Sudden drop in water pressure- entire house affected.

tryingtolearn · #1 Jan 2, 2007, 08:10 AM

Hi guys (and gals),

I own a 2 story house that was built in 1982 or so. We are on a well and have poly butylene pipes w/ copper fittings. We have lived in the home for about 8 months, and the water pressure has always been pretty good if only one outlet was being used, but if you ran both showers or flushed a toilet when you were taking a shower, it would lose some pressure, but would still keep going pretty decent.

today that all changed. the water pressure is low all over the house now all the time. when i turn on the shower or faucet, water will run fine for about 5-10 seconds and then the flow will slow down. i took a shower earlier and during the course of the shower (it was the only water using application going at the time) the rate was inconsistent. sometimes it got high enough to give a good spray, but at other times i was huddled under a few drips... somewhat back and forth.

ive checked all the faucets and showers and even toilets and the flow seems to be alot less everywhere including outside at the hose bibs. this is the same whether its cold or hot water.

ive checked for leaks and cant find any. ive looked at the hotwater heater and nothing obvious looks out of wack (basically everything is attached and no leaks) and have looked at the pump at the well house but really dont know what to look for there.

any ideas on what could be causing this? im hoping its not the pump, but w/ the whole system affected it seems to hint at that. but what do i know? im not the expert, but hopefully one of you guys are, and can give me a hand.

thanks in advance.
-ryan

Ken 297 · Jan 2, 2007, 08:31 AM

The first thing I would check is the water softener if you have one. Simply put in on by-pass for a minute to see if that helps.
If your on a pump you should have a pressure gauge somewhere, usually on the pump or pressure tank beside it.
Check to see what the presure is when the pump turns on and off.
They are usually factory set at 40PSI to turn on the pump and 60PSI to shut off.
There is an adjustment on it but I wouldn't play with it unless you know how they work.
If the pressure is low when the pump is on it means either the seal of the pump is gone or the well is dry.
The other common problem is lack of air in the pressure tank but this usually just causes the pump to kick on and off a lot more.
Hope you find something simple.

tryingtolearn · Jan 2, 2007, 11:00 AM

ok. went to the well to see if it had a pressure guage and it didnt, but there is a guage under the house at whats called a 'powersource (thats the brandname) steel pressure tank. at that guage it said i had a psi of 42. that should rule out it being a well to the house issue i would think.

ok.. soo im looking around down there, and theres not much to the steel pressure tank/pump. theres the tank itself, and the piping running to it, the piping coming out of it (which goes to the water filter and then goes into the house) and the guage is there. there is also a box filled w/ some mechanical parts put in a nice protective hosuing reminiscent of an outdoor project box for electrical work.

i notice there is another similar looking box laying on the ground near it in the crawlspace, and pic it up and its a 'pump master' i guess controller mechanism. that suggests that part was replaced not too far back, but then again, i dont know how long, and what caused the failure w/ the original piece that was replaced. (so it could potentially burn out another one quicker)

this helping narrow it down for any of you guys in the know?

Ken 297 · Jan 2, 2007, 01:04 PM

Okay try running water in a sink and watch the gauge you found. The pump should start when the pressure drops to 40 PSI. Then see what pressure the pump shuts off again.
Did you manage to put the filter on By-pass?
Also check maybe you have a line that doesn't go through the filter. The garden hose shouldn't go throught the filter. See if the pressure is OK at the outside hose. If it is that narrows it down to the filter or water softener.
The pump master controls the pressure cut offs and start ups for the pump. Again don't try to adjust these. It can give you a pretty good shock(I know from experience).
They don't usually have to be adjusted and aren't likely the problem.
The steel tank sometimes has to be recharged or pressurized with air. this can wreak havoc on the pressure being inconsistant. Check to see if there is a snifter valve on the tank.(Looks like the valve for filling a tire with air)
If it does shut of the power to the pump, run a tap until no water comes out then fill the tank with 15-20 psi of air. The turn on the pump and if the problem is in the tank that should cure it.
I work with pressure problems all the time and with trial and error I can usually find the problem.

tryingtolearn · Jan 3, 2007, 07:40 AM

heh.. boy do i feel silly.

good call on the water softener. i mean.. i didnt have one, but i do have an in-line filter. had semi messed w/ it yesterday but it wouldnt come loose and the former owner didnt leave me the lil wrench deal that normally accompanies these filters. anyways.. it didnt need one (a wrench) it just needed a pressure release valve to be pressed until it purged the water in it, then unscrewed by hand mighty easy.

took out the filter and YEP, that was the culprit. ive never seen one sooooo nasty.took it out, and poured the SLUDGE out from the cup that holds the filter. ugh...

didnt have another filter handy, but just to ensure that was the problem i screwed it back on w/o a filter in it and turned the water back on.

checked the shower and the pressure is better than it ever has been!

YAY! and CHEAP!

good call ken! thanks bunches for the help bro!



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