Welcome to your new house!

What you have all looks a little sketchy.

So here's what I would suggest: Start putting some money back to overhaul your pump / pressure tank / etc.

That said, you can extend the life of what you have by replacing parts as-needed. Sounds like you have replaced your pressure switch and air volume control, your pressure tank is probably going to be next. I can't tell if that's just mold, but It looks like it's rusting on the bottom and will eventually open up. Consider a fiberglass pressure tank and non-metallic base in the future.

Since you have an air volume control on a submersible pump, that means you also have air bleeder system. Every time the pump shuts off, the water in the pipe going down to the well will drop down about 10' or so and fill with air. When the pump turns on again, it will push that column of air into the pressure tank. The air volume control then regulates the amount of air in the tank by bleeding off excessive air. The point here is that the air volume control works together with the air bleed in the pipe going to the pump as a system.

The other type of system uses a bladder in the pressure tank. There is no air bleed to introduce air, there's no air volume control. You can't put a bladder tank on an air bleed system, because it will just eventually fill with air.

To switch to the bladder type tank you will have to pull the pump (at least 20 or so feet of it) and remove the portion that bleeds air into the system when the pump shuts off.

If you are going to pull the pump to remove the air injector, you might as well replace the pump, poly pipe and wires going to the pump. Based on the appearance of your equipment up top there, I'd guess your pump hasn't been replaced recently - but if you can find an actual year on any of that equipment it would help to date the pump. I might be wrong, perhaps it just looks bad, but isn't that old.

So, to summarize: If this were me I'd be setting money aside for a new pump, poly pipe, wires, bladder type pressure tank, and controls. Since water is "kinda important", you don't want to find yourself with a dead pump and an empty checking account at the same time. In the meantime, you can replace parts (like the pressure switch or the pressure tank) with similar components to keep the thing going if you aren't in a position to just replace it all.

With a new pressure switch, pressure tank and air volume control, the entire system may continue to work for another 10 years or more (or the pump could die tomorrow).

Just a general note: What I'm looking at in these photos is all pretty poorly done. Don't do that with any of the work going forward. Start by building a metal support for your electrical boxes using SuperStrut. They all need to be securely mounted, not hanging by a thread to a rotten wood post. Run any above ground wires in conduit or liquid tight flex conduit to protect them from physical damage. Mix up a concrete pad for the tank or drop a pre-cast pad. I'd be tempted to build a small structure with a roof to contain all the mechanicals except the wellhead itself to protect them from weather - even though those boxes are rated for outdoor use.

Jake said it all!

Thanks for the reply. I have a really small pond which the last owner ran a water pipe to the lake to help fill it if need be but she said it would be costly to fill the lake 1-2' because of electricity. I though if I had to replace the pump I might go to a solar pump.

I found a pressure tank at Lowe's which I might look into Reliance 42 gallon with porcelain enamel interior and anode rod inside for $600, I looked into a stainless yesterday but they want over $2000 for a 42 gallon?

I would not put any $$ into buying an old technology storage tank. Instead, I suggest buying a modern bladder tank but keep as a spare until the current galvanized tank finally fails. Might be a month, might be 10 years, who knows? When the galv tank finally fails, do a quick switch to the bladder tank and start the process to switch out and upgrade the submersible pump. The only downside to substituting a bladder tank for an old non-bladder tank is the shots of air that will come through the system because of that air bleeder in the well. To me, that's tolerable while you get the pump upgraded..

The well is for my home and irrigation (55 blackberry and 12 fruit trees), I have awesome pressure and happy with the system so far but I just don't know if the tank is rusting, maybe I will take the valve out and look inside.

The last home owner never used a home water filter so I'm going to invest in a home water filter,

I took those pictures Sept 2020 and now I cant read the tank label, so I don't think the tank is every old but I will call some well companies to see who installed it.

You need it to be reliable then.

