Great forum here, folks, been reading for a couple of months now. Sorry if this gets verbose, but I'm at wit's end. Here's the problem---

We have pretty decent pressure, well is approximately 150' deep, good water with occasional iron oxide blooms. Got the shock chlorination procedure down, works like a champ. Middle of last summer, water would cut off intermittently, as in could just get a bathtub half filled, pressure would drizzle, drop, stop. Turn water off, wait a minute or two, pressure back up----than same thing. When we bought the house 5 years ago, inspectors ran all water appliances for at least 30 minutes at the same time, worked like a champ.

We are in NE Oklahoma, under severe drought conditions, but plenty of water in casing still.

Well is 75-100 yards from the house, downhill, probably 10-15' elevation drop. Bladder type pressure tank, not sure of capacity, tank is app. 30" tall by 18" diameter, Well-Trol/Flex Corp. brand? HAD a pressure switch with re-set lever, anytime we'd have a power drop or outage we'd have to run down to the well to get the pressure back up.....PIA! Dont' know pump size/capacity/specs---

Here's what I've done and found;
1. Replaced original pressure switch (all are 30/50's), with new one with same switch. Worked pretty well for a day or two (never really stressed it), then same problems.

2. Replaced that with switch without lever. All before discovering details regarding tank pressure settings, possible water-loggedness, etc. After finding that info, ran tank out to 0. Pressured back up to 48 psi----had adjusted PS to 50/70 (per the old gauge---more to follow) Better for a bit, then same. Had wife run up to house and run bathtub, sat and watched the switch work perfectly for at least an hour----cycle, switch on, cycle, switch off, at least half a dozen times. Then, as it cycles, when coming down to cut-on, it seems to struggle, tries to come up, then drops below cut on, and pressure drops on off. Turn water off. Watch gauge. In about 1-2 minutes, BY ITSELF, with no apparent closing of switches or "clicks", suddenly pressure builds again, returns to cut-off level, stops. Sits and holds.

3. Yesterday, after running the whole procedure again, realized that the gauge stuck at around 18 psi reading, thereby misleading me as to what pressure I was actually running---even after having adjusted the PS main on/off setting screw, I was actually still only getting 30/50 on-off.....and had too much air pressure in tank which I understand can act just like a water locked tank.....

4. Good news is, tank seems to be fine. No water coming out of air valve, holds pressure to the tee. Killed breaker, dropped water and pressure to 0, pulled everything. New gauge. New pressure switch, new 6" nipple that PS sits on, checked old fittings for fouling, etc. Re-install, re-pressure to 28 psi, water up at PS preset 30/50---new gauge and tire gauge on pressure tank read exactly the same. Same problem (see middle of #2). Breaker off, water out, pressure out, pressure tank back up to 38#, adjust switch to 40/60, hit it perfect when breaker and water come back on----and same thing. We have water at the house, we just can't run more than one thing with it. You can see the "cycle" happen, and particularly in the tubs you can watch it cycle about 6 times, then start to trickle off to nothing.......
Interestingly, you can fill the tubs with the showers---when the water remains under a bit of pressure it seems to hang in there---but the bath spigots, and a big pump faucet out by the barn, will run the water off in under 10 minutes.

5. Neighbor is the fellow that built the house, installed plumbing and current well mechanics. He and his son have both recently built houses out here, and put "high-pressure" (80/120?) pressure switches on their wells, and both mention the pressure can blow you through the wall. They seem to think I'm on to a run of bad switches, and that the bigger switch may solve the problems. Which scares me a little, as I don't think the tank is rated for that.......

6. Last thing---both of the last 2 switches, including the one I put on yesterday---I'm not seeing the "switch connectors" move on and off---they seem to just stay closed. The first non-levered switch I put on, watched and heard it cycle through like a clock......could any of this indicate an electrical current problem?

Guess that's it. I'm at the end of any knowledge I've gotten off this forum, and have exceeded my skill levels as well---I don't have a clue as to what's next. Any and all advice will be appreciated, and feel free to email me as well.

 

Do you have a "two-wire" or a "three-wire" pump? (The latter has a control box, usually on the wall somewhere near the pressure switch. The power going out to the pump comes either from the control box, for a three-wire pump, or from the pressure switch for a two-wire pump.)
Can you check the resistance of the wires, between each pair and between each wire to ground (with the power off)?
Can you check the amperage draw on each wire, while the pump is running?
If the water suddenly stops and the pressure switch contacts are still closed, it sounds like the pump is shutting off on thermal overload.

 

Wow, thanks Fixitron---was beginning to wonder if I'd posted incorrectly or used some "off" terms or something! Was starting to feel pretty ignored around here! The pump is a two-wire, there is no control box, and I have no idea how to do either of the things you mentioned---but my neighbor is an electrician and I'm betting he does. This falls in line with my "current" theory, and following what you suggested, am I looking at electrical problems only, or problems with the pump itself?

 

Sometimes posts do get ignored. I think yours was ignored because it sounds like a head scratcher, which can take more time than most posts. Sometimes I see a head scratcher and don't respond because I don't have the time to follow through with troubleshooting.

I am assuming that the pump is a submersible (down in the well), and not a "jet" pump above the well. Is my assumption correct?
When the contacts on the pressure switch close, they send power down to the pump. The pump will pump water until the pressure switch is "satisfied". Apparently your switch is not getting satisfied. That could be from a failing pump (could be either the pump end or motor end), a poor electrical circuit (a corroding wire or connection). or not enough water.
The electrical end is usually fairly easy to check out, so it is a good place to start. An electrician should know how to check the amperage on each of the wires to the pump and how to disconnect each of those wires and check the resistance across the two wires, as well as each wire to ground. He or she should also check the voltage at the pressure switch. Your pump most likely has a 1/2 HP motor, which should draw 5 amps at 230 volts. The motor windings should read 4.2-5.2 ohms between them, maybe a little more if there is a long run of cable to the motor. The resistance of each motor lead to ground should be more than at least 500,000 ohms.

Your old pressure switch had a low level cutoff. If the pressure goes below about 20 psi, the switch opens and stays open until it is manually reset. This keeps the pump from constantly running when it is not able to pump any water, such as if the well (or spring tile) goes dry. If the contacts on the pressure switch are closed and stay closed, your pump may be running constantly.
Your pump may have a built-in thermal overload, such that if it works too hard and gets too hot, it will trip off. It would then reset itself when the motor cooled down.
I suspect that either your pump is tripping or you are pumping your well down and it is not recharging as fast as it used to. Can you check the level of the water in the well? If you can, it would help to check the level after the well has been idle for several hours (such as overnight) with very little water being used. Then check the level when you seem to run out of water.
Let us know what you find.