Hi all, I have a 40 year old house with well water. Last few days the following has been happening: When you turn on the water faucet or start the Washer Machine, the water flow starts, and then comes to a complete stop. A few seconds later it starts up again and is OK. From what I can tell about the house, there is a pump on the floor in the basement, Copper pipe leads to a big blue tank (expansion?) out, through a filter (just changed cartridge) splits up with one going to water heater (9 months old, about 15 feet away), and other starting its journey up into the house. When the water starts up again, I can hear the pump kick on. Does the expansion tank go bad somehow? For the record, my water quality isn't so good, it leaves blue/green stains in the shower and we don't drink it. I also suspect a hard water condition due to the spots on some of the laundry. Any and all help appreciated! Thanks

Hello- I'm trying to reactivate an old pump for a well on my property that hadn't been used for a few years. The well is strictly used for irrigation. I had an irrigation system specialist come by and take a look at it, and he's perplexed that there seems to be a backflow check valve on the intake pipe right where it enters the pump. He couldn't prime the system because of this, and said he's never seen anything like this before. The system doesn't use a pressure tank but instead has a relay system. My question: is this part of the design for a relay-triggered pump system? I'm ready to pull the intake pipe off and take this valve off (assuming there is a foot valve at the bottom), but want to make sure that this would be the right thing to do. The irrigation system guy told me to retain this relay system if possible and not to replace it with a pressure tank system, since it is more reliable and the pump won't continuously cycle when in use. So, has anyone had experience with something like this? This is the first well and pump I've ever dealt with, so I have no model for comparison. Thanks to all who respond. Mark