Ok, I am hoping someone would please help me figure this one out. My problem lies with low pressure right now. Here's the background. I have a 150' well with a 2 wire 230v 3/4hp submerssible pump. The pipe going all the way down is just one piece. This of corse agrivated me considering it's going to make it that much harder to replace the pump if I ever need to. I wanted to mention the pipe though for more reasons than griping. I also know that the pump was replaced last fall and they did not install a check valve right after the pump. Just so you know these problem I have inherited and now have the responsibility of replacing on a week to week budget. Ok, no check valve at the pump right. There was a PVC tee at the tank (20gal \ with air bladder) that cracked so it got replaced with a brass 1' tee. There is a new pressure switch which is pure auto with an original range of 40-60 but I've adjusted that back and forth several times now trying to get the switch to cutout. I first installed the new tee and new switch and gauge then plumbed the rest in. Pressure would build to 60 cutout and cutin at 40 but the drop was rapid, say 8 to 10 secs. The build was quick though, 5 secs at most. I cut the main ball valve to the house and it still did it so that's what lead me to the no check valve discovery. So off to the hardware store again to get some new fittings (all plumb is PVC except for the tee, nipple, faucet, and relief valve) and a check valve. Sense pulling the 150' pipe out the ground and installing right after the motor (this seemed like a unlikely idea all by myself) I installed it above ground right after the first 90. I did get a larger check valve than the pipe, 1 1/4'', and the slipe to thread adapters to fit it. My resoning at the moment was the inside diameter of the 1 1/4'' check valve was considerbly larger than the 1'' one and I wanted to maximise the flow as much as possible. But now I am stuck. The pressure struggles to rise anywhere over 30psi and the inside water pressure is a joke. The only thing I got left to try is trying a higher quality brass check valve. Well of corse I could go all "Tim Allen" and buy a highly expenzive 2hp 3wire pump. Oh and if there is a foot valve I doupt it's working due to the drain back. Now all that said, in other words HELP!!

Check to make sure your tank bladder isn't ruptured. It should be half full of water and half full of air. Tapping on the tank until the sound changes from a thud to a hollow sound will tell you where your water level is in the tank.

One thing to consider. If you had a check valve problem, it would cause the pump to short cycle no matter if water is being drawn or not. It would short cycle 24/7. If it's a waterlogged tank problem, you will only notice it when water is being drawn. Sounds like you might have had a combination of no check valve (which is really astonishing for whoever installed this pump to overlook) and a waterlogged tank which would account for the pumps ability to pump up to pressure in just a few seconds. Do as "D" suggested as concerns a waterlogged tank. If the water level is near the top, then the bladder is ruptured. As a short term fix, you can fill the tank with air with the valve at the top. Allow water to drain through a faucet as you do this to keep the tank pressure from getting too high. That will at least tell you if the tank if a problem.

One other thought. Are you sure you didn't install the check valve backwards?

Stay in touch.

An Update. Thanks for the replies guys. It's really appreciated. So my inner "Tool Man" got ahold of me and I decided to try a larger check valave in order to maximise the flow. Oh, and yes I installed it in the right direction. This is my first venture into a well but I worked as a plumber/pipe fitter on several other occasions but mostly on city water doing commercial stuff like fire sprinklers and some home remoldling stuff. I'm also a licensed Electrician, Certified Electronics Technician, Telco Technician, Network I.T. Lock Smith, Safe Driller, Welder, and all around Mechanic. My job provides a great deal of schooling and OJT. I knew my problem but just didn't want to admit it to myself. I got a crack in the drop pipe and yes I had a ruptured water bladder in the tank. I just didn't want to face the fact that I was going to have to pull the drop pipe out and replace or repair it. I got a new tank yesterday and installed the 2' check valve in the line, but still ended up having only 30psi from the line. So for now I've got the pressure switch cut back to 10-30 and the tank pressure adjusted accordingly. My problem now lies in how I am going to get this pipe up out the well all by myself. Right now I am figuring a on-it's-side bench vise with rubber cushions mounted to wood to act as a clamp atop the well casing and a a-frame with hoist to pull the pipe. Any other techniques or suggestions would be appreciated other than calling a well driller. The local one is the idiots that got me in this mess to begin with and they tried to tell me the 200 foot of 1 inch poly pipe they use costs $1200. Don't know about you but paying a 600% mark up isn't something I'm willing to do. Thanks again.

Victory! Well after some much needed grumbling I broke down and pulled the drop pipe. Ok, forget the 1" poly as stated earlier. I was basing most of my information on what I was told by the folks that pulled it last fall. It was sched 40 pvc in 20' sections. There wasn't a check valve installed and the there was six sections on pipe for a total of 120'. I measured the well with string and plumb bob. I measured well over 200' so the decision was made to extend the length of the drop pipe another 30'. After pulling the well I found the source of the problem with a snap (pun intended). There was a male 1 1/4" x 1" thread slip adapter used to connect the drop pipe to the pump. It had cracked at the exposed threads. This was the source of my pressure loss. One of the lessons I learned here is never bet on a horse you haven't seen. Never the less I am enjoying a good 40-60 pressure setting now and have a great faith that this could be done again and again if needed in the future. Thanks for the help here guys.

Thanks for letting us know how this was resolved.