Hello,

I've recently moved into a house (July) and think I'm starting to have a problem with my well setup and am hoping to get a second opinion before I start trying to fix it. As a disclaimer this is my first house on a well / septic so it's all a little new to me.

The problem I'm experiencing is that at times my water pressure seems too low. When taking a shower there is a moment just before the pump kicks on where the pressure drops very significantly. We have never thought we had good pressure, but the real low drops were not happening at first when we moved in. It seems like they have just slowly started over time.

I took a look at the pressure gauge by the pressure tank and the pump is turning off at 50 psi and it is turned on a little under 30. From reading other posts on here I'm guessing it is suppose to be setup for 30 on / 50 off. I'm not sure exactly how low it got but it was maybe close to 25. The gauge was pretty jerky and abrupt at the low pressures.

My thought is that maybe the pressure switch is going bad and I should probably replace it. I was also thinking of maybe replacing the pressure gauge since it was so jerky at the bottom. I'm not sure if the jerkyness (if that's a word) was due to the other problem or due to the gauge being bad. It seems odd that the switch would just all of a sudden start going bad that fast though so I'm concerned I may be on a wild goose chase here.

Does my theory sound right?

Also if I replace the pressure switch, would you guys see any reason not to adjust the to a 40 / 60 setpoint? I think I would much prefer my low pressure to be 40 psi rather than 30 psi and it looks like the tank can withstand 125 psi (based on sticker on side of tank). Are there any draw backs to increasing pressure that I"m over looking?

Thanks a lot.

Well / System Information

Well Age: 15 years
Well Depth: 135 ft
Pump Type: Submersible (not sure of brand)
Casing Dia: 5"
Pressure Tank: 35 gallon Flex-Lite, Max working Pressure 125 psi (5 years old)

 

Turn off the circuit breaker to your well pump. Open a faucet until no water comes out. Then use an accurate tire pressure gauge and check the air pressure in your pressure tank. It should be set 2-3 psi less than the pressure at which your pump turns on.

 

+1 , to address the pressure drop at the pump start up.

If you do adjust the pressure switch for more pressure you will need to adjust the air pressure in the pressure tank, again as Pilot Dane suggests above. If your air pressure is higher then your cut in pressure you will get the pressure tank bladder collapsing on itself causing the pressure drop you observed. If the air pressure is too low, you will get less drawdown (amount of water your pressure tank puts out between pump off to pump on again). 2 to 3 psi below cut in is optimum.

 

I'll give that a shot right now. I was thinking the tank was probably fine because the cycles seem to last awhile (5 min with a faucet open). I'll try and let you know what I find with the bladder pressure.

 

I checked the air pressure and it was somewhere around 33 psi. Or, maybe a little higher as my gauge was hitting the ceiling around that pressure. Being that my pressure switch isn't tripping until less than 30 psi that seems to explain my sudden drop in pressure right before the pump switches on. THANKS for the advice.

Now, I'm kind of making the assumption that is impossible for that bladder to gain in pressure... that seems like a safe assumption to make but correct me if I'm wrong. So I am guessing that the bladder was previously set to 33 and the pump turn on pressure was set to something like 35 psi. And, now my switch is starting to go out and as a result the turn on pressure is slowly drifting down and once that turn on pressure got below the bladder pressure is when I started having the weird drops in pressures.

Does that makes sense?

If that seems logical I'll try replacing the switch this weekend if I can find a new on in a store, but that brings me back to the question of is there a risk of using a 40/60 switch instead of a 30/50? Would it be safer to use a 30/50 adjusted up to maybe 35/55? I don't know the specifics of the pump that I have so if a heavy duty pump is needed to use a 40/60 switch then I don't know how to verify that my pump is capable.

 

Most pumps can achieve higher pressures so no change in the pump is needed if you adjust the pressure switch or go with a new one altogether. Most people prefer higher water pressure, especially in the shower. The biggest downside can be the increased pressure on the pipes and fixtures. If they are in good shape the 40/60 switch is well within what everything should be able to handle. It is more pressure though than 30/50 so any weak spot is more likely to pop. It's nothing I would worry too much about.

As for 30/50, 35/55 or 40/60 they are all ranges that mostly overlap. Unless you suspect a problem with your switch I would not replace it. You can turn up the pressure on your existing switch if you like. Whatever you choose you will have to go through the procedure of setting the air pressure in your pressure tank to be 2-3 psi less than the pump's turn on pressure.

 

Does the pump recover quickly after it starts pumping. In other words.... once the pump starts and you are not using any water from the house.... does the pressure rise fairly evenly and quickly or does it get to 45psi and then slow down and hang there.

 

Thanks guys. I think I'll try and adjust the switch up to 40/60 then and then also readjust the air pressure. The pressure at the gauge is a little choppy, but I think that is the gauge.The pump does seems to recover pretty evenly (averaging out the readings) and goes right up to 50 before shutting off. it will recover all the way to 50 like that too when the water is still running somewhere.

 

Just so you aren't surprised, these pressure switches are adjustable somewhat; but I don't think you can change a 30/50 into a 40/60, or a 20/40 into a 30/50. I've tried . . . . and you run out of threads on the adjusting screws before you achieve your objective. I've tried.

Right now, I'm running a 1/4 HP Pump which simply cannot produce adequate pressure to satisfy the cut-out PSI on a 40/60; but I couldn't adjust the 40/60 down to become a 40/52 Switch. I tried.

And since we don't like dealing with a mere 30 PSI cut-in on a 30/50 (too low for showers on our 2nd floor), I adjusted a 30/50's cut-in up to about 35 PSI and left the 50 PSI cut-out alone (as set by Square D).

When my 1/4 HP Pump has finished it's work, I'll install a 1/2 HP Pump that I have waiting in the wings, and re-install the 40/60 Switch . . . . and all will be good.

Just a thought.

 

Based on PJ's question above, I'm guessing that is how you know your pump can't handle a given pressure. If the pressure doesn't recover quickly and smoothly to the stop setpoint. Is that what you were seeing when you tried using a 40/60 setting on your pump Vermont?

 

That's an affirmative; but right now, I don't recall the pump "slowing down" specifically (though that may have been going on internally).

The little pump, which I originally acquired to replace a Myers Piston Pump, would do all it could and then suffer a thermal clunk out when it simply couldn't go any further. (while I watched)

Once I placed the 35/52 in control, making the cut-out something which was achievable, it was fine, and remains functional after 2 or 3 years of operating.

 

Well I got a new 40/60 pressure switch and got it swapped out this weekend. It seems to be working pretty good. The tank fills up in around 50 seconds and the pressure seems to be pretty smooth all the way up to shutting off. I also installed a new pressure gauge, and I'm glad I did. The operation was a lot smoother than the old one. I also adjusted the bladder pressure to match the switch. Really the hardest part was trying to fine tune the switch to go on & off right at 40 & 60. Not bad of a job over all.

Thanks for the help and advice to all.

 

The exact cut in and out points of the switch are not critical or important. You just need to set the air pressure in the tank to be 2-3 psi less than the pump's cut in (turn on) pressure and it will work.