I came back from work friday night and there was no water...
saturday morning I go outside and fine the pressure switch harboring very large black widows... i get rid of them and the connecters are shot so i go buy a new pressure switch... I come back install and then accidentally let the wires from the pump fall down the well... spend the entire rest of the day trying to fish them out doing really dumb stuff... Finally we just lift up the pvc pipe until we see the wires and grab them I hook it back up and nothing happens... At this point im pretty close to just paying to have people come out and look at it... but im stubborn... sunday night I pull about 200 feet of pvc out of the ground to learn that all the way down at the pump it looks as if the wires were cut by something sharp almost as if by a knife all three wires cut clean so I reconnect them and we start sending the pipe back down and it snaps... luckily caught it by the wires monday morning i fixed the pipe up, get it all back down the well by monday afternoon... finished connecting the pvc from the top of the well drill casing to the pvc going to the house right at sun down.

TL;DR I had alot of problems with my well
That's my story... and this is where i really need help
We got water to the house but after about 5 minutes the pressure switch 20/40 went nuts and starting going on and off constantly. I found out this is "short cycling?" so i read up on that and went out side and let air out of my tank till about 14-16 psi on a (38psi tank?) and the short cycling stopped and we have constant water now but the water pressure is absolutely terrible compared to what it used to be, could barely take a shower...

the pump is 200 ft down and it's a 1HP franklin
I also had messed with the springs a good bit saturday thinking maybe that was something to do with it not working so im buying a new one today so i know for sure its set at 20/40

any help would be greatly appreciated THANKS

edit: oh and btw my plan right now is if the brand new 20/40 doesn't work is with the new one im going to turn clockwise the BIG spring 3-6 times to see if that helps the pressure (advice on if something also needs to be done with the tank would be helpful)

 

You need to reset the pressure on your tank.
We have a sticky here that explains how.
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/we...well-info.html
second post down.

Also read my post in that thread about what a proper cycle is supposed to look and sound like.

 

Okay so What should I set the PSI on the tank if i'm going to turn the big spring's nut down to increase the pressure or is there no way to tell?

can i just buy a 30/50 then? and set it to 28psi?

but from my understanding of what i've been reading i can just make my 20/40 a 30/50 technically by turning the nut on the big spring down

 

Don't mess with the settings until you get the tank set right.

 

i drained the water and got it set to 16-18 psi with the new pressure switch on it and the pressure is better than before but I would like to make it better

 

It should be cycling between 20 and 40. Is it?

 

Well Pressure Switches - YouTube

 

I wouldn't know there's no gauge or anything like that on the pipes and there's no room for one either but it seems as if it's taking longer to cut on and off than it was previously

 

You need to get a gauge on there. They only cost $5. Sometimes the tank has a tire valve on it so you can use a tire gauge. Sometimes the tanks have a plug which can be removed and replaced with a gauge.

 

I have tire gauge thing on top of the tank that's how i've been able to tell how much PSI is in the tank but on the pipes/plumbing past the switch or near the switch there is no gauge or room to put one.

 

Using your tire guage, take numerous readings while a friend draws water.

Did you read my post about what a normal cycle looks like?
Here it is.
Here is how things are supposed to work:

1. The system is at rest. The pump is off. The pressure is at the highest value, 50 or 60 is that value depending on what the pressure switch is set for. For purposes of explanation, we will assume that the switch is set to 40/60, so the gauge reads 60 at this point.
2. A tap is opened. Water begins to exit the tank. Pressure begins to go down. You can see the pressure go down by watching the pressure gauge.
3. The pressure passes the midway point. The gauge reads 50.
4. The pressure is now down to 40. The pressure switch clicks and turns the pump on.
5. Now pressure is dependent on the pump. The tank does nothing since it is receiving and sending water at the same time. Depending on how much water is exiting the tank, the pump may start catching up and the pressure will rise such as if a kitchen tap was open, or it may decrease if a large amount is leaving, like a shower or washing machine is being used. Whatever happens though, it is only the pump that supplies any pressure.
6. Tap is turned off. Pump keeps running. Pressure rises.
7. The pressure passes the midway point. The gauge reads 50.
8. Pressure is at 60 and the pressure switch clicks again, turning the pump off. It should not turn on again unless a tap is opened and the pressure drops to 40.
9. The system is at rest. The pump is off. The pressure is at the highest value, 50 or 60 is that value depending on what the pressure switch is set for.

