Well Pump Repair in Southern & Central Utah
When a well pump fails, you have no water: no showers, no laundry, no stock tanks. Langford Drilling repairs and replaces well pumps across Southern and Central Utah from Cedar City. Because we drill wells too, we can tell you whether the pump is the real problem or a symptom of something in the well.
Langford Drilling holds Utah Division of Water Rights license #969 as both a Well Driller and a Pump Installer, and is bonded and insured. Call 435-233-8954 to talk it through.
Three Checks Before You Call
These take about five minutes. Sometimes they get the water back on, and if not, they tell us what to bring.
1. The breaker
Well pumps run on a dedicated double-pole breaker, usually 240V. A tripped breaker looks exactly like a dead pump. Reset it once. If it trips again right away, stop: that is a fault, and resetting it over and over can damage the motor.
2. The pressure gauge at the tank
Open a tap and watch the needle. Stuck at zero means the pump is not delivering. Swinging fast between two numbers almost always means a waterlogged pressure tank, not a bad pump. Holding low and never reaching shut-off points to a worn pump, a leak, or a well that cannot keep up.
3. Listen at the wellhead
A submersible pump is quiet, but you can usually hear it start or feel a faint vibration in the line. Nothing at all, with the breaker on, points at the motor, the control box, or the wiring.
Symptoms, Likely Causes, and the Usual Fix
This won't replace a real diagnosis, but it shows roughly what you're facing.
| What you're seeing | Most likely cause | What the fix usually involves |
|---|
| No water at all, breaker holds | Failed motor, failed control box, or a broken wire down the well | Pull the pump, test the motor and wiring, replace the failed part |
| Pump runs constantly and never shuts off | Leak in the drop pipe, worn impellers, a falling water level, or a failed pressure switch | Pressure-test the system; pull the pump if the leak is down the well |
| Pump clicks on and off every few seconds (short cycling) | Waterlogged pressure tank with a failed bladder | Recharge or replace the tank, usually a much smaller job than a new pump |
| Air, spurting, or sputtering at the taps | Water level dropping to the pump intake, or a cracked drop pipe | Measure the water level; the pump may need to be lowered |
| Sand or grit in the water | Failed screen, pump set too low, or failing casing | Inspect the well; often a rehabilitation or casing problem |
| Good pressure that fades under heavy use | Pump or tank too small for what the property now uses | Recalculate demand and resize, common after adding irrigation or a bathroom |
| Breaker trips again and again | Motor short, damaged wire, or a locked pump | Stop resetting it; this needs electrical testing at the wellhead |
The line that matters most is short cycling. It feels like a dying pump and usually isn't one. Motors wear out from starting far more than from running, so a pump that starts every few seconds is being worn out fast. Fixing a failed tank early often saves the pump. More on that on our pressure tank page.
What We Repair
Submersible pumps
The standard in modern Southern Utah wells. The pump and motor sit below the water, often hundreds of feet down, so repair means pulling the pump, pipe, and wire together. That is why diagnosing before pulling matters.
Pressure tanks and switches
Bladder tank replacement, pressure switch replacement and adjustment, and setting the tank's air charge correctly.
Control boxes and wiring
On three-wire pumps the starting parts sit in a box at the surface, so they can be replaced without pulling the pump. On two-wire pumps those parts are down the well with the motor.
Constant-pressure systems
Variable-speed drives that hold one steady pressure instead of swinging between two settings. See pressure tanks and constant-pressure systems.
Pitless adapters, check valves, and drop pipe
The parts nobody thinks about until one fails. A failed check valve lets water drain back down the pipe, which strains the pump every time it starts.
Repair or Replace?
Repair when
The failure is at the surface (tank, switch, control box, wiring), the pump is not near the end of its life, and the well itself is sound.
Replace when
The motor has failed, the pump is already old, or it has to come out of the well anyway. Once a pump is pulled, putting a worn one back down a deep well often means paying for the pull twice.
Look at the well when
You see sand, steadily falling output, or pumps that keep failing every few years. Those are well problems. Well rehabilitation can be cheaper than the pump you were about to buy.
What a repair costs depends on what failed, how deep the pump is set, whether it has to be pulled, and the parts needed. Call 435-233-8954 for a free estimate. You approve the price before we start work.
What Is Different About Wells Here
Depth
Most Utah home wells are 200 to 500 feet deep. That is a long string of pipe and wire to pull, and pump sizing has to account for the real lift.
Falling water levels
Groundwater levels in parts of Southern Utah, including the Cedar Valley, have dropped over time. A pump set at a sensible depth years ago can end up too close to the water level, and the first sign is air at the taps. Sometimes the fix is lowering the pump, not replacing it.
Hard water
Mineral scale builds up on pump parts and well screens over time. It shows up as slowly falling output that people mistake for a failing motor.
Elevation and freezing
At Brian Head, Panguitch, and other high-elevation areas, freeze protection at the wellhead and on above-ground plumbing is essential.
Where We Work
We repair well pumps across Iron, Washington, Beaver, Kane, Garfield, Piute, Wayne, Millard, Sevier, Sanpete, and Juab counties, from our base in Cedar City. Find your city.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a well pump last?
A properly sized submersible pump in a clean well commonly lasts around 8 to 15 years. Pumps that short cycle because of a failed pressure tank wear out much sooner, because starting is what wears a motor out.
Can you tell what's wrong over the phone?
Often we can narrow it down a lot. If you can tell us the pressure gauge reading, whether the breaker holds, and what the taps are doing, that usually tells us whether it is a surface repair or a pump pull before we leave the shop.
Do I need a permit to replace a well pump in Utah?
Replacing a pump in an existing well generally does not need a new water right. Work that changes the well itself, such as deepening, re-drilling, or abandonment, falls under Utah Division of Water Rights rules and must be done by a licensed driller. We are licensed for both well drilling and pump installation.
My pump was replaced two years ago and it's failing again. Why?
That pattern usually means the well is the problem, not the pump: sand wearing the pump out, a falling water level, or a pump sized wrong for the lift. A second pump in the same conditions tends to fail the same way, so it is worth diagnosing the well before buying more hardware.
Do you work on wells you didn't drill?
Yes. We repair pumps in wells drilled by other contractors.
How much does well pump repair cost?
It depends on what failed, how deep the pump is set, whether it has to be pulled, and which parts are needed. Call 435-233-8954 for a free estimate. You approve the price before any work starts.
Contact Langford Drilling
Call 435-233-8954 or email langforddrilling@gmail.com for a free water-well drilling estimate. Headquartered at 5413 North 4200 West, Cedar City, Utah 84721. Serving Iron, Washington, Beaver, Kane, Garfield, Piute, Wayne, Millard, Sevier, Sanpete, and Juab counties.