Moving the well pump pressure switch

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Dennyk

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I live in a double wide mobile home on a permanent foundation. I have a submersible pump in a well about 75 Ft. from the house, with a well tank and pressure switch installed under the house. Everything works fine. If I lose power, (and use water) and the pressure drops below the cutoff value, I need to crawl under the house to reset it after power is restored. My question is:

Can I extend the 1/4" nipple from the tank tee to the pressure switch by maybe 4 or 5 feet to bring the pressure switch and perhaps a gage up into the house, (in a closet), and leave the tank under the house, to keep from having to crawl under there to reset it.
 

Reach4

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Most people don't use the kind of pressure switch that has a lever. If you well is unlikely to run dry, I would just swap out for a normal pressure switch. In regard to your direct question, I am not sure how well that would work. Maybe no problem. I am just not sure. I would guess it would work fine, tho I would want a way to purge air at the top of the super-nipple.

If your well is liable to run out of water, there are devices that you can put in the power line going to the pressure switch that can detect a dry well electronically, and keep the water off for a selectable amount of time to let the well refill itself.
 

Valveman

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That little 1/4" nipple to the pressure switch is a static line (no flow). What is important is that it is connected close to the pressure tank. You can use a flexible poly line or hard pipe as long as you want and connect it to the pressure switch in the house. Of course the power wire will also have to be extended. Like Reach said, if you are worried that the well will get pumped dry you can use a Cycle Sensor. A Cycle Sensor will protect the pump from running dry and will reset itself when the power comes back on. It doesn't hook to the plumbing in any way. It just senses amps and knows if you are pumping water or air.
 

Dennyk

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Most people don't use the kind of pressure switch that has a lever. If you well is unlikely to run dry, I would just swap out for a normal pressure switch. In regard to your direct question, I am not sure how well that would work. Maybe no problem. I am just not sure. I would guess it would work fine, tho I would want a way to purge air at the top of the super-nipple.

If your well is liable to run out of water, there are devices that you can put in the power line going to the pressure switch that can detect a dry well electronically, and keep the water off for a selectable amount of time to let the well refill itself.

Thanks for the reply. I'm in a very rural area, and have no record of the well or pump, other than a permit that was taken out in 2008, but never followed through on. The property originally had a spring as a supply, but needed a well in order to receive financing (I'm told) by someone in 2008, and there is a creek nearby so I'm inclined to think that the actual water supply is good and probably doesn't need the cut-off feature. It wasn't there to begin with. An employee at Lowes talked me into this one last year when I was replacing it, so I'm leaning now to your suggestion on changing to a normal one. I will also check into the electronic device.
Thanks again
 

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That little brass lever on the side is the M4 feature and is very common. You just have to manually raise the lever to get the pump to start after the pressure has dropped too low for some reason.
 

Reach4

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How about a string thru the floor that is attached to the lever? If it bound up, I wonder if the pump would keep pumping even past the high pressure set point?
 

Dennyk

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That little 1/4" nipple to the pressure switch is a static line (no flow). What is important is that it is connected close to the pressure tank. You can use a flexible poly line or hard pipe as long as you want and connect it to the pressure switch in the house. Of course the power wire will also have to be extended. Like Reach said, if you are worried that the well will get pumped dry you can use a Cycle Sensor. A Cycle Sensor will protect the pump from running dry and will reset itself when the power comes back on. It doesn't hook to the plumbing in any way. It just senses amps and knows if you are pumping water or air.

I replied to the other answer before reading your reply. My thoughts initially were that the length wouldn't matter since the line has no flow, but was looking for confirmation. I'm comfortable with the re-wiring, but wasn't sure with the plumbing end. I can now weight the cost and effort involved in two different solutions. If I extend into the house, I could keep the cut-off feature which would still protect the pump, and avoid the inconvenience of having to go under the house. And I could take care of Reach's concern by bleeding the line by loosening slightly a threaded connection at the switch. The replies are appreciated. Thanks
 

Dennyk

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How about a string thru the floor that is attached to the lever? If it bound up, I wonder if the pump would keep pumping even past the high pressure set point?

The string would be the easiest. The kitchen sink is directly above the location of the switch with a cabinet underneath. I did consider bringing a string up and installing a cheap pressure gage in the cold water line to see how long to hold it on, but was afraid it would stick on and cause more problems.
 

