Hello again, this is my third trip here, and both previous sessions were very helpful.

I've just purchased a new house that is supplied by a well. There is a pump at the bottom of the well (I see an electrical wire going toward the well head). The pipe from the well feeds into a pressure tank that has another pump attached to it.

The system works fine, except that the water pressure is too low. Showers are weak, especially on the upper floors. I notice the pressure increases slightly when the pump kicks on.

Is there a way to increase the pressure delivered to the house? Is the pressure delivered while the pump is on the max that this system will deliver? Would a larger tank help?

Thanks.

Glenn

Good morning, Would you be the same Glen I just helped out with a shower?
First locate the pressure control box. This will be a small 1 1/2" by 2 1/12" gray box the pump wires connect to.
I'm going to assume that you have a "square D pumptrol and that it has a 20 PSI cut in and a 40 PSI cut off setting, First turnoff the power at the breaker box, then pull the cover off the pressure switch and you will see two spring loaded bolts secured with nylon nuts. One tall, one short. To increase the cut in pressure, turn the nut on the tall bolt down. To increase the cut out pressure,(that's the one that will give you more pressure) turn the nut on the short bolt down. This should give you the additional preesure you desire. Good luck, Tom

You were talking about the adjustments in the grey box, do you turn them both down to increase water pressure or just the short one? Also, how many turns do you recommend?

If you look back at Tom's post he mentions both screws. Turning the one will cause the pump to start before the pressure gets as low as it does. Turning the other will make it keep pumping until the pressure is higher. Turn them both up and the pump will still have a reasonable length cycle, but at a pressure that will deliver more water. Try turning them 4-5 turns, and see if that helps. If not, another 4-5 turns. A bigger tank would lengthen the cycle, but still have the same pressure range. You would need to do that if the pump is kicking on every few minutes while drawing water. You would also need to put in a bigger tank if when your are rapidly drawing water, the pressure drops too low.

Rapid cycling can also be caused by a lack of air in the tank. Most tanks now have a bladder in them to retain the air to prevent this. It could still be a problem with an older tank, or one where the bladder is bad.

Does you tank have a galvanized 4 way fitting on it? It could be limed up. Maybe remove the gage and look at it. If it is full of crud, take it clear out and knock all of it out. You may need a lime and rust cleanser.

That really did the trick, thank you so much. 1 more question, Will this hurt the pump or bladder tank if it's turned up too much? My pressure gage on the pump is kicking on at 40psi and shutting off at 60 psi.

Hey Tony,

70 PSI's a tad high but acceptable. 45 to 5o PSI"s about average. Glad we could help. Tom

LOL, I changed my post about the time you sent a reply to my other post. The pump kicks on at 40psi and cuts off at 60psi, is that OK? By the way, you guys are great to help all of us out like this, GOD BLESS.

Hey Tony,

40/60 PSI is well within limits. A side note on your bladder tank. . Your air setting on the tank should be 2 pounds UNDER the cut in point in the pressure control box. If your pressure control has a 40 PSI cut in and 60 PSI cut out the tank pressure should read 38 PSI. This should be done with the pump off and no pressure in the system. In other words shut the pump off and open a faucet to bleed off the pressure before setting the bladder tank pressure. Good luck, Tom

Not sure what your saying, are you wedging the points open on the check valve switch so it will kick on early?

Hi Tony,

I'm wedging the little arm on the pressure switch that you have to move to prime the pump.

What type of well do you have, a deep or shallow wee. 25 ' or more would be considered a deep.

Over 75 feet deep.

Sounds to me like You're running out of water, or suffering what is called a dry well condition, when you are using water and the pump loses prime. If not you have a leak in the pipes above the water after drawing down the well some. Otherwise and most likely you have a bad foot (check) valve in the well. It allows water under pressure to flow from the tank/pump back into the well. A leak between the tank and foot valve is a possibly too. Shut off the water past the tank to the house. If the pump runs in that 8+ minutes you've proved the leak is on the well side of the tank. It won't be on the house side because that won't cause air to be sucked into the foot valve or the loss of prime but still, you could have a leaking toilet fill valve etc

There's no shut off for the water between the tank and the house. If it's a check valve problem, can it be fixed from inside the house?

Oh and will having the magic marker wedged in to keep the lever from moving too much, so that I don't lose all water pressure, hurt my system?

For goodness sake remove the magic marker! If you are doing what I think you are doing, you are wedging the reset lever on your switch to the on position which would cause your pump to run 24/7... not good.

First of all, you have a submerged pump so you are not losing prime. Submerged pumps don't lose prime since they are located towards the bottom of the well actually IN the water. If the problem is a checkvalve, then you will notice the pump will pump up to cut off pressure and shut down. If will watch the pressure gauge, you will notice it fall fairly rapidly down to the cut in pressure point. Then the pump will come back on and the cycle will repeat itself. The same thing will happen if there is a leak somewhere between the tank and the pump, but probably more slowly.

When you move the lever on the pressure switch, you are not priming the pump, you are simply turning it on. If that is the case, then the problem sounds more like the switch. When your pressure drops to 40 pounds (I believe that is what you stated your cut in pressure was), then the dual points in the switch should close and activate the pump. When it reaches 60#, then the points should separate and shut the pump off. It sounds like the points are not closing and you are having to do this manually with the reset lever.

Also be aware that your switch might have a pump protection setting that will shut down if pressure drops below 20#. This is done because the switch assumes that the water level has dropped below the pump and shuts it all down to protect the pump.

It may be that your water level has dropped and the pump no longer has sufficient water to pump consistently. It may also be that your switch is bad... hard to say with what you have described. However, the switch only costs $25.00 or so. Replacing it is fairly simple. This site does a nice job of showing you how. Can be done in an hour or two if you have even some experience with the electrical side of things. If it's not the switch, then all you have lost is $25.00. If it's the pump or the water table, then $25.00 will look small.

Replacing A Pressure Tank On A Residential Water Well System

Well, having reread your posts, I am assuming your pump is submerged since you stated it is deeper than 75'. Is the pump above ground? If not, then it is submerged. At any rate, the reset lever on the switch does not prime the pump, it just resets the switch and closes the contact points to turn on the pump.

jlisenbe,

Thank you for your time. The pump is submerged and from what you describe, it definitely sounds like a check valve problem.

Without the magic marker wedged in, there is no water coming out of the taps at all. I think it's time to call the pump people.

I wish you well. Just be aware that the magic marker thing really points to an issue with the switch, at least in my mind. With a faulty check valve, the pump will cycle on and off frequently but the switch should still turn the pump off and on properly.

You also said that that would keep the pump running 24/7. But the pump isn't running continuously. You'd hear it in the pressure tank, wouldn't you? I'm not saying that the switch isn't also the problem. I'm going to have the holding tank replaced tomorrow, too.

I'll post back here after everything is fixed to let you guys know the final score.

P. S. Please tell me that you could be wrong about the '24/7', before I go to bed tonight, so it's not on my mind.

My understanding is that keeping the reset switch jammed "on" will run the pump. I could be wrong about that. At any rate, you seemed to have checked that and it would seem the pump is not running. If you have any concerns about it, just turn off the breaker before you turn in. You can always turn it back on in the morning when you need it. And do let us know how the whole deal is resolved.

These sites are really good about switches/wells. Can be an interesting read before the pro arrives.

Boulder/GNC Water Well: How to reset a Square-D Low Pressure Cutoff (-M4) Switch

Green Road Farm ~ Submersible well pump installation & Troubleshooting