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O/T: odd well/water pressure issue

M

MeAnthony

Member
My apologies up front to those who disagree with O/T posts. I understand your point but there's an enormous wealth of knowledge here on dang near any topic; no trying to twist anyone's tail, only want to learn from those smarter than I. :~)

So for a while my water pressure's been dropping to almost nothing before the pump kicks on. There was no air in the bladder tank; I doubt I've touched it since it was installed on about 2002. I drained system pressure, installed new pressure gauge and put 38 lbs of air in the tank, planning to adjust pressure switch to 40/60. Flip 'er all back on, it runs up to 70 lbs and shuts off. Ok, not what I expected but not terrible. Faucet running, it drops as expected to about 62 lbs; then a sudden drop, 3 or 4 seconds elapsed time, down to 40 lbs and the pump kicks on; runs up to 70 and shuts off. Repeat cycles are identical; the sudden drop to 40 lbs is noticeable in the water flow, so I'm sure it's not a bad gauge. But... I have no idea what would cause this...? Would someone please enlighten me?
 
This is a little weird but I once had a similar problem. The pressure switch works off a rubber (sort of) diaphragm backed up by a spring. Well over the years silt built up on the water side of that diaphragm preventing it from flexing like it should causing a similar issue to what you're having.
 
Check to see that the nipple that the pressure switch is mounted on is not corroded or plugged shut. I once had similar problems because the switch could not accurately sense the water pressure due to gunk in the nipple.
 
Too much precharge in the tank. The tank is empty when the water pressure drops to 62 lbs. The sudden drop from 62 to 40 psi happens because all the water has been pushed out of the tank.

It's best to precharge the tank when it's empty. But you can try letting a little air out at a time; you should see the point where the tank runs out of water to occur at a lower pressure each time you let air out of the bladder. Repeat until it gets down to 40 psi. Then adjust your switch until you get your desired 40/60 cut-in/cut-out pressures.
 
Likely, the diaphragm has failed and the tank is "waterlogged" on the air side.

At 18 years old, that would not be surprising.
 
I'm assuming this is a bladder type tank.

And that there was no air pressure in the tank, means there is a tear in the bladder.

I had a bladder tank partially freeze once (or I assume that's what happened, it was unusually cold when it happened). The pump would build pressure, shut off, then sometime before the pump would cycle back on, the water feeding out of the tank would suddenly slow to a trickle, the pump would cycle back on and restore a partial flow until the pressure in the tank was restored.

My diagnosis was the bladder tore when it froze, a torn piece of the bladder was sinking down and covering the pipe opening at the bottom of the tank.

A new tank fixed it.
 
You are having 2 problems. That switch should not let it get to no 70 pounds pressure with a 40-60 rating switch. Then no pressure in tank means bladder tank is shot. And the tamk should never have that much air in it.
 
I agree with Mark, too much pre-charge, our house was like that when we bought it. I would set the pressure switch to the desired setting and then lower the air pressure a little at a time until it works properly.
 
I once had a plugged (rust sediment) inlet to pressure gauge. I replaced the inlet pipe and pump cycling improved a bunch and whole system worked better.
 
Tank could have tiny pinholes in it caused by rust. If the bladder holding the water has ruptured then the tank would fill with water, becoming 'waterlogged'. There is no bladder that holds the air; the metal of the tank does that. Extended waterlogged times means water has long been in contact with the bare metal tank which means extensive rusting has occurred. Sometimes brown streaks running up & down show on the outside of the tank. This is rust leaking thru showing the metal is very thin at these streaks. When you put air in the tank at full pressure, the pressure will soon blown the tank apart spraying water all over the room, causing the pump to kick on & keep spraying until the well runs dry. This is undesirable. Replace the tank at once. Don't ask how I know all this.
 
Yup, that littl pipe the switch is on can have a blockage, makes for odd things happening.

Paul
 
Re-reading your problem, I agree that there's either a problem with the switch or blockage to it. Start by replacing the switch. A friend of mine had a switch problem a few months ago, when we pulled the switch the nipple it was on broke right off. What was left of the nipple was plugged with rust.

The switch and gauge on my own system are mounted on top of a three foot tall riser made of 1/2" pipe. No problems with rust in that setup.
 

Obviously your tank is shot. Don't even think of putting that old pressure switch back on!! I keep a spare pressure switch on hand.
 
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