I should start by saying that I am the owner of a very old house. I am only 27, but don't let that fool you, I can do my own plumbing an electrical work, and can usually figure out any problem. When I moved in 4 years ago there was a jet pump and pressure tank in place in the basement. The jet pump was soon after replaced with a piston pump (free from family) which worked great for years and kept nice high pressure. The piston pump started failing, this morning it would only rise to approx 40psi and keep pumping, but without the pressure rising or the pump shutting off.

My father gave me a good jet pump he had laying around, barely used. I plumbed it up tonight, hooked up the old pressure tank, and flicked the switch. After fixing any leaks the pump runs fine, but once again only rises to 40psi, where it hovers and continues to run without shutting off.

I know the pump must be getting an adequate supply of water, because if I drain the pipes until the pressure goes down (to approx 20psi) and turn the pump back on, it rises to 40psi quickly.

I was wondering if maybe the bladder in my pressure tank could have lost most of its pressure over time? I know water won't compress, so I'm guessing maybe I only have a tiny amount of air in that tank, which maybe can't compress enough to give the 60-70 psi that the tank should reach. I worked on this until 11:30 tonight, I've given up and will tackle it tomorrow afternoon, but would like some fresh ideas. Looks like a brand new pressure switch on the pump, so that can't be the issue. Also the supply pipe going into my well is several feet from the bottom, so I doubt it's clogged or gunked up. I don't think the supply pipe is cracked on it's way up to the house either, there is a section just before the pump which is clear, and I see no air bubbles traveling through (as you'd expect to see, like sucking water through a cracked straw). Some fresh ideas would be great, I could use the help.

What happens to pressure when you shut the pump off. Does it drop. Or hold at forty?

Pressure is still firmly at 40psi, and it's been off for a half hour now

Thought I'd update. I drained the water from the system and my pressure tank had only 13psi of air. I filled it to 28psi (as recommended on the side of the tank) and started the pump again, but once again the pressure went up to 40psi, and hovered there while the pump comtinued to run until eventually I switched it off. Now I'm really stumped

You could have faulty impellers in you pump, this would alow the pressure to go to 40 psi but will not pump higher but the check valve must be working or the pressure would continue to drop.

It is really strange to me that the old pump would get to 40# and stop, and now the new(er) pump will only get to 40# and stop. Makes me think the pump is not the problem. How many pipes go into the well, one or two? Also, how much pipe (depth) is in the well?


BTW, the tank is not the problem.

There is one line going from the well to the pump, and that line goes several feet into the water in the well (dug well, pretty old). The line is also a few feet from the bottom of the well. I have a small crack in the nose of my pump (where the supply line goes). I have a spare "nose" which I hope will fit, and will try to replace tonight. Could that be the problem?

Yes, a leak in the supply line could very well(no pun intended) your problem. Try fixing that first and lets us know.

So I took the nose off the compare it to the spare I had, they are slightly different. However I did notice that the one that's on there was almost sealed shut with rusty gunk, and there were big loose chunks of this crap in the chambers. I cleaned it out as best I could, and tried it again. Same deal, pressure won't rise past a trickle, won't even make it to 40psi now, and the pump just keeps running. Still has a small crack in the nose, sealed as best I could temporarily with silicone and lots of duct tape, but I know it's not fully sealed.

It could be one of three things.

1. Your pump works strictly by suction. If there is a leak in the suction line going into, and down, the well, then your pump will not run efficiently.

2. The water level has dropped. Pumps like yours will not work much past 25 feet. The farther down to the water, the less efficient the pump is. If your water level has dropped, then that could be a large part of the problem.

3. You mentioned the "nose" was almost sealed shut with gunk. That makes me wonder how the wellpipe looks. It might be somewhat clogged itself. What kind of pipe is it, plastic or galvanized?

Problem solved, it was a faulty pump. I replaced the pump (yet again) with a spare a friend had, works fine now. Only hitch is that several of my faucets are clogged shut with the rusty particles the faulty pump forced up the lines, and also one of my toilets. Tomorrow's job will involve going from fixture to fixture, taking it apart, cleaning it, and putting everything back together. Oh well, at least that's something I know how to do.

Just glad you got er fixed. Good luck with the clogged faucets and toilet. Take care.

Does the impeller need to be replaced and how do I know that it needs to be replaced?

Hi alden and welcome to The Plumbing Page at ANHD.com. You're responding to a 4 year old dead threads. Please check the date before you post. But Thanks for the input. Tom

All my husband ever did was add more compressed air, which resolved the problem for at least a year.