Questions about wells, pumps and tanks

Ask for the license number and look it up with the state licensing board. Ours is in the footer of every page, with our insurance. If a company can't give you a number, keep looking.

Yes, at the breaker, if water is running where it shouldn't or if the pump has run for an hour with every tap shut. A pump that runs dry or hot can burn out. Then call us and tell us what you heard and saw.

That is short cycling. Usually the pressure tank has lost its air charge or its bladder has failed, so there is no reserve and the pump starts with every drop. A bad pressure switch or a leak can do the same. It wears the pump out fast, so don't wait.

Once a year. With the pump off and the tank drained, we check the air charge with a gauge and set it to the switch's cut-in pressure. It takes a short visit, and it is the cheapest way to protect the pump.

A sump pump moves groundwater out of a pit under the floor. A sewage ejector moves waste from a basement bathroom or laundry up to the sewer or septic line, from a sealed basin with a vent. They are different pumps; one can't do the other's job.

If the power goes out when the ground is wet, a pump without a backup stops. A backup is worth having in a basement with finished rooms or stored belongings. It runs for hours, not days, so we size it to your pit and your pump.

A visit fee covers the trip and testing. If you hire us for the repair that day, it comes off the job. The whole picture, including what an estimate leaves out, is on the pricing page.

No, because we don't work them. A call left in the evening or on Sunday is returned when the shop opens. If water is running where it shouldn't, switch off the pump's breaker and close the main valve while you wait.

Yes, in writing, by text or email. It is a flat price for the work listed. If we find more once the pump is out of the well, we stop and call you first.

Often a few hours once the pump is out of the well. A deep well, a buried line repair or a part on order takes longer. We tell you which one it is at the visit.

Some jobs need a permit and some don't. We tell you at the estimate whether yours does, and who pulls it.

Once a year, and after any work on the well. We don't test water ourselves. Ask the county health department or a state-approved lab for a bottle and instructions.

A dry well is a driller's question, not a pump's. We check the pump, the wire and the switch first. If the water level is the trouble, we say so and point you to a well driller.

Lewis and Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater counties, Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon. The service area page lists the towns. We are closed Sunday.