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water pump running constantly denaman@hotmail.com 06-17-2006
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Posted by denaman@hotmail.com on June 17, 2006, 9:46 am
Have a problem where my water pressure tank/pump is cycling at the drop
of a hat. Seems like it's always running. And sometimes it will kick in
when no one's using any water. I would say the thing is running every
twenty minutes or so, depending upon water usage.
I have a Well X-trol Wx-203 with a submersible pump. If I relieve
pressure from the pressure guage ontop it does not spray water, which I
was told in an earlier post is how you test for a torn bladder.

Now, recently I changed the pressure gauge on the system and switched
out the switch through the help of people on this board. That did seem
to fix my water pressure problem; for quite a few days now the water
has not been completely shutting off when I use the shower upstairs. I
think what was causing this was the fact that the pipe going to the
switch was three-quarters of the way gunked up with crap. Changed the
switch anyway. It is a 30-50 switch, the same one that originally came
with the unit.

To set the air pressure, I turned off the power to the pressure tank
and hit the water upstairs and in the utility sink. Eventually, the
water stopped. Then with an air compressor I pumped in air through the
top -- 29 psi worth, 1 psi short of my 30-50 psi switch.

Yet, I'm contantly hearing that pump kick in.

(I guess I should ask -- is this normal? Maybe it was always doing this
but I never payed attention until I started messing around with the
switch. But it does seem like it kicks in an aweful lot, and I have to
wonder if this is slashing years off the pump's life).

Is what I describe above indicative of something? Is there something
I'm overlooking?

Thank you for your time.


Electric Radiant Heat 468x60
Posted by David Martel on June 17, 2006, 11:09 am
Denaman,

Have you checked the foot valve or check valve? Do you see signs of a
plumbing leak between the well and your pump house?

Dave M.



Posted by denaman@hotmail.com on June 17, 2006, 4:41 pm
Thanks guys for the replies.

Can I ask a question -- where would you find a check valve? Did a
search on the web and wasn't finding anything.

No, not catching any leaking anywhere.

It was my understanding that you should charge the pressure tank to
one psi bellow the cut-in value on the switch. Is that correct?

Brian


Posted by David Martel on June 17, 2006, 8:13 pm
denaman,


> Can I ask a question -- where would you find a check valve? Did a
> search on the web and wasn't finding anything.

That depends I'm afraid. On my well the check valve is called a foot
valve and is located at the bottom or foot of my well. Basically it's a "one
way" valve.


> No, not catching any leaking anywhere.

Turn off your well pump and note down the system pressure. Check the
pressure again in an hour. If the pressure has gone down then you have a
leak. From your description I bet you see a large decrease in pressure.


> It was my understanding that you should charge the pressure tank to
> one psi bellow the cut-in value on the switch. Is that correct?

That sounds about right.

Dave M.



Posted by Harry K on June 17, 2006, 10:19 pm

denaman@hotmail.com wrote:
> Thanks guys for the replies.
>
> Can I ask a question -- where would you find a check valve? Did a
> search on the web and wasn't finding anything.
>
> No, not catching any leaking anywhere.
>
> It was my understanding that you should charge the pressure tank to
> one psi bellow the cut-in value on the switch. Is that correct?
>
> Brian

The standard answer is 2 psi below. 1 psi is getting a bit close to
the cut on pressure. I prefer to read the pressure on the guage
attached to the pressure switch. I don't trust different gauges to
read the same when working on such close measurements.

The other replies are right on the money. You must have a leak
somewhere. If you have a shutoff that will cut off the tank from the
house - close it and see what happens. That will isolate the leak as
being either before or after the tank.

Harry K


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