water shuts off and on
#1
08-15-15, 09:54 AM
water shuts off and on
i have a well and a pump, the water to all or part of my house will shut totally off after about 7 or 8 minutes and then after about 2 minutes it comes on again in full force, im guessing my pump isnt activating until my tank is empty or something like that??
#2
08-15-15, 10:12 AM
Welcome to the forums! Many factors are involved in a well pump system. First, do you have a viable pressure tank in line with the pump, either at the pump location or in the house? It stores water under pressure and makes the pump work less. Without the tank, or if the tank bladder is ruptured and the tank is waterlogged, the pump will quick cycle and can lose its effectiveness. Secondly, what are your cut in and cut out pressure settings on the pressure switch set at? Are the contacts corroded or pitted? Thirdly, the pitot tube that leads from the pressure line to the pressure switch can be corroded or filled with gunk. They are often the least insulated part of the system, and can freeze quite quickly in the winter, BTW.
#3
08-15-15, 10:43 AM
thanx, im not sure what any settings are, i have a tank outside the house, there is a pressure gage inbetween my pump motor and the tank that reads 50, with the water running it will instantly drop to 0 after several minutes and i lose all water, i turn off the water and wait 3 r 4 minutes and the pump comes back on and i instantly have full pressure water again and the gage climbs back up towards 50
#4
08-15-15, 11:11 AM
Open the cover on the pressure switch and see if the contacts are pitted or corroded. I would turn off the power first, so you can actually pull the contacts apart and view them. If they are OK, leave the cover off and restore power and note the pressure at cut in and cut out. Also you need to know the pressure of the tank with it completely empty, so turning off the pump and draining the tank will give you a pressure reading at the schraeder valve on top. It should be 2 lbs or so below cut in pressure. Some cut in at 30, so it should be showing 28 lbs pressure empty. If it doesn't, you will need to apply air pressure via a compressor until you attain the 28 lbs. Note what happens once you do that, zip it all up and turn it on again.
#5
08-15-15, 02:53 PM
Group Moderator
If it's taking several minutes for the pump to turn back on I'd suspect the pump's thermal protection is kicking in. After a couple minutes to cool it turns back on.
#6
08-15-15, 06:27 PM
Member
I've also seen similar behavior when the small pipe between the pressure switch and the pump tee is blocked with "stuff". If you watch the pressure switch contacts and they are not closing right away when the pressure falls, then you probably have this problem. It's easy to clean the pipe, but it involves disconnecting the pressure switch (turn power off!) and draining the system.
Good luck.
Good luck.
