A year long introduction to DIY aka my well nightmare.

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extc0009

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I will try to be brief since I am writing this at 1am with no other option, spent a lot of time on this website reading troubleshooting over the past year, I think my pump has finally given up, here's the backstory.

I live in a very old (like 250y) old house, and inherited awful plumbing when I came here, the first winter we had the pump stopped working, making that loud GH-GH-GH short starting noise for months, at the time I didn't realize that I should have adjusted the cutoff pressure of the tank.

Before long, sparks began flying from the pressure control switch, and for several more months we attempted to fix that problem (It wasn't until I saw a hole melted into the top of the cover I knew something was seriously wrong.

From there I really dove into this stuff and learned a bit to replace the pressure control switch, and adjust the pressure cut-off, but now there was a new problem, that being that the pump wasn't getting to pressure at all, and the pressure gauge would flick from 30-40.

At this point my prevailing theory was that something was wrong with the line, the air bladder in the water pressure tank, tried moving it, it moves fine (little heavy).

As I was about to give up, the water started working, and working great, for months, the pump would run for a few seconds with the water, then stop.

All of a sudden, no water again. This is about two weeks ago.

I head down to the basement, switch the breaker, things go back to normal.

We have water for a little while, but before long (1-2 days) no water again.

This dance has been happening for about a week, but now nothing.

Nothing is working, there's no water. There's water in the hot water tank and it makes a noise when it's on almost like it's boiling water, a rumble, I think that's normal.

The water pressure tank is rusty and old, I don't even know where I would begin fixing or replacing any of this, and to be honest the prospect of hiring a plumber is way out of the question cost wise.

My landlords aren't great about this, so you guys are really my only hope. If there's anything I've missed or could try doing to identify the problem and hopefully find a solution please let me know.
 

Valveman

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If your pump is not running for at least a minute and staying off for at least a minute, it will cycle itself to death shortly. Not having enough air in the pressure tank is what causes rapid cycling. Rapid cycling then causes the pump to fail quickly. If it is an old galvanized type tank all you may need to do is add some air on a regular basis. But it maybe too late as when the water is off the overload in the motor has tripped, so your pump is probably on its last leg and will need to be replaced soon.
 

extc0009

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If your pump is not running for at least a minute and staying off for at least a minute, it will cycle itself to death shortly. Not having enough air in the pressure tank is what causes rapid cycling. Rapid cycling then causes the pump to fail quickly. If it is an old galvanized type tank all you may need to do is add some air on a regular basis. But it maybe too late as when the water is off the overload in the motor has tripped, so your pump is probably on its last leg and will need to be replaced soon.


Thanks Valveman, it's looking like it's going to have to be a replacement. I managed to drain the pressure tank, it's one of the old style tanks, barely any water came out of it, as if it's completely out of pressure.

I've learned the following about my system:

It's a shallow well system, I've sketched out how it works. My last ditch effort is trying to clear any sediment from the jet pump, which I am looking into exactly how to do now.

So, if clearing the sediment doesn't manage to fix it, what is the recommended course of action? Replacing the whole system is a cost I can't handle unless it's absolutely necessary, and I'd like to do the repairs myself to avoid the costs of bringing someone in.

Here's how my system works, I think it's called a shallow well setup.

unknown.png
 

extc0009

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Here's what I think happened with the previous owners.

When I was in the basement I found several old water pump replacement parts, including a whole new motor. The only part that hadn't been replaced relatively recently was the water pressure tank which was rusted, there were also several pressure control box parts

I think that they replaced that part more times than needed because the water pressure tank wound up short cycling the setup. That's happened to me again now and there's a good chance the pump is burnt out, and I'll have to replace it.

This is a shallow well setup, surely there is a more effective way to run water from it?

picture is the old water pressure tank
unknown.png
 

Reach4

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From there I really dove into this stuff and learned a bit to replace the pressure control switch, and adjust the pressure cut-off, but now there was a new problem, that being that the pump wasn't getting to pressure at all, and the pressure gauge would flick from 30-40.
When you turn off power to the pump and don't use water, what does the pressure gauge read? If you then open the hose valve to release water, what does the pressure gauge read?
 

extc0009

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There is also a low buzzing sound coming from the pressure switch / pump, I gather that means that it wants to pump water but can't.
 

Drick

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I'm siding with the experts that you'll likely need a new pump. To keep from cycling the next one to death you'll need to figure out what's going on with your two pressure tanks. First the white one; There should be an air valve on it, probably under a cap. With the tank drained of water connect a tire gauge to it. It should read 2 PSI less then whatever the cut in pressure is for set to on your pressure switch. (As an example if your pressure switch is set to turn the pump on at 3o PSI the tire gauge should read 28 PSI.) If the tank reads zero PSI or if water comes out of the air valve these are signs that the diaphragm inside the pressure tank has failed and the tank needs to be replaced. Otherwise add/remove air until you reach the correct PSI for your cut in pressure.

On its own the white pressure tank is too small to keep your pump from cycling itself to death, even if its in working order. However you also have the old green pressure tank which could make up for that (or possibly work on its own without the white tank). This tank is likely an air over water type and does not have a diaphragm, and as Valveman said all you may need to do is periodically add air to this tank to prevent short cycling.
 

Reach4

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Various thoughts -- no diagnosis.

What is the pump?

You could bypass the pressure switch for testing-- just turn power on and off.

If the pump does not start, the start capacitor may have failed.

The green pressure tank may have failed. What pressure tank is it?
 

Valveman

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When you got the pump hot it probably caused a leak in the suction pipe. At full flow it may work, but at low flow the suction leak will cause it to loose prime and not get to 50.
 
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