We had a power outage today that lasted about 10 hrs. After power finally came back on the house now has very little water pressure. If I leave a faucet open for very long it will pretty much stop all together. The pressure doesn't seem to be building back up either. There is a pressure switch near the expansion tank that has some kind of a manual lever on the side of it also if that helps.

I should be able to troubleshoot this but I just don't have well experience. Any help would be appreciated. I have volt meter and can take reading but not sure what to check.

thanks

 

more info to help.

Well is about 600' deep. Pump is down in the well outside. Pump was just replaced a little more than a year ago. So not likely that the pump is bad. Pressure(expansion) thank is in the garage along with pressure switch, gage and water heater.

 

more info,

I took the cover off the pressure switch to check the voltage there to make sure I at least have power. Power to the contacts are good but they are not closing. Pressure is now less than 10 psi.

like I said earlier there is a small lever on the side by the contacts that looks like I could use to manually pull the contact in. Not sure if this is a good idea though.

Ok, I am stilll troubleshooting it. I used the manual lever on the side of the pressure control switch to manually pull the contacts in and the pump runs and the pressure increases. Not sure what it should go up to. I'm thinking about 35 but I disengaged it when it got a little over 20 psi.

It is looking to me like maybe a bad pressure control switch. Not sure though. Hopefully there is enough info here now for someone to tell me.

On an added note. When I disengage the switch I can hear a noise in the pressure tank. Is that normal? Just small amount of water hammer maybe? How do you tell if a blatter in the tank goes bad? That might be a question for another day. Now I just need to get my water pressure to stay up. THanks

 

Appears you have a low pressure cut-off type pressure switch. The little lever you mention will close the contacts when it is just barely lifted and held in that position. Hold it long enough to get pressure back up enough switch will stay closed. That should get you back in water business.

Good luck,
RR

 

Ok. looks like I have it working now. What I did was keep contacts pulled in until pressure got up over 35 and then disengaged lever that had contacts manually made. Pump kept running till pressure got up to about 65 and then shut off automatically. I turned on some faucets and watched the pressure as it dropped back down. At about 45 it cut back on.

So do you think the pressure control switch was just stuck or did the tank have to be pressurized manually to get it working again. I sure would like to know your thoughts for future problems.

 

You did the recommended procedure for that type of pressure switch.
Use the lever to close contacts long enough to get past cut-in pressure and then release. You are back in business. If the need arises to temporarily shut off power, just flip switch all the way up and it will keep contacts open.
I have used this type of switch for about 50 years and currently have one on my well pump.

Have fun,
RR

 

Thanks, Glad to have it back to working. So Rough Rooster is it just that the switch has to see at least that minimum pressure to operate?

 

Yes, that is correct.

The switch is designed to shut off pump if pressure falls below set point. It then must be manually operated to get pressure back to that set point. It is a safety feature for low output wells. If the pump takes more water than well can produce, the pressure drops below set point and pump shuts off. This protects pump from burning out when well is out of water.

RR

 

I am still not sure of how the switch knows that it has dropped below a certain point that the pump won't come on again. I am a troubleshooter in a manufacturing plant and we use lots of pressure switches and ones that have a similar setup with a differential setting and a seperate setting that sets where the range is going to be, but I guess I am hung up on the mechanical operation that actually tells the pressure switch to not turn back on.

Is this something that you can explain to me? I think maybe I need to go to the manufacturers website and see the info on the switch. Anything you can add is great though. But hey, at least it is working.

 

Normally when the pressure gets to the cut-in point the pump starts and when the pressure gets to the cut-out point the pump stops.

A typical pressure switch like this one will allow the pump to run continuously...... whether or not it's pumping. So if the pump wasn't pumping any water at all..... it would run forever or until it burned up.

With your switch.... when the pressure goes 10psi below the cut-in pressure.... the low water cutoff mechanism engages. With this type of switch a power failure will definitely cause it to trip as the pressure would get to 0 but it could also trip if your pump was having a temporary delivery problem or you used a lot of water at one time and the pump was struggling to replenish.


Square D FSG-2-M4 is typical of your type of switch.

 

the "low water cutoff mechanism" is the part that I would like to mechanically understand. Can you help with that or refer me to a schematic or video that explains it? thanks for the continued effort even though the problem has been fixed.

 

Kinda hard to explain. Initial pressure engages a toggle that then locks the diaphragm to contact point lever allowing switch to operate. As long as toggle is engaged everything works. When toggle disengages then diaphragm and contact lever aren't rigidly connected.

Do a search for explanation of this type switch as I am not getting the message right.

RR

 

It's not a low water cut off mechanism, it is a low water PRESSURE cut off mechanism.

It is a device that is there to save your pump. As said above. When the water pressure gets down to the cut in pressure the pump will start up. IF there is water, the pressure will build again as your pressure tank fills and shut off the pump. If, for some reason, there is no water (for example: your well has temporarily run dry or you have a big freakin leak in the line, etc.) the pressure switch will measure that as a pressure below the cut in and most pumps would turn on. Since there is no water, they would not ever turn off. Continuous running will burn out that pump fairly quickly. Replacing submersible pumps is very, very expensive, so some manufacturers add this feature that you have with the idea that in most normal operations the water pressure would not get below that level since the pump will normally cut in at a much higher pressure level. It only kicks in during abnormal situations.

The reason your toggle triggered was not just because of your power outage. It was because you had a power outage AND you kept using water. As your water demand reduced the water in your pressure tank the water pressure kept decreasing, eventually triggering your safety shut off.

You didn't do anything wrong. You just need to remember, in the future, that when the power has been off for a long time, you have probably reduced the water in your holding tank to a pressure below the safety shut off and you just need to toggle that and get your system back in service. If you have a pressure guage you can simply tank a look at it and if it is above the cut in pressure when the power comes on, do nothing and if it is below the cut in pressure, when the power has come on and it is not increasing on its own, then give that toggle a pull. In either case, nothing has been harmed. Everything has been protected.