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Marci777 · Mar 19, 2008, 08:45 AM

Hi,
Im a newbee here so if I don't ask something correctly let me apologize ahead of time. I have a question regarding my pressure tank having no water in it. We have a 190 ft well, with submersible pump. We noticed that the house water pressure dropped so I went into the basement and found the contacts on the square d switch stuck closed, I cleaned them, however they stayed closed and might I mention the pressure gauge reads around 10psi. So I replaced switch with new switch and its contacts would not close at all. I also checked the air pressure of the drained tank and it did check to be holding air at 28-29psi. I ended up putting the old switch back on so that at least we can have water in the house, however we use the main breaker to turn water on/off as needed (wow what a pain). No to sum up what seems to be happening, water entering house at approx. 10psi, water is never filling the pressure tank , and water go to source wherever needed. Help, what are some reason's for no water entering bladder? Thank you, Marci :eek:

hkstroud · Mar 19, 2008, 10:30 AM

It sounds like the old switch was doing its job of turning on the pump when the tank pressure dropped below the cut in setting. Don't know why the new switch points didn't close if properly installed and the cut in pressure was adjusted to the 30 lbs. setting. The reason for the lack of pressure could be anything from defective pump to a dropping water level in the well, to an obstruction in the pipe from the well of a defective valve.
Since you are turning the pump on and off with the breakers it is unlikely that a breaker has tripped.
Suggest that you cut or disconnect the well pipe from the tank and see what kind of volume and pressure you have. Do this ahead of any valves you have. Next suggest that you obtain a amp probe to see what kind of amperage the pump is pulling. If the pump is drawing the proper amperage (which depends on the size of the pump motor) you probably have a faulty pump. If the water table has dropped but you can still pump some water out I would think that eventually you would build up pressure in the tank but might take a long time.

jlisenbe · Mar 19, 2008, 04:16 PM

HK is correct in pointing out that the points on the switch are supposed to be closed when there is no pressure on the system. The points will not open until the pressure builds up to the cut off point.

You say the old switch at least gives water in the house even though it must be turned off/on at the breaker. What pressure will the old switch allow the system to be pumped up to?

Marci777 · Mar 19, 2008, 06:51 PM

Only to the 10psi mark, which I believe is the well pump pressure only. Thank you

jlisenbe · Mar 20, 2008, 05:32 PM

Sounds like your pump is having problems. It is only pumping up to 10# and can't get above that. Just be aware that 10# of pressure will result in a disappointing, sorry, little pitiful stream of water in the house. If you seem to be getting good pressure, then your gauge may be bad.

In situations like this I always think of disconnecting the well pipe from the pressure tank and running the pump to see what kind of volume you are getting. If you do this and the pump is delivering a pitiful little stream of water instead of a robust stream then you start looking at the pump and well pipe. If the volume of water seems good then you are probably looking at some other problem.

Marci777 · Mar 21, 2008, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Marci777

Hi,
Im a newbee here so if I dont ask something correctly let me apologize ahead of time. I have a question regarding my pressure tank having no water in it. We have a 190 ft well, with submersible pump. We noticed that the house water pressure dropped so I went into the basement and found the contacts on the square d switch stuck closed, I cleaned them, however they stayed closed and might I mention the pressure gauge reads around 10psi. So I replaced switch with new switch and its contacts would not close at all. I also checked the air pressure of the drained tank and it did check to be holding air at 28-29psi., I ended up putting the old switch back on so that at least we can have water in the house, however we use the main breaker to turn water on/off as needed (wow what a pain). No to sum up what seems to be happening, water entering house at approx. 10psi, water is never filling the pressure tank , and water go to source wherever needed. Help, what are some reason's for no water entering bladder? Thankyou, Marci :eek:

