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This article describes how to prime a water pump to restore water pressure to a building by pouring water through a plugged opening in the well pump. Readers of this document should first see Prime the Pump by Garden Hose. 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. Our photo at page top shows the plug that would be removed to prime this Meyers pump by pouring water into the pump housing.

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If your water pump is a two-line jet pump and if it's running but there is no water delivered to the building, the problem could be that the pump has lost its prime. This pump needs to send water down into the well (and through a special valve at the end of the water pickup-pipe in the well) in order to bring water back to the building.

See   WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE for help in determining why you have no water or no water pressure in a building. If the diagnosis determines that you need to re-prime the water pump, the instructions are provided in this article.

Where a two line jet pump is installed, you may have lost prime at the pump. The pump motor will run but no water is delivered. If this happens it is possible to re-prime the pump with water from another source. Check valves installed at the proper location at the pump and perhaps elsewhere can help prevent loss of prime on this system. (Other problems that can give the same symptom include internal damage to the water pump, a well that has run dry, or a piping leak between the well and the building it serves.)

Turn off the water pump if it is running "dry": If your jet pump (or other above-ground well water pump) loses prime and cannot draw water from the well, don't let it keep running as you may burn up the pump motor or damage the pump internal parts. The pump won't be damaged if it runs dry for a minute or a few minutes, but leaving it running for half an hour with no water could be another story.

Detailed Step by Step Procedure for Direct Priming a Well Water Pump

Before following this procedure to directly prime a dry water pump that has lost its prime, you might want to try the simple Prime the Pump by Garden Hose that we describe above.

Our photo (left) shows the two line F&W (Flint and Walling) two line jet pump in our lab. That big brass plug in the center of the top of the pump body (center of the photo) closes the opening that is used to prime the pump if it should be dry. Don't take out this plug before reading the instructions below.

• Find the water pump and water pump electrical switch
  
  
• Turn off electrical power to the pump
  
  
• Release any remaining water or air pressure in the system by opening a nearby faucet or drain, then close it again.
  
  
• Obtain a gallon or two of water to use for re-priming the water pump. If you have a little water pressure remaining in the system just run the water into a couple of clean one-gallon milk cartons (or any clean container in an emergency). If you don't have any water pressure you may be able to draw some water out of the bottom of the water pressure tank or the hot water heater using the drain valve at the bottom of each of those - but be careful: sometimes old drain valves are stuck or will break and then leak. We keep a garden hose cap around to screw over a drain valve to handle the emergency case in which we could open the valve but it leaks when we try to close it.
  
  
• Find the water prime opening at the top of the mechanical pump body (this is not the electric motor) where you can pour water into the pump assembly. Our photo just above shows the priming plug on an F&W water pump. At Prime the Pump by Garden Hose we show the priming plug on a Meyers water pump.
  
  Often there is a pipe plug that can be removed from the top of the pump mechanism, or it may be necessary to remove a water pressure gauge that has been screwed into that opening. Don't try to remove a water gauge by twisting the gauge body - you'll break it. Use a wrench on the brass gauge base where it screws into the pump.
  
  
• Remove the water pump priming opening plug discussed just above. If you do this before releasing air and water pressure from the system you'll get soaked.
  
  
• Pour water into the pump prime opening until the pump housing is filled. You might want a funnel to make it an easier job.
  
  When the pump body has filled, you will need to screw the pump prime opening plug (or water pressure gauge) back in place.
  
  If water seems to get lost without ever filling the pump housing, water may be running past an internal check valve and down piping into the well. In this case you need to be nimble: pour water into the housing to get it as full as possible, quickly screw in the prime opening plug by hand (it should be secure but it does not have to be tightened with a wrench) and quickly turn on the power to the water pump. Using this procedure you may need to prime the pump a time or two before you tighten the plug.
  
  
• Replace the pump prime opening plug or pressure gauge that you removed to pour in water. You may need a little teflon tape or pipe dope to be sure the plug won't leak.
  
