Hello. I am very much a novice and unfortunately my husband also is not very familiar with plumbing problems. He typically just wants to call a repairman but I would like more information personally before I do. My first question is this, we are experiencing short cycling with our jet well pump (shallow dug well, pump is in the cellar and attached to Air tank), could that be caused by a bad foot valve or is it more likely the bladder in the tank. My husband has bled the tank, minimal water and has checked tank pressure. What symptoms would we have with a a bad foot valve?
Foot Valve vs Bad pump
- Thread starter Cheryl C
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I think that would be short to intermediate cycling, even when you are not using water. That would be because you pump the pressure tank with water, and the water leaks out of the foot valve when the pump is off.
Bad diaphragm in the pressure tank would cause short cycling when you are using water. I am not sure what happens when you are not using water. I expect that varies.
Water coming out of the Schrader valve is not the main diagnosis for a failed pressure tank. Is that what you were talking about when you said "minimal water"? Inability to maintain precharge air pressure is. Precharge is set and measured while the water pressure is zero or near zero. You can temporarily work around a failed diaphragm by adding air.
I am not a pro.
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Thanks. However the issue is only when we’re using water, not when we’re not. When we use water it cycles on and off very frequently; I’ve and over.
I think you right to suspect the pressure tank.
You could get into tests and workarounds, but I think you would better get into shopping based on that symptom. But for more proof, measure the drawdown, or set the air precharge to 4 PSI below the cut-on pressure with the water pressure zero. What is the air pressure 5 minutes or 30 minutes or a day later? It should be the same.
Non-rigorous drawdown test: stop using water and wait for the pump turns off. Turn off power to the pump. You should be able to draw a good 25% of the nominal tank size from a faucet. So 32 gallon tank, expect 8 gallons from the laundry sink or tub with the pump still turned off.
You could get into tests and workarounds, but I think you would better get into shopping based on that symptom. But for more proof, measure the drawdown, or set the air precharge to 4 PSI below the cut-on pressure with the water pressure zero. What is the air pressure 5 minutes or 30 minutes or a day later? It should be the same.
Non-rigorous drawdown test: stop using water and wait for the pump turns off. Turn off power to the pump. You should be able to draw a good 25% of the nominal tank size from a faucet. So 32 gallon tank, expect 8 gallons from the laundry sink or tub with the pump still turned off.
Thank you for your assistance, unfortunately I don’t understand most of this. I probably don’t know enough to use a thread like this. I think what I was wondering is what would I be seeing if the foot valve was bad? Would it be short cycling also? My husband seems to think it’s the foot valve but I don’t know why he thinks that. We’ve had no experience with a bad foot valve so not sure of the symptoms.
Cycling, even when you are not using water. That would be because you pump the pressure tank to its capacity of water, and then the water leaks back out of the foot valve when the pump is off.
Yes, that is my non-expert opinion. It is backed by reading and understanding, but not experience. The pressure tank diaphragm failure is pretty common. Most newer pressure tanks use a diaphragm rather than a bladder. That is an internal thing that you don't see, but I can't stop myself from mentioning it.
A foot valve is a strainer combined with a check valve (one way valve). If the check valve leaks, after the pump runs, the water goes back into the well. So the pressure drops, then the pump comes back on. Cycle repeats.
Liker Reach says, cycling while you are not using water is a foot valve problem. Cycling while you are using water is a pressure tank problem.
newfarmer
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But what if it does both? To hijack this older thread, my pump is cycling when I’m not using water (turns on and off for a second), but it also turns on every time we use water for about as long as we run it. When the shower runs the pressure pulses every so often. All this started after a multi-day power outage followed by very heavy rains. When I primed the pump the water was really dirty.
Bad foot pump or something clogged at the tank? Pressure always reads about 42 psi. Only started after the power outage and heavy rains.
Your pressure tank is bad. That is what causes the rapid cycling. Normal cycling when the tank is good will damage a foot valve, but rapid cycling when the tank is bad will damage a foot valve even quicker. A two pipe jet pump should be able to build much more pressure tank 20/40. I would replace the tank with a PK1A kit using a 40/60 switch and the CSV set to deliver strong 50 PSI constant. The higher pressure will probably make the pump more quite, and the 50 PSI constant pressure will just blast the dirt off in the shower and you will no longer even need soap. 
Stopping the pump cycling and getting the dirt cleared up may make the foot valve work properly. But after fixing the cycling problem that cased all this, if the foot valve is still leaking back when no water is being used, it will need to be replaced.
Stopping the pump cycling and getting the dirt cleared up may make the foot valve work properly. But after fixing the cycling problem that cased all this, if the foot valve is still leaking back when no water is being used, it will need to be replaced.
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