Hi, I am having some issues with the water pressure in my house. It has been getting progressively worse over the past few weeks. When you turn the water on, it trickles out for a few minutes, then evenutally comes back up to speed, but sometimes, the water will comepletely stop running for about 20 seconds, then full pressure will return. We are on a well which is about 300' from the house, and the water tank is 20 gal. Could it just be the switch on the pump? I have had someone look at the bladder and they said it was fine. Any advice would be great! Thanks!:confused:

What type of pump do you have and how deep is your well? Ifyou have a bladder tank then pop the snifter valve on top. If water comes out then the bladder's ruptured and needs to be replaced. Let me know. Tom

The well is 120' deep and we've got a submersible pump. The water level today was 60' bgs. The contractors that we had out today wanted to replace both the pump and the water tank, but they basically said they didn't even know if anything was wrong with them. I had them replace the check valve on the pump.

"The contractors that we had out today wanted to replace both the pump and the water tank, but they basically said they didn't even know if anything was wrong with them."

Your contractor couldn't check a bladder tank to see if it was working and couldn't tell if your pump was pumping water? These are simple tests. Either your contractor's attemping to jam a new pump and tank down your gullet or they are extremely incompetent. Take your choice.
See if the check valve helps and get back to me. Regards, Tom

I take both choices, they were both incompetent and they were liars. The check valve fix seems to be working, they tried to tell me that if they were going to pull the pump anyhow that they may as well replace it, at a cost of course. I was always taught that if it isn't broken, don't fix it. They said that they could not warranty the pump, that it may break. They also felt that the tank was not big enough. I stopped listening to what they had to say when they told me that the normal life of a pump is between 5 and 6 yrs. We have 3 and a half baths, and a 20 gal pressure tank. Is this too small?

How many people living in the house? Are the three bathrooms used at the same time for showers or baths?

Just some things I learned when replacing my pump. Speedball1’s advice was right on. First check the tank for water logging by seeing if any water comes out when the air fill valve is depressed. He’s also correct that the well guys can check the pump flow with special equipment they hopefully have. What check valve did they replace, the one in the pump (the pump has to be removed) or the one in the line? The check valve is used to prevent water backflow from the pressurized tank back into well when the pump kicks off. Unless the valve was not opening all the way, or fully opening intermittently, it should not affect water pressure. Pump life varies. I was told the average life is eight to nine years. My first pump lasted 10 years, the second one lasted 19. I was also getting low water pressure and replaced the tank (it was water logged) the pump (very old & kicking on/off too much because of the tank & jerking the motor) and the pressure switch. Even with the 40/60 switch the pressure was still low. After doing some plumbing up grades I found the pipes were filled with sediment from the well. I replaced all the copper pipes and installed several in line filters. Works fine, good water pressure throughout; two & ½ bath house. Can run four faucets at one time. I have a 36 gallon tank, which again works fine. I’m not sure about tank sizing but 20 seems kind of small. I’m far from an expert, just some info and things to consider.

Thanks for all the info! Lets see, there are 2 people living here, so really there is never more than one shower being used at at time (perhaps the washing machine will be running at the same time) so I checked the tank, and only air came out so I don't think that the bladder is broken, but after all this, we are still having problems, my husband was in the shower this morning and it cut off again for about 10 seconds. They did pull the pump yesterday and replaced the check valve on it, and now I am thinking maybe I should have had them just replace the pump itself. It's definitely possible there is sediment build-up in the lines as well.

Three final ideas. Sounds like the tank is OK so check the pump fill activity. There should be a pressure switch with a gage on it in the line that goes into the tank. The switch should be relatively close to the tank. The switches are set up with different pressure settings such as a 20/40 switch. This means the pump will kick on when the pressure hit 20-lbs/sq. in. and kick off when the pressure hits 40. It could a 20/40, 30/50 or 40/60. Turn on a faucet and watch the gage. It should go down slowly, but steadily and then kick in somewhere near one of the above numbers. NOTE: these switches have adjustments to fine tune the kick in/out pressure and if it was never adjusted or misadjusted it may not kick at the exact points listed. The switches are set pretty close from the factory. When the pump kicks in the gage should rise slow and steady then kick off. Mine takes about one minute to fill. This will tell you if the pump is cycling properly but will tell you nothing about the flow rate. Second, check the precharge rate (air pressure) in the tank. This can be done with a tire gage. For accurate setting the tank must be drained. Turn off power to the pump and open faucets until the flow stops. If there is a drain on the tank, drain it there also then check the pressure. If too high just let some air out, too low add air with a small air compressor or tire pump. The pre charge pressure should be no higher than the kick in pressure, i.e. 20/40 switch, fill the tank with no more than 20 lbs. air. However, all the well guys tell me that the tank pressure should be set 2 lbs. less than kick in-18 lbs. for a 20 lbs. switch. Last, look in the phone book for well drillers/installers then look them up on the Better Business Bureau website to see if any complaints have been filed before calling.