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View Full Version : Frozen pipes or bad pressure switch?


wschaefer
Feb 11, 2012, 12:56 PM
I have no water anywhere in the house. I checked the pressure gauge on my bladder tank and it reads approximately 22psi. I have power going to the pressure switch but when I open the spigot at the tank, nothing comes out. Also, the submersible pump is not running, as far as I can tell. I have tried tightening the #1 screw to get the switch to trip but nothing happens. How can I tell if my pipes are frozen or if the pressure switch is bad? I currently have heat-tape on the pipes, the power turned off to the pump and the kitchen faucet open.

speedball1
Feb 12, 2012, 08:33 AM
Did the heat tapes work for you? Did you take a plastic rod and push the contacts together tom see if the pump runs? One place to check out is the small tube that runs from the pump to the control box. Blockage in that tube would cause the contacts not to function. Let me know if that does it. Good luck. Tom

wschaefer
Feb 12, 2012, 04:42 PM
No, the heat tape still hasn't worked yet. I shut the power off to the pump and timed one revolution on my power meter. Then turned the power back on to the pump and timed the meter again. It appears that the pump is running, which would explain why the pressure switch never tripped to the closed position. It must already be in that position. So I know the pump is running, which also tells me that the switch appears to be working. So the only thing I can determine is that the pipes are frozen. I know it takes a heck of a lot longer to thaw pipes than it does for them to freeze. Now all I have is a waiting game.

jlisenbe
Feb 12, 2012, 07:27 PM
WS, you need only look at the points on the switch to see if they are together or apart. If they are together, and they probably are, then the pump is running. I'd turn it off if I was you lest you end up burning up the pump. Is it possible that the wellpipe before the switch is iced up? If that's the case, then your switch will "think" the pump needs to run and keep it on 24/7.

As Speedball pointed out, you can press the bar holding the points with a wooden or plastic rod and see it that closes the points. But still, you can pretty much tell by looking.