Okay, here is what Im working on now. I was told to check the pressure in the main supply line of the well pump. I disconnected the main supply, hooked up a contraption with a pressure gauge and pump in 50 psi of air and watched for any leaks. Thank goodness there was no loss in pressure. (I am told this checks for a broken main line). While this gadget was still hooked on main line I check the well pressure and at this point the gauge is reading 18-20psi. I also measure the rate of water flow from main line and it turned out to be 6-7 gallons per minute. So now Im wondering if the check valve between the main and the original gauge that is set in line is having an issue. Im going to put it back on now and measure the water flow to see if the check valve is restricting water flow.
I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYONE SO FAR FOR THEIR ADVICE (sorry don't mean to scream) But I really do mean it. I will get back and let everyone know what happens at this point. Any advice please send my way. Thank you all, Marci

jlisenbe · Mar 21, 2008, 12:25 PM

I think you are saying that with the pump running and the gauge on the main line, you are reading about 20# pressure. I would expect it to be considerably higher than that. Obviously, if the pump cannot develop over 20# of pressure, it cannot pump up to 50# pressure in the tank. Six gallons a minute under no load also strikes me as pretty low.

A check valve problem will generally allow water to flow back down the well pipe once the pump stops running. YOu will go from, say, 50# to 30# in seconds.

I still think that everything you have described points to the pump. Best of luck to you. Please let us know the eventual resolution of this problem.

Marci777 · Mar 23, 2008, 05:37 AM

Originally Posted by Marci777

Hi,
Im a newbee here so if I dont ask something correctly let me apologize ahead of time. I have a question regarding my pressure tank having no water in it. We have a 190 ft well, with submersible pump. We noticed that the house water pressure dropped so I went into the basement and found the contacts on the square d switch stuck closed, I cleaned them, however they stayed closed and might I mention the pressure gauge reads around 10psi. So I replaced switch with new switch and its contacts would not close at all. I also checked the air pressure of the drained tank and it did check to be holding air at 28-29psi., I ended up putting the old switch back on so that at least we can have water in the house, however we use the main breaker to turn water on/off as needed (wow what a pain). No to sum up what seems to be happening, water entering house at approx. 10psi, water is never filling the pressure tank , and water go to source wherever needed. Help, what are some reason's for no water entering bladder? Thankyou, Marci :eek:

Check valve did work fine. I put all plumbing back together and was hoping for a miracle, however no such luck. I thought of one more test to try and that was to empty all the air from the bladder and then drain pipes, figuring I'd start from scratch (since my bladder had no water in it). After all the air was drained from bladder I then realized my pressure tank had water in it. At this point "jlisenbe" 3rd answer began to make sense to me. I could kick myself I should have thought of that. I called one of my boss's husband (who is a plumber) and described everything to him and he stated that it does sound like a stage in my pump went out. Now it all makes sense to me, I did not realize that the pumps run in stages. If anyone has any information about how the stages work I'd like to know. Monday plumber is coming out to replace well pump and I will keep in touch. Again Thank you, all.

jlisenbe · Mar 23, 2008, 10:02 AM

Each impeller is a stage. Each stage gives a gradual increase in the pressure. You have evidently lost an impeller (stage).

Marci777 · Mar 24, 2008, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by Marci777

Hi,
Im a newbee here so if I dont ask something correctly let me apologize ahead of time. I have a question regarding my pressure tank having no water in it. We have a 190 ft well, with submersible pump. We noticed that the house water pressure dropped so I went into the basement and found the contacts on the square d switch stuck closed, I cleaned them, however they stayed closed and might I mention the pressure gauge reads around 10psi. So I replaced switch with new switch and its contacts would not close at all. I also checked the air pressure of the drained tank and it did check to be holding air at 28-29psi., I ended up putting the old switch back on so that at least we can have water in the house, however we use the main breaker to turn water on/off as needed (wow what a pain). No to sum up what seems to be happening, water entering house at approx. 10psi, water is never filling the pressure tank , and water go to source wherever needed. Help, what are some reason's for no water entering bladder? Thankyou, Marci :eek:

Hi guys,
Well got the pump replaced today. I was surprised about how easy it was to replace. Only took about 1 1/2 - 2 hours and presto, I have more water pressure than I ever had since purchasing the house. We can flush the toilet and still have plenty of pressure left for the shower and other sources. Makes me wonder if the pump wasn't faulty when we purchased the house 11 yrs. Ago. Can believe how fast the toilet fills back up, even with the same original settings on the pressure tank. Wow am I relieved for now (Until I get the repair bill (lol)). Thanks a Billion and thanks for the pump picture

jlisenbe · Mar 24, 2008, 04:04 PM

I've experienced the same feeling with a new pump. Nice, isn't it?? Glad you solved your problem.