Old houses... great aren't they? I have a new dilema. Seems as though the well motor is beginning to short cycle during a shower or if the washer is running. I would suspect the pressure switch, however I do not know which side is the low side and which is the high side, nor do I know where to begin to set the switch before the points begin to wear out. If I replace the switch, do I need to know the limits before I get one from the well supply house? Do they come pre-set out of the box? What else do I need to know... anything about the holding tank?Whether it is the bladder type or something else? Thanks in advance.

First thing you need to do is to watch a few cycles. If the pump cycles on and off at nearly the same pressure, you are right, it is the switch. However more likely, bladder or non bladder, the pressure tank incorporated just to prevent the short cycles, has lost its air. Bladder tanks are not supposed to do that, but the bladder can go bad. Without enough air, the pressure quickly drops with any water flow. The pump quickly replaces it running the pressure up to the cut off and ready for the next cycle.

To recharge an air tank, follow any directions on it. If none, shut of the pump, and empty the tank. Adjust the pressure in the tank to 2 psi below the cut in pressure of your pressure switch. Close everything back up, and turn the pump back on.

If it is the pressure switch, follow the directions Tom will post if you post back saying it wasn't the tank.

I'll answer your questions about the control box if you wish but that's not what's causing your problem. It's the bladder/pressure tank that's giving the problem. Since you've failed to give me any details about what you have I can't get more specific. If you want to tell me what type tank you have I'll instruct you on how to check it. Regards, tom

From what I can tell, this is a fairly new pressure tank that is located in the garage. It is a Challenger Brand model 111. At the bottom there is a pipe with a Square D (pressure switch I presume) box and then a pressure gauge... I saw two wires running up to another box on the wall that is making the clicking sound. It is a Franklin Motor control box. I am sure the well motor is submersible. While the washer was filling , I saw the pressure climb to near 50.. and quickly... six seconds or so... fall back to around 25.. where the click took place and it quickly shot the pressure back up to 50 again.. where it is most definitely short cycling. I saw a "tire valve" on top of the pressure tank under a rubber cover... I haven't checked this tank pressure yet. There is also, outside that wall another large five foot tall silver -semi rusted tank - no pressure valve.. with a spigot at the bottom. I am not sure how this is plumbed/or /bypassed/ or if it is part of the system. So there are two tanks total, one inside the garage with all the controls, and one outside the garage that is much taller, and then there is the well in the back yard.
Thanks
Neil

P.S.
I just looked closer at the big tank outside of the house, it also has a tire valve on top of it. I did not check its pressure either.
Where do I begin?

As Tom was even more sure of, it is not the switch. It is switching on and off at 30 and 50, a reasonable range. If the tank is fairly new, likely it has legible instructions on it for recharging it with air. You can hardly go wrong following them. The second tank makes it a little different. Before you start, open the spigot on the bottom. If water comes out, likely it is connected in unless it slows rapidly. If you shut the water off to the house and the pump off, opening the spigot should drain both tanks. ''Boinging on them with your knuckles before and after should give you a good idea. When both are empty, close the spigot. To get air in the bladder without bursting it, it would be best to shut at least one tank off from the system. Fill the bladder tank following whatever directions you find for it. Then do the old tank the same.

The second box on the wall may be a relay, reducing the load on the pressure switch. It only has to switch current to the coil of the relay, not what the pump draws.

Except where you have flow through a restriction, the pressure will be the same through out the system, what the gage on the new tank reads.

Thanks for clarifying what to do to get the bladder re-pressurized. The instructions are on a label on the side of the tank facing the wall, so with a mirror I should be able to decipher them. A bit like reading Leonardo Da Vinci's manuscripts I believe, but since I am an old letterpressman, reading backwards type shouldn't be too hard. As I was at the large outside tank, I noticed bubbles of rust on the outside above the seam weld, and... it looked like it was weeping, so.. I wiped it and as you might guess... a 1/4 in piece of rust bubble broke off and the outer tank began to spray... GREAT!. So I turned off the pump breaker, opened the spigot at the bottom of the big tank, opened all of the faucets, and waited, and waited and waited, pumped a little air into the top to try to get all the water to stop weeping... went to go get some J.B. WELD... sanded the surface... tried to dry it... tried to patch it... ended up putting a bolt with a washer into the hole... thats where I am now... no water.. waiting for the J.B. Weld to harden... package says 15 hours... Maybe I can get a second mortgage tomorrow and re-finance the house and have the entire house rewired and a new holding tank installed and... what the heck... pump the septic while I am at it and maybe even have a new drain field installed. Now I know what the Yankee from Maine meant at closing when he signed his name and said, " It's your baby now!!"
Sigh...
I do have 5 gallons for making rice tonight and coffee in the morning...
Thanks guys... I will go over 'yalls notes to re-pressurize the system tomorrow after the JB Weld sets up.
Neil