Reach4

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I wonder what would happen if the pump cut off because the normal high cutoff pressure was reached, and then you held the handle. Would the pump start up, or does the lever only disable the low-pressure cutoff? Maybe somebody with such a pressure switch would experiment.
 

Dennyk

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I wonder what would happen if the pump cut off because the normal high cutoff pressure was reached, and then you held the handle. Would the pump start up, or does the lever only disable the low-pressure cutoff? Maybe somebody with such a pressure switch would experiment.

Interesting question. I think, (but am not sure) that it will start the pump. I will probably test that the next time I'm under there, however, the plan was to not go back under until I had a solution. But all this discussion brought to mind another thought that depends on exactly how the switch functions. What if I leave the switch where it is, and simply run some wiring up to the house that bypasses the switch. Something like a 30 amp double pole (or momentary) switch for about $15. If the pressure switch trips during a power outage, I could just use the bypass switch in the house to run the pump until the pressure builds to above the cut-on pressure. The question then is whether this will reset the pressure switch under the house, or whether it needs to be reset physically. It seems like when I lift that handle it's forcing the contacts closed. Is that all it does or does it also undo some spring loaded mechanism?

I'm editing to include this. I just spoke to a customer support rep on the Square-d pressure switch, and he said the bypass would not work. I would have to reset the switch manually, even if I brought the pressure back with the bypass.
 
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Reach4

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It seems odd that this info would not have been readily find-able. I did find that the lever has "auto", "start", and "off" positions. So by moving the lever enough, you can latch the pump off.

If the pump continues to run as long as you hold the lever in the Start position, you would think you would have seen official warnings or even reports of damaged systems because somebody, perhaps a child, held the switch in the Start position.
 
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Dennyk

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There is confusion over the detailed workings. F.Y.I When I talked to the Rep on the phone, he initially told me "no problem" with bypassing it. He said that the only thing the lever did was force the contacts closed. I thanked him and hung up. Within 5 minutes, he called back to tell me that he checked with an engineer, and was mistaken. The engineer said it wouldn't work. It had to be reset manually.

I didn't mean for this to become so involved, although it's been fun and informative. I received good info and advice here. The valve does work well. Never had a nuisance trip. Only when power was lost, so I may bring it into the house, with a method Valveman pointed out or just replace it with one without a low cut-off, as Reach suggested. And in time perhaps install a cycle sensor.
Thanks to all who responded
 

Reach4

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He said that the only thing the lever did was force the contacts closed. I thanked him and hung up. Within 5 minutes, he called back to tell me that he checked with an engineer, and was mistaken. The engineer said it wouldn't work. It had to be reset manually.
OK... I guess the distinction is that the engineer was saying that normal operation would not be resumed just because the pressure had risen.

I still wonder if holding the lever causes the pump to run beyond the high setpoint.
 

Smooky

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Going under the house every time after a power failure is fine if you are young and single. But if you are married, just as soon as you get on the river with your buddies or go to Chesapeake Bay fishing, there will be a power failure. The wife will be calling and telling you to come home. You will be telling her how to reset it and she will say it is wet under there, it’s dark and it could be snakes under there too. You will be saying the croakers and spots are biting and we just got here. Then she will say the toilet want flush, the laundry basket is full and the baby has got to have a bath! So if it were me, I would replace the switch with a regular 30-50 pressure switch before my next fishing trip. Have fun.
 

Dennyk

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How can any man argue with Smooky's reasoning! :) The temp got up to 60 today, so I went for it, and crawled under one more time and replaced the switch with one without a low cut-out.

And to satisfy Reach4's curiosity: While under there, prior to removing the old switch, I tried pulling the lever while the pressure was up near 50 psi. The contacts would not engage. The lever apparently has no effect once the pressure is within the normal operating range. Seems like a good thing!
 

Reach4

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While under there, prior to removing the old switch, I tried pulling the lever while the pressure was up near 50 psi. The contacts would not engage. The lever apparently has no effect once the pressure is within the normal operating range. Seems like a good thing!

A good thing indeed. That would make the string thing safe, it would seem.

If you don't hear of any wells near you running dry, I think you made a good move. I don't have a low-pressure cutoff or other protector myself.
 
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