Yup. Small, narrow wedge shape pebble stuck between impeller and housing. Apparently the water flow is “violent” enough to somehow carry such in there. Will HAVE to mitigate.
I think I’m gonna get a section of 2” flexible drain pipe. It occurs to me that when the ditch is full (or even the side yard) I could use this thing as a “blaster” to clear culverts and such. Use a section of 2” PVC or PE pipe as a “wand”, 1-1/2” if I want higher psi (but less flow).
Man, I feel this! We live on a very sloped yard, but if we don’t direct the water flow the correct way, we end up with a near pool where you don’t want one. We hired someone to install a drain that redirects the water to a ravine. That was money well spent.
One of these days, I’d almost like to have a natural pool. That maybe is a pipe dream, or else very expensive, but it would be cool to have a rocky creek path that leads to a pool at the bottom. I bet somebody with a creative brain could help us do this, but it would probably be a pretty big project. Just dreaming here.