Square D pressure switch 40/60 trobleshooting

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steele

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WE HAVE A NEW HOUSE WITH A NEW WELL SYSTEM. THE WELL IS 1600' FROM THE HOUSE. WE WERE TOLD BY THE WELL DRILLERS THAT WE HIT THE AQUIFER. SO WATER ISN'T THE ISSUE OF RUNNING OUT. THE PROBLEM IS THIS: THE PRESSURE SWICH WILL GO PAST THE LOW LIMIT LEVEL; DOWN PASS 40 SOMETIMES AND NOT KICK THE PUMP ON. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME JUST ONCE IN A WHILE. AND IT'S NOT THE SAME NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN. WE HAVE WATER IN THE WELL; WE REPRIME AND IT COMES BACK FULL GUNS. IT WILL ALSO GO PASS 40 TO 0 SOMETIME IF WE USE THE OUTSIDE FAUCET AND TURN IT ON FULL BLAST. BUT NOT ALL THE TIME WILL IT DO THIS. IF WE TURN IT ON SLOWLY IT LESS APT TO HAPPEN. BUT IT STILL COULD HAPPEN. WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM? THANKS
 

DonL

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Welcome to Terry's Forums.

My guess would be a bad electrical connection on the pressure switch. Maybe its Contacts do not connect every time.

I would look to see if the contacts are closing. If not, the water input on the switch could be plugged up, and it does not see the pressure drop.

Sometime ants get into the switch. Some of the newer switches are cheap junk.


Good Luck on your project.
 
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LLigetfa

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WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM? THANKS
Your CAPSLOCK is on. Please turn it off.

What kind of pump? Since you mention repriming, one may infer it is a jet pump. Consider a submersible as they never need priming. Jet pumps need pressure to make pressure. Overdraw the jet pump and the pressure plummets.

Where is the tank and switch relative to the pump? Does the switch have a low pressure cutoff?
 

DonL

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Jet pump and a well 1600' from the house?


That may have been a typo.

The OP may have a defective Keyboard.

I blame my keyboard when I get HUA.


Even when it is really a short between my headset, and CRS kicks in.
 
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LLigetfa

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Jet pump and a well 1600' from the house?
I don't know where you are going with that. 40/60 PSI looks the same to the plumbing regardless of what pump produces it.

I hate jet pumps and would never use one where I could drop in a sub.
 

Craigpump

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Well, either he has the pump 1600' from the house and has A TON of friction loss or he's trying to pump from a well 1600' away. Doesn't sound like a workable situation either way.

But like you. I would NEVER install a jet when I could install a submersible. As a matter of fact, I'm on a personal mission to eliminate all jet pumps and well pits. Doubt I'll get them all though
 

LLigetfa

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I can't see there being a 1600 foot long intake but either way, it is a long run and sure to have a lot of friction loss. None the less, it is not likely to be the root of the problem.

If there is sediment or mineralization buildup under the diaphragm of the pressure switch, that can cause it to drop below the 40 PSI preset. As for the pressure dropping to 0 on a heavy draw, that's to be expected with a jet pump. As I said, a jet uses some of the pressure to make more pressure and more volume. Steal too much and it falls over.
 

Craigpump

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We see a lot of Goulds jet pumps here in Ct, the number one problem is rust that accumulates over the port for the pressure switch tube on the pump body. We have found that a drill type torch tip cleaner is just the tool to use to clean those ports.
 

DonL

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Well, either he has the pump 1600' from the house and has A TON of friction loss or he's trying to pump from a well 1600' away. Doesn't sound like a workable situation either way.

Not to mention Voltage Drop, and the possibility of a bad wire splice.

If the motor voltage is low, the internal breaker may be tripping.


Lots of possibilities.
 

steele

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We see a lot of Goulds jet pumps here in Ct, the number one problem is rust that accumulates over the port for the pressure switch tube on the pump body. We have found that a drill type torch tip cleaner is just the tool to use to clean those ports.
Hi, it is not a jet pump and it has a low limit switch, that's what I meant when I said reprime. It's a Meyers submersible pump. When working we got great pressure. It has #6 wire, 1 1/2" blue water line no splices in the whole 1600' line because of the friction loss and very large pressure tank in the house. The whole system was designed by the Meyers pump company.
 
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steele

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Hi, it is not a jet pump and it has a low limit switch, that's what I meant when I said reprime. It's a Meyers submersible pump. When working we got great pressure. The whole system was designed by the Meyers pump company.
 

DonL

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Hi, it is not a jet pump and it has a low limit switch, that's what I meant when I said reprime. It's a Meyers submersible pump. When working we got great pressure. The whole system was designed by the Meyers pump company.


Putting a regular pressure Switch may help, But defeats the purpose of having low pressure cutoff.

Good Luck.
 

steele

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Putting a regular pressure Switch may help, But defeats the purpose of having low pressure cutoff.

Good Luck.
You are right. The Meyers pump company also said the same thing. I just want my pump to be protected just in case we would run out of water. Thanks
 

DonL

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You are right. The Meyers pump company also said the same thing. I just want my pump to be protected just in case we would run out of water. Thanks


Unless you can get more water out of the pump then it may keep kicking out.

Not many Pros like them switches but I use one because I am not a pro, I am a procrastinator.

They do work. It depends on the application.

Not using so much water at once can help.


Good Luck.
 
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LLigetfa

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I just want my pump to be protected just in case we would run out of water.
It is false security. The well could run dry after you turn off a tap while the large tank is trying to fill. Get rid of the low pressure cutoff switch and use real pump protection that monitors current, such as the Cycle Sensor.
http://cyclestopvalves.com/prod_sensor.html
 

Reach4

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Hi, it is not a jet pump and it has a low limit switch, that's what I meant when I said reprime. It's a Meyers submersible pump. When working we got great pressure. The whole system was designed by the Meyers pump company.

I think you have a low-pressure cut-off pressure switch . This is what LLigetfa was asking about when he posted "Does the switch have a low pressure cutoff?"

I suggest that you reduce the air precharge of the pressure tank by maybe 1 or 2 PSI. This is to allow the pressure tank to supply water in between the time that the pressure switch starts power to the pump and the pump can supply new water flow to the pressure switch at the pressure tank.
 

LLigetfa

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This is what LLigetfa was asking about when he posted "Does the switch have a low pressure cutoff?"
The other question that I didn't get an answer for is where is the tank and switch relative to the pump? Post #11 mentions a very large tank in the house but no mention of where the switch is relative to it and/or if that is the only tank.

If you draw water faster than the pump can deliver, the high friction loss will result in a pressure drop that trips the low pressure cutoff. I used to have that problem when the wife filled her large soaker tub. I got rid of the Square-D switch with low pressure cutoff. It was just a nuisance.
 

Craigpump

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Yeah, you need a Pump Tek type of devise to kill the power to the pump when the amp draw falls.

Meyers should have recommended that right from the start.
 
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