There isn’t really a set amount of time that a submersible well pump should last. The main reason for this is that everyone’s well environment and usage is different. Different people will stress a well pump more or less by nature of what they are doing with the pump. And different pumps from different companies will have different build quality. For the most part though, a quality made well pump will usually last you anywhere from 10-20 years. We will sometimes talk to customers that are replacing a water pump that has lasted 20-30 years. There are a few things you can do that can help increase the lifespan of your pump.
The first thing you want to try to do is reduce the amount of times that your well pump cycles, cycling meaning turning on then off again. This will happen when your pressure tank calls for water for example. One thing that can happen, and this depends on the exact setup and pump, is that the pump can cycle multiple times during one instance of water usage, say a shower for example. Depending on the size of the pressure tank, sometimes a pump can cycle multiple times during one shower, and that cycling multiple times will take some lifespan off the pump.
One way that you can prevent the well pump from cycling as often is if you get a larger pressure tank. The reason the pump can cycle more than once during one shower is if you have a pressure tank that is small enough that it will call for water during the shower, and the pump will fill that tank while the shower is still running. The pump turns off, the shower is still running, and soon after the tank will call for water again, cycling the pump another time. An easy way to get less pump cycling is to use a larger pressure tank if you have the space for it. The larger the tank, the longer it will take to fill it all the way up, and it can prevent pump cycling that would happen on a smaller tank.
Another thing that can determine how long your submersible well pump will last is the environment it is working in. Some wells have very heavy mineralized water, or the water has sand and other particulates in it that can cause some wear on the pump. The mineralized water will leave deposits on the pump over time, and depending on how mineralized the water is, this can take some time off of the lifespan of the pump. Water with sand or other particulates can also eat into the pump's lifespan due to wear on the pump's parts. These kinds of environments can’t always be avoided, but it is worth keeping in mind that if you have a well with a lot of heavy minerals in the water, you may not get the same lifespan out of a pump that someone with crystal clear water would get.
So to recap, a good quality well pump should get you around 15 or so years, but that can be cut down depending on how often the pump is cycled and the kind of environment it is in. If you had any questions at all, feel free to reach out to one of our pump specialists at 855-560-5670.
