Bore Repairs & Pump Repairs in Perth

What bore repairs and pump repairs in Perth actually involves

A bore that has stopped delivering is not automatically a bore that needs replacing, and the difference between the two is a diagnosis rather than a guess. Loss of prime, a failed capacitor, a tripped circuit and a genuinely burnt-out motor all present the same way at the tap: nothing, or not enough. Eliminating the simple causes comes before anyone talks about pulling the pump. The WA Government's maintenance advice is a useful checklist for what to look at first: scaling, corrosion or damage on the headworks, casing and pump, and any change in the colour or smell of the water.

Diagnosis before replacement

When the pump does have to come out, that is the labour that makes bore repairs different from most home repairs: a submersible pump sits at the bottom of the casing and has to be extracted before it can be assessed, then reinstalled afterwards.

Iron fouling is the slow Perth failure mode rather than the sudden one. The WA Government says a change in the colour or odour of bore water can indicate the presence and build-up of iron bacteria that may impact the pump's efficiency, and that iron staining from garden bores is common in Perth. A bore that has gradually lost pressure over seasons is often a screen problem rather than a pump problem, and a camera inspection down the casing distinguishes the two. That distinction decides whether you are looking at a clean and redevelop, or a rebore.

Bore Repairs & Pump Repairs in Perth — common questions

My bore has stopped, or the pressure has dropped, or it keeps tripping the circuit — what is wrong?

Those three symptoms have different usual causes, and the simplest are worth eliminating first. A bore that has stopped entirely is often a pump that has lost its prime. A pump that runs but trips the circuit points at the electrical side. Pressure that has fallen away gradually over seasons is the one that is usually not the pump at all: it points at the screen or the bore itself, which is what a camera inspection is for. Nobody can tell you which of the three you have from a description, but knowing that the simple causes exist is what stops a small fault being quoted as a new bore.

How do I keep a Perth bore pump working through the winter switch-off?

The WA Government's advice is that during the sprinkler switch-off, from 1 June to 31 August, you run your system only to the minimum extent necessary to keep your pump in good working order. Before spring, check that the irrigation system is not leaking and replace any broken or clogged sprinkler nozzles. Testing and repair are allowed to the minimum extent necessary, which the Department deems to be no more than two minutes per station, and it recommends doing that work on your roster days, before 9am or after 6pm.

Can you repair the bore itself, or only the pump?

Both, and telling them apart is the first job. The pump is the part that fails suddenly; the bore — casing, screen, and the gravel pack around it — is the part that fails slowly, through fouling, blockage or damage. A camera inspection down the casing is what separates them, and it is the step that should come before a rebore is priced, because a rebore drills a new hole and a blocked screen may not need one.