First of all, we have a mobile home with a 30-50 psi Square D pressure switch. Lately we have noticed that our water pressure is fluctuating every time it is on. You could sit in front of the faucet or shower and watch as the water pressure will slowly go down and then back up and then down, etc. I knew something was wrong, but money has been tight lately and I thought I would have enough time to wait until we had some extra money, plus I have been job searching and have not had a whole lot of time to mess with plumbing the past week or so, which is about how long we have noticed it.

Yesterday I was mopping the floor and I had the water running for about ten minutes as I was doing that. The pressure seemed fine, and I did not notice the fluctuations as much. About three hours later my baby needed a bottle and when I went to turn the water on, there was none.

I went out to the pump house and noticed the filter needed to be changed, so I did that. Also, my wife was over at the next door neighbors, who are DIY experts, and they said that fire ants may have crawled up into the switch and messed up the contacts. I was told if I tap the side of the switch, it will knock them loose and the contacts will work properly again. I tapped on the side of the switch and noticed arcing as I did that, so I knew the switch was getting power.

I also changed the filter, also nothing. This morning I shut off the power and opened the switch. I did not see ants, but I cleaned the contacts. When I turned the power back on, the contacts did not cut-on. I manually touched them together, and they stuck, the pump kicked on, and the tank filled. It went past the cut-off point and the over pressure relief valve kicked open. I manually separated the contacts and the pump kicked off. I watched as the pressure quickly went down to about 60psi and then slowly bled off back down to 20 psi.

So at this point we can have water by my manually operating the contacts, but they are not kicking on or off by themselves. I know there is power to the switch because I can see the arc when I touch the contacts together, and they stick until I manually trip them.

My question is does this sound typical of an end-of-life story for a pressure switch? If so I should be able to get a new one for about $24-27 tomorrow and it should be a pretty easy replacement. I just wanted to make sure there isn't something else I am missing.

Thanks!
Plumbing Impaired in GA

I don't know if a new control box will do the trick although I think the contacts may be pitted and sticking. And Iwonder if the little copper tube from the pump to the control box is cl.ogged, (chyeck it and either file the contacts smooth or replace the pressure switch..

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I watched as the pressure quickly went down to about 60 psi and then slowly bled off back down to 20 psi.

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This points to one of two things. Either you have a leak under ground on the pressure side or you have a bad check/foot valve. Once the pressure's pumped up it should stay there. In short I hink you may have more then one problem.l Good luck, Tom

Well you certainly need a new switch. If the pressure dropped and there was no water being used it sounds like you have an leaking check or foot valve.

Thank you guys. Would a slow leaking kitchen faucet cause the same sort of pressure loss?

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Originally Posted by PlumbingImpaire

Thank you guys. Would a slow leaking kitchen faucet cause the same sort of pressure loss?

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No! Your troubles are bigger then a slow leak in a faucet. Sorry, Tom

Ok, well, did some more research. I shut the disconnect valve past the pressure switch, and the pressure stayed consistent. As soon as I reopened the valve, it started dropping slowly. Less than 30 minutes later, it was back at the 20psi mark.

This leads me to believe that if there is a leak, it is somewhere on the house side.

If the valve is upstream,(on the house side of the pump) from the pump and tank then you, indeed, have a pressure leak on that side. Now shut the house shut off to loocate the source. If the pressure holds then the service to the house is nOKI and you'll find your leak inside. Good luck, Tom

Ok, so I replaced the pressure switch and turned the power back on. Apparently I set it up correctly because it did not blow, catch on fire, or do the same thing the old one had done.

Now I have a short cycle problem, which is probably the same leak we were talking about yesterday. Now, when I open the cut-off valve, the switch turns the pump on at around 50psi, and off at around 70 psi. But it takes about 15 sec for it to drop back down to the cut-in pressure. I now believe this is what blew out the solenoid on the old pressure switch, because of the constant turning on and turning off the pump.

Now I just need to isolate the source of the leak and hope that it is something easy to fix. I know that our kitchen sink has a steady leak, and has for a while. It is consistently getting worse now and when the cut off valve is open, it is a slow steady stream.

I also know at one point one of our toilets had a leak, as well, and was constantly filling and draining at the same time.

Are there any "most likely culprits" or is it just a matter of finding a wet spot in the midst of all of this rain?

Oh yeah, and once again, when I shut the cut off valve, isolating the pipeline to the house, the switch works fine, and the pressure is stable.

Thanks again!

Do you have a bladder tank or just a regular pressure tank?

Yeah, I am kind of heading in that direction with my troubleshooting. Something has changed and it is not going down nearly as fast steady-state, by I realize it should not be coming down at all unless I am running water somewhere.

I believe it is an air-bladder tank. It is a blue perma-tank hydro-pneumatic tank system. Another stupid question, if there was crud which prevented a good seal when screwing the filter back on, would that cause these symptoms? The cut off, which stopped the symptoms, is BEFORE the filter canister.