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kampc · Jan 12, 2011, 11:55 AM

I have a home built in 1996. The water tank reads 35psi. After about 5min in the shower the water shuts off throughout the house. Turns on within 5-10 minutes. Any ideas?

Thanks

ballengerb1 · Jan 12, 2011, 12:07 PM

Sounds like to me you have 2 issues. 35 psi is on the low side, I'd go for 45 psi so upper limit switch needs to be raised. The other issue sounds like the low limit switch which turn on the pump is set way too low. Open a tap and go watch the needle on the tank, tell us if it isn't dropping to almost zero before your pump turns on.

jlisenbe · Jan 12, 2011, 03:49 PM

Great answer. Kam, bear in mind that as pressure drops, volume drops. So, when pressure gets down to 15 or 20 pounds, which is REALLY low, you just don't have enough pressure to deliver volume to any appliance other than the shower. I would imagine that your shower is just putting out a small amount of water at that point.

Increasing the pressure on your system will help a lot. In fact, I'd consider going a little higher than 45. When 45 is the top limit, you get that for only a few seconds as pressure drops down to the cut in point. I have mine set at 40/60. 60 sounds high, but again, you only get that briefly. It will average 50 or so.

The downside is this: Higher system pressure makes your pump work harder and tends to shorten its life. So there's a tradeoff here.