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well water pump broke in half/Why

17 years ago

I was getting screening clogs in my clothes washing machine white little rocks. Today the water stopped pumping. Well man came and pulled out a 12 year old pump that had broken in half from deterioration. It was all white. He said it was magnesium that caused it and what was used in the pump. I do have pictures of it but not sure how to post them. I have never seen anything like it. Though a thought did come to mind. Could strong chlorine treatments in the past have caused it??

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Comments (5)

castoff
17 years ago
Your post is a bit confusing.

If all or part of the pump body was made from magnesium, then I would suspect that high concentrations of chlorine was the cause.

Magnesium is a man-made metal derived from chemistry. In other words, it is not like copper, gold, silver or iron that can be mined.

If you were pouring bottles of bleach down your well as a sanitizer on a regular basis, then the chlorine attacked and weakened the magnesium casing. After 12 years, the deterioration reached the point of total failure.

I am not a chemist nor a metalurgist but from what I have read about magnesium, I would go with the chlorine as being the culprit. Hopefully, your new pump does not use magnesium.
jones60
Original Author
17 years ago
I agree. Heavy concentrations of chlorine was used in 2003 as there was ecoli in the well water. It took 3 treatments at three different times to finally clear it up. You would think there was something that could have been used in order not to affect the pump. Then again I was told 12 years for them to last is good and some usually do not last that long!
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castoff
17 years ago
There are five ways that I am aware of that will remove e-coli from water.

Treat the water by using a chlorinator that injects chlorine into the water at a prescribed rate.

Use an Ultra-Violet water treatment unit to kill the e-coli.

Use an Ozone water treatment unit to kill the e-coli.

Boil the water and then recapture it through distillation.

Put the water through a diametacious clay filter.

I am not aware of any other chemical that will effectively sanitize the well casing, the well water, the pump, the piping and the pressure tank. All of the above methods are costly in comparison.
dickross
17 years ago
Magnesium is not man made. It is mined just like iron. Always in the form of magnesium compounds. Iron is also generaly found in the form of iron compounds.
Magnesium is very reactive to some common chemicals and should not be used except where conditions are pretty well controlled to exclude those chemicals.

I tested some 2-3" thick magnesium parts in hot salt water overnight. In the morning they were not just corroded, they were gone! Just a shell of paint left.
jakethewonderdog
17 years ago
Castoff,

Sanitizing a well with a chlorine solution is a common practice, particularly after pulling the pump or if an area has flooded, putting the wellhead under water.

Typically that is 1 quart of 5% chlorine for every 100' of well (4" casing) Mix it with water to make about three gallons of solution and pour it down the well. Allow the solution to sit for a while, then pump it into the pipes and allow it to sit for a while. Then flush it out.

This is not going to fix water that is experiencing ongoing contamination.

I would guess that the chlorine could have caused a problem for the pump if it was magnesium.

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