On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:15:07 -0700, Mikepier wrote:

UPDATE: This morning I removed the well cap, and filled up to the top
with water, then tried the pump again, still water only coming out in
spurts, and not consistent.

Hmm, surely if it were filled you should at least get a brief full flow
just from the water you're primed the system with, even if something were
wrong elsewhere?

I'm not really familiar with wells either - that comment just seemed
surprising.

Oh, I can confirm that there's no check valve at the top end of our well,
incidentally, but I've never had any need to try priming ours so can't
comment on experiences there (I did have it all off while doing some
plumbing for a couple of hours last year and it spluttered a bit after
switch on, but picked up after a couple of minutes and returned to normal)

Ours is a top-side pump though, with an 80' well and jet assembly, so
perhaps a bit of a different config to yours.

cheers

Jules