See if you can determine when the pump was installed. Look for an installer sticker on there and call them to see if you can get a year when it was installed. Otherwise look for dates on the equipment. The date stamp is on the underside of that tank... which is a pretty worthless place for it.

Depending on what you find out about the year the pump was installed, If the tank looks like it's rusted (kinda looks that way in the photo) be proactive and replace it.

Put down a precast base or form up a small area and mix up some concrete. Put in the Superstrut post(s) and start cleaning up the electrical.

You can get Liquid tight conduit and superstrut at Big Box.

Below is a photo I pulled from another post on this site:

The electrical is firmly attached to a post (I'd use metal superstrut... but whatever). The electrical is all in liquid-tight conduit with proper fittings. The tank is on a pre-cast base. This is what it should look like.

Hey, I just noticed the date code on the controller box (06E19) If we can assume the pump and control box are about the same time, that was manufactured in May, 2006. That puts the pump at 16 years old.

A quick search online shows that 10-15 years is average lifespan. My experience is at the longer end of that 12-18 if the pump wasn't junk and was installed properly - and not hit by lightning. I've seen some last 20 years. At any rate, you are in the twilight years for that setup.

You don't have to replace it tomorrow, but do it proactively. The worst thing is to have it go out and hear, "we can't get to you for two weeks".

RE: Home water filter...

Talk to me about that on a new thread. I can probably point you in the right direction.

I think I might have my water tested first.

Yes. That is the first step.

I just got the country water test back and the water has coliform and e coli. Never having a well before I started looking at what to do next? I want to send off for a more in depth water test but before I spend over $100 for the test should I put some type of bleach or chlorine in the well to clean it and the plumbing? I doubt the last owners ever did this?

I see a bolt on top of the well, would I unscrew it to put the cleaner in? I'm going to call to see if I can find the well company to see the well specs, my neighbor thinks his well is 250' deep.

I just noticed a hole where the wires go into the casing, so I have to assume bugs have gone into the casing or even a garden snake could fit though it?

I also have a septic tank so I have to be sure not to flush certain chemicals down the drain. I could put a tee and ball valve under the house to drain the water into the woods.

You need to determine the source of the contamination.

E-Coli is from poop. No polite way to put that.

It can be animal or people. It can get in from floods, bad casing, etc. It can also get in from bad septic systems and shallow wells.

You need to boil the water or otherwise disinfect it before drinking.

The hole where the wires go in is typically a water tight seal - although it doesn't look like it from this side - it is. If that wasn't watertight AND the area flooded above that wellhead, you could get contamination.

Disinfecting a well can be a thing - but it's generally done when the pump is replaced. It's done because the pump, wires and pipe are assembled on the ground and then put into the well.

Post a photo of your results

I really think that you need to get help with the entire project at this point.

The man with the county call and said I have e-coli and coliform present in both water test. I just got the results in the mail and it says e-coli absence? One test was from my kitchen faucet and the other from my fridge with a filter.

I took another water sample in Friday which I took at the spigot between the tank and casing. He call Saturday and said I had both coliform and e-coli present but I quess I need to wait for the paper work in the mail.

It wasn't a complete water test like I was looking for. I'm trying to figure out if I should put something in the well to help clean the system before spending over $100 for a proper test?

What your report says and what you posted (perhaps because that's what they told you) are two different things. It does not show E.coli present. That's a good thing. I'm going to dial back my initial alarm. The presence of total coliform is a general indication of contamination. It is also pretty common.

It's also very common to contaminate the sample when you take it - so be aware of that.

You got a basic water report that indicates if the water is biologically safe or not. If you want to know about other issues such as arsenic, nitrates, etc. you will need to get a different test. Once every few years isn't a bad thing.

I would not try to disinfect the well yourself. Wait until you pull the pump and then have them disinfect when they put it back together.

I became quite proficient in disinfecting a well when I sold my house and it had ecoli in the water. It's fairly simple. Do a search for "shocking" a well. Household bleach and lots of water