And the cycle repeats.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/we...#ixzz2Q01Xk7to

 

It seems like a full complete cycle it takes about a minute with the shower and kitchen faucet full blast for the pump to come back on between filling up the tank. The highest point of the cycle for the tank seems 40-42 psi... the tank says it's a 38psi is this bad?

when i let all the water out and the pump was off the psi is at around 15 psi

 

Must not be a very big tank.

"when i let all the water out and the pump was off the psi is at around 15 psi"

I'm not sure i know what you mean. If you follow the reset instructions, you would know what to set the tank at.

Here they are. I am guessing, but I think you may have a bladder type.

Instructions to pressurize a Galvanized steel pressure tank:


1. Turn the power OFF to the well pump.
2. Open the drain at the bottom of the tank until the pressure on the gauge is down to 0-psi...
3. Take the gauge out (that breaks the vacuum on the tank)...
4. Empty all water from the tank....
5. Apply thread sealant to the threads on the gauge, then replace it.
6. Close the faucet...
7. Turn the power back on...
This will start to refill the tank with some water, but will properly give the tank the air charge/cushion needed for proper operation.


Instructions to pressurize a water tank that has a bladder in it,(newer style)


1. Turn the power to the well pump OFF.
1a. Turn off main water valve.
2. Completely drain the pressure tank.
3. Check the amount of air in the tank using the air valve on top of the tank
4. Using a small compressor, adjust the pressure to read 2-3 psi under the cut-in pressure of your pump. For example, if you have a 30/50 pressure switch,provided nobody has re-adjusted the switch, you air pressure in the tank should be set at 27/28 psi.
If the tank is out of air and will not hold air, then the bladder/diaphragm is bad and the tank needs to be replaced.
5. Turn power back on allowing the tank to refill.
6. Turn main water valve to house back on.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/we...#ixzz2Q0AyeYN3

 

I guess i'm just going to tighten down the nut on the small spring for more pressure?

nevermind i looked up my tank and 38psi is what it was set at from the factory it can withstand up to 125 psi

I guess this is the question im having

If you have a switch that is 20/40 you set your tank to 16-18 psi right?

Well if you tighten down the screws on the springs isn't that technically making your 20/40 go up? so wouldn't the psi in the tank also need to go up?

 

Yes, it would. Watch the video and the guy explains which screws do what. I would only fool with the big nut. Then I would watch how high it goes (knowing that the low one is 20 pounds less). Then set the tank accordingly.

 

See I thought it would to but the guy in the video specifically says do not mess with air AT ALL just dont AND to only tighten the small one...

 

See, I don't know much about messing with the switch. Others know more. I just buy the pressure I want and don't ever fool with it. I'm a 40/60 man, but some pumps can't do that. Others think 30/50 is fine. 20/40 is for irrigation and most irrigation heads are designed for 30psi.

But I do know one thing: if the tank isn't right, nothing else will be right. That's why I put you through all this. So many people want to start fiddling with the knobs before they know everything else is right that they end up screwing themselves.

Didn't he start off saying that the big nut would change the range? And the little nut would change the lower number? It's been so many years, I can't remember. Maybe somebody else can help you with that.

I got the "don't add air" thing. But that's because while some people jump on the knobs, others think just adding air will increase the pressure.

 

thank you for all your help and yes hopefully someone can

 

I added more to my post to explain a little more. I think if you change the range, you must add air.

Oh, and one other thing. The more air you have to add, the less water you will have in the tank. That means it will cycle more frequently and that means you will wear out the pump faster. I am a big proponent of bigger tanks. Let's say you have a "100 gallon tank" That means when you add air, for 40/60, you only have 30 gallons of water in it. That's not very much.

And when you say the pump cycled after one minute, that's not good. You should be looking at 5 or more minutes.

These new tanks can be ganged together to increase water volume while still having pressure.