Bad Pressure Switch?

[brianjcollins]

I'll try to explain this as best I can. I bought a house about 6 months ago and over that time i've had many plumbing issues, luckily mostly small. During the minor fixes I noticed that my pressure gauage was showing a high pressure around 95lbs, so in a pinch I called a plumber out to adjust it. After he left I took a shower and the water was cutting out really bad down to zero water flow. It turned out to be a bad pressure gauge. I used a guage hooked up to a hose to get me an idea of what pressure I had running and adjusted accordingly. That pretty much got me by. I did end up replacing the bad pressure gauge today and then re-adjusted the pump pressure switch to 40/60 with my well tank pressure are 38. I continued to test it a few times and the upper end of the gauge started growing, I started at 40/60 and now it go to about 40/68. I spun back the one nut to try to turn down the top cut-off, but the nut is so loose the spring isnt under any tension. My only other option is to turn down the large spring to adjust overall pressure and drop it below 40. Could that be a bad switch? The other thing I notice is when I simply run a bathroom faucet, the pressure drops over 2 minutes or so, the pump kicks on, runs the pressure up to it's top cut-off, and repeats aslong as the facuet is opened. Should that happen or should the pump simply maintain pressure and remain on while it's calling for water?

Sorry if that is written poorly.

Brian

[Cass]

Well now that the pressure switch is all out of adjustment going out and buying a new one and replaceing it will be the easiest thing you can do...get one with a low pressure cut off...

[Teets]

When you changed the pressure switch, did you check to make sure that the line that feeds it was free from any dirt or debris that might impede the pressure switch from operating properly. If you have a faucet that is letting out water at only 3 or 4 gpm and you have a pump that pushes more water than that, then your system will cycle like you are seeing.

[brianjcollins]

Well, I changed out the pressure switch to a factory set 40/60. I don't see much change, reads correctly and everything works.

I still have the issue, I seem to have decent flow, but must have a blockage somewhere in the system. If I have all the faucets, showers, etc running, the pump can still seem to build pressure faster then it uses it. If I use the closest spout off the well, that can pump water faster then pump can deliver it and it just stays on. I'm somewhat at a loss.

Tommorow I am going to get something that will allow me to test my faucets pressure. Is there a way to measure water flow, asside from the manual method of stop watch and bucket?

Brian

[Peter Griffin]

Is the pump in the well?

[Cass]

Now don't go trying to adjust the set screws on the new switch...Have you checked the charge in the bladder tank?

You might want to try letting all the air out of the tank and see if there is any water in it...I have run into tanks that were 1/2 water logged...

[brianjcollins]

Heh... I am not touching the nuts on the new switch. I'm sure the factory settings are 100% correct. I've drained the tank and it shows about 38lbs, which should make it right.

It appears as though everything is working except for my low flow at faucets and the pump can outpace my faucets every time.

I'll be leaving it alone for a few days/weeks. I can wait to have someone who knows much more than I look at it.

Thanks everyone for your help!