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butt3rz · Jul 8, 2012, 07:16 AM

Last weekend I lost power like so many others. When the power came back on we had no water. My father-in-law did a few things and he got the water back on. A week later we have no water again. I have spoken with him and he said the pressure gauge read over 40 Lbs, he released the pressure by opening the faucets in the kitchen, bathroom and outside. I have done this and the pessure is not changing. How can I release the pressure to get the pressure switch to kick on and get water going again? Is it possible that the pressure switch was damaged from the power outage?

hkstroud · Jul 8, 2012, 07:33 AM

Do you have a bladder tank (painted) or a pressure tank (galvanized)?
What does pressure gauge read at present time?
What is your well pump pressure switch settings?
Have you tried reseting the pump breaker switches. Some times you cannot tell that a breaker has tripped by just looking at it. Turn off and then back on to ensure that it is reset.

speedball1 · Jul 8, 2012, 08:35 AM

If you have opened up a cold water faucet and get no water and the gage still reads 40 PSI then several things come to mind. Either the house shut off's closed or you have a bad gage. Let's check it out. If there's a tap near the pump turn it on If you get pressure then the pump's OK and there's a stoppage before it gets to the house. If there's no pressure the you have a bad gage and the pump needs work. If there's no tap then shut the pump off at the breaker and remove the bladder tank. Turn the pump on for a few seconds. If no water you have a bad gage and a faulty pump. If you get pressure the same as above. Let me know what you find. Good luck , Tom.

butt3rz · Jul 8, 2012, 08:50 AM

It is painted blue so I would guess it is a bladder tank. The current pressure reads 43. I don't think the breaker is an issue as when we switch it to start we do get a spark so it seems to have power. I believe the switch is a 30 - 50 and I just picked up a new one at Lowe's.

When we turn on any of the faucets we get nothing unless I hold the switch to start and even then it is very low.

speedball1 · Jul 8, 2012, 08:54 AM

I'm not asking you to check the power. I'm telling you how to check for pressure. Tom

butt3rz · Jul 8, 2012, 08:56 AM

Tom,

I understand what you were asking for but I was also answering hkstroud's questions also. There is a tap right before the pressure switch but I am not currently getting anything from that either. But that also seems to get something when I am holding the switch to start.

speedball1 · Jul 8, 2012, 09:06 AM

Thank you! Then you have a bad gage and the problem's with the pump. Are the contact points in the control box open or closed? Let me know. Tom.

butt3rz · Jul 8, 2012, 09:08 AM

Right now they are in the open position unless I hold it to start then they close but they will not remain closed.

speedball1 · Jul 8, 2012, 10:11 AM

The contacts should be closed if you have no pressure. There's a small tube that runs from the pump to the control box. C heck it to be sure it's not clogged. Take a wood stick and close the contacts. Will it pump water now? Back to you, Tom

jlisenbe · Jul 8, 2012, 10:48 AM

unless I hold it to start then they close but they will not remain closed

That sounds like a pressure reset lever on the side that some switches have. These switches turn off when pressure drops more than 10# below the point where the switch is supposed to turn the pump on. It's a safety measure in case the pump is running dry. It would be on the side of the switch. When you push it, it should close the points, but they should remain closed until the pump gets up to cut off pressure. If that is the case, and the switch will not reset, then the switch is bad.

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butt3rz · Jul 8, 2012, 11:02 AM

Thanks guys, I have a new switch here and I am awaiting some help and we will be installing the new switch. I will let you know how that goes. I am also going to keep an on on the gauge as Tom had suggested that might be bad.

butt3rz · Jul 8, 2012, 11:41 AM

So my father-in-law was just here and he thinks the power may have gone out again for very short period. Tom is most likely right, the gauge is broken and it looks like there is 40 psi when there actually is nothing in the tank. He took the nut on the spring all the way to the top and it kicked the pump back on and then brought the nut back down to where it should be for the correct pressure and everything is working fine. We are going to plan on replacing both the switch and the gauge in the next week or so, so we can try and prevent a whole failure. Thanks again for all your help.

jlisenbe · Jul 8, 2012, 06:53 PM

Please let us know how it turns out.