittings are different lengths than others so it is hard to go by that, but they do make different length venturi tubes(diffuser) that you put in the jet assembly. For a deep well jet assembly you want to make sure you get the longer diffuser tube.

Ok great thanks for the quick response back I will have to see what length I have for the tube. Thanks again

Of course, I am not sure exactly what the length is supposed to be, but I've always used a FT4B-08 Goulds Deep Well Jet Assembly and they've yet to fail me. I will look to see if I can find a length for you.

That's awesome I would really appreciate That, thanks for helping me out !!

I did some digging and found nothing for length. So, I went and bought one. The diffuser is a AD 720 and measures an overall length of 7 inches when measured from one end to the other. It measures 6-3/8" from the top to the bottom of the flange above the threads. Hope this helps.