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Jer09181 · Apr 3, 2014, 04:58 PM

My well seems to be short cycling as the water supply will only run for a 10 minute period (30-40 gallons) then shut off, at that time the pump will kick in and water will not come back on for a 10-15 minute period. I have replaced the pressure switch and checked the air pressure in the tank which is at 30 psi and I have a 30-50 psi pressure switch. The whole system, including the pump and tank were installed about 3 years ago is everything is virtually new. Any suggestions? Is it a possibility that the well is not deep? My property is located on sandy soil in Iowa and pump is 90' deep.

jlisenbe · Apr 5, 2014, 07:42 AM

1. When the tank is full, start running water and stand where you can hear the switch. When pressure gets down to 30 or so, you should hear the switch "click" as it cuts on. When you hear the click, the pump should cut on. Are those things happening?
2. Is your pump in the well or above ground?
3. Does this happen every time, or only in times of high demand?

Jer09181 · Apr 6, 2014, 08:34 PM

Thank you for your response. When the pressure gets down to 30 or so the pressure switch does in fact. "Click" and the pump does come on and I can hear it running, it runs for 10 minutes or so and then kicks off, at this time if I check the air pressure in the tank it is near 50 psi and I will once again have water, but only fir a 5 minute or so time span and shut off and start the process all over again.
The pump is in the well, and is piped around 20 feet to a building where the pressure switch and tank is located.
And this occurrence happens every time that I run water for over 5 minutes at a time.. It always runs the same amount of water then stops and I have to wait for the water to come back on in 10 minutes or so.
Where this issue is taking place is not at a residence, but on a farm where I use the water to fill livestock tanks twice daily. So typically I would use around 120 gallons a day.
Thank you once again for your assistance

QUOTE=jlisenbe;3637469]1. When the tank is full, start running water and stand where you can hear the switch. When pressure gets down to 30 or so, you should hear the switch "click" as it cuts on. When you hear the click, the pump should cut on. Are those things happening?
2. Is your pump in the well or above ground?
3. Does this happen every time, or only in times of high demand?[/QUOTE]

jlisenbe · Apr 7, 2014, 05:02 PM

If I was you, and I only wanted to fill tanks twice a day, I'd take the pressure tank out and replace the pressure switch with an on/off switch. When you want water, just turn on the pump until you get what you want, and then turn it off. The tank really serves no purpose for what you are doing.

What you are describing seems to be a delay between the time the pump cuts on versus when it begins to deliver water. However, when the pressure gets to 30 and the pump cuts on, you should not see the water just cutting off. If you watch the pressure gauge, you should see it stop at 30 (when the pump cuts on) and begin a slow climb to 50. Is that what you are observing?