My neighbor says to eliminate the large outside tank, that the smaller kneehigh sized tank in the garage is all I need, that if it is leaking , not to relace it, bypass it... as I wait for the JB WELD to dry... This should be fun to come home and face tomorrow after work..

When I first read your complaint I thought thepumpcycled every time you flushed or drew a glass of water. Now you describe a loss of pressure every time the pump pumps up to pressure and shuts down. This points to a faulty check valve that's letting the pressure go back into the well. Focus on the check valve and let me know what you come up with. As far as the large pressure tank you have a bladder tank installed you don't need the big one. Let know what's happening. Tom

Your neighbor has the right idea. If there isn't a union or anything, saw the pipe to the old tank off, cement a PVC cap on or remove the stub and put a pipe plug in. It could be tough buying a pipe plug Sunday evening.

Then, with everything empty, follow the directions on recharging the tank whether it needs it or not. If the system doesn't work right, you may need help from Tom going after the check valve. I think it is at the bottom of the well with the pump.

For most houses, a single tank is enough. A second tank might give a little more flow in for high demand. Plug the thing off somehow and give your neighbor a beer.

Very well then,. yes, I'll do that tomorrow if the JB doesn't hold. Hey, Tom, the pressure swing was going on while the washing machine was filling up, but, the short cycling was first noticed during showering. We are a 3 person family, so the demand shouldn't be that great to require two tanks, however, I was peeping at another plumbing forum and read where having this greater capacity would save the pump motor from having to work so hard. Could this be true? One more question... my neighbor called a guy and was told that the schraeder valve on top was to bleed off the air, not necessarily to add air although I am sure both can be done. I did check the smaller tank in the garage before I had to drain the system, and got a 0 that is zero pressure reading, while the larger tank had 28 psi before I knocked the rust hole loose and it began to spray.

''I did check the smaller tank in the garage before I had to drain the system, and got a 0 that is zero pressure reading, while the larger tank had 28 psi before I knocked the rust hole loose and it began to spray.''

If both pressure readings are right, the 2 can't be connected. Is there any sort of a shutoff to the new tank?

Something's wrong here somplace. This is how you told me you were set up.
" It is a Challenger Brand model 111. At the bottom there is a pipe with a Square D (pressure switch i presume) box and then a pressure guage...I saw two wires running up to another box on the wall that is making the clicking sound. It is a Franklin Motor control box. I am sure the well motor is submersible."
And yet you say," I did check the smaller tank in the garage before I had to drain the system, and got a 0 that is zero pressure reading, while the larger tank had 28 psi."
That's impossible! The pressure control box is connected to the inside bladder tank. If that were the case, at 0 PSI it would be energized 100% of the time. Am I missing something here? Please explain. And by the way the bladder tank pressure's set like this. Shut off the pump and drain the system down to zero pressure.
If the control box is set at 30 cut in and 50 cut out then the bladder tank should be charged at 2 PSI under the cut in pressure which would be 28 pounds, (the same as the larger tank, hmmm!) One more thing the snifter valve, (inner tubevalve) on a bladder tank is to rechage the tank not to bleed air out. Regards, Tom

I saw two wires running up to another box on the wall that is making the clicking sound.Now I know what the Yankee from Maine meant at cycling shorts when he signed his name and said, " It's your baby now!"This points to a faulty check valve that's letting the pressure go back into the well.

Hi newling and Welcome to The Plumbing Page. At AskMeHelpDesk.com. You're responding to a 7 year old dead thread Look in then upper left hand corner of the first post form the date before you post, Thanks, Do you have a complaint? Your link,(cycling short) Took me to a bicycle clothing store. N ot quite! That's when your pump won't pump to pressure. A short cycle is when the pump kicks in every time you draw a glass of water of flush a toilet. So is there a question in there or are you passing on information. And I'm still trying to figure this out. Can you give me a explanation for that? Cheers, Tom