  
• Turn the pump electrical power back on
  
  
• Listen to the pump and watch the water pressure gauge. If the pump prime operation was successful you'll hear the pump start with a horrible noise, then get quieter as water begins to return to the pump body from the well, and you'll see the pump pressure gauge climb. If the pump keeps making a horrible noise for 45 seconds to a minute you should turn it back off and try priming again.
  
• Check the pump, water tank, and piping around the pump for water leaks.
• Run some water to flush out the system and reduce the chances that you've contaminated the pump or piping with bacteria from your own procedure.
  
  
• Fill and keep a couple of pump priming water jugs handy for next time.
• If this procedure did not work, see WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE

If your water pump is a submersible unit the pump is located down in the well itself. In this case if you have not got water pressure, the problem may be with the pump or the well itself, but it's not a loss of prime - submersible water pumps are self-priming.

If your water pump is a one-line jet pump, it is sucking water from a shallow well; you probably don't need to do so, but the instructions below show how to prime the well pump and they should work equally well for either a one-line jet pump or a two line jet pump.

If your water pump keeps losing prime, a shallow well jet pump well line could have a bad foot valve (in the well) and so be losing prime. A leak in the well line can also lead to loss of prime. If priming the well water pump using one of our methods shown below seems to fix the problem but soon the well pump loses prime again, your plumber will want to check for a bad foot valve in the well or a leak in the well piping between the well and the building. See WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE.

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WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
  Questions about lost water pressure
  Advice to a homeowner
  Adjusting Water Pump Pressure Control
  Right Repair to Pump & Tank?
  Well Pump & Tank Replacement Costs
  Reliability of Pump & Tank Repairs
  WATER PUMP PRIMING PROCEDURE
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PRESSURE & FLOW MEASUREMENT
  Water Pressure Intermittent
  No Water Pressure
  Well Tank relation to Water Pressure
  Shaking the Water Tank?
  Water Pressure Tank Problems
  Water Pressure Tank Diagnosis
  Water pressure Later Returns "on its own"
  Water pipe clog diagnosis
  Water pipe clog repair guide
  Making the "right" repair
  Typical Water Tank & Pump Prices
WATER PUMPS & WELL TANKS
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER PUMP & TANK CONTROLS & SWITCHES
  WELL PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
  WATER PRESSURE GAUGE ACCURACY
WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WATER PUMP, ONE LINE JET
  PUMP, TWO LINE JET
  PUMP, SUBMERSIBLE
  PUMP, WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER
  PUMP & TANK REPAIRS & COSTS
  PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING
  SHORT CYCLING PUMP CAUSES
WATER PUMP & WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
WATER PUMP WONT STOP RUNNING
WELL PUMP PRIMING PROCEDURE
  Prime the Pump by Garden Hose
  Prime the Pump by Priming Plug Opening
  Repeated Loss of Pump Prime
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
  CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS
  CLOGGED SUPPLY PIPING / Tankless Coil & Hot Water
  PIPING IN BUILDINGS
  SEWER GAS ODORS
  WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
  CAPTIVE AIR BLADDER WATER TANKS
  STEEL WATER TANKS
  BIG WATER STORAGE TANKS
  OPEN WATER TANKS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
  WATER TANK AIR VOLUME CONTROLS
  WATER TANK AIR ADD AT AIR VALVE
  WATER TANK AIR ADD BY DRAINING
  WATER TANK AIR HOW MUCH TO ADD
  WATER TANK AIR HOW OFTEN TO ADD
  WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR
  WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK REPAIRS
  CONTROLS & SWITCHES on WATER TANKS
  INTERMITTENT CYCLING WATER PUMPS
  WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING
  SHORT CYCLING DETECTION
  SHORT CYCLING CAUSES
  WATER TANK AIR LOSS SIGNS
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER SOFTENERS
WATER TESTS, CONTAMINANTS, TREATMENT
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS

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