New guy. Water pressure issue. chasing my tail

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Coreyl90

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To start off I have had a sediment problem since I bought my home 1.5 years ago. I have a filter after the pressure tank, before my water heater etc. I have to change filters frequently due to sediment filling the filter and canister. A few days ago I changed my filter but still had a poor amount of pressure in my gage near the pressure tank. (20 psi). My pressure tank showed 18 psi at the valve. I changed my pressure switch, but reused the lower portion of the switch connecting it to the main line since I couldn't break it loose at the actual switch. After changing the filter again today it miraculously read mid 40's. (I have a 30/50 switch. Both new and old switch was the same). Just a few hours later I am at less than 20 psi and still holding. Any advice before I spend $2000 I don't have to replace my pump, piping, etc. Getting married in a little over a month and don't want to throw money away I don't really have. Any advice or input is appreciated. TIA guys!
 

Coreyl90

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Pump is a submersible, installed 10 years ago when the house was built. Depth unknown. Estimated at 200+ ft.
 

Valveman

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Sand will wear out the pump and it won't be able to build as much pressure as it should. Sand can also mess up a check valve and let water drain back and the pressure drop even when you are not using pressure. If the pump is just hanging at 20 or 40 and not shutting off at 50, then you need to manually shut the pump off. If it runs for a little while without pumping any water, it will melt all the way down.
 

Reach4

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There are many who post the life expectation on a pump is maybe 8 or 10 years. I think that varies with conditions. In 2014 I got my pit demolished, the casing extended, and a pitless installed. I opted to have the pump that had been installed in 2002 put back rather than replacing. But it was working nicely. You have the symptoms of a failed pump.

To work around this, for a few days, can you crank the pressure switch range nut clockwise to increase the cut-in pressure and
counter-clockwise to lower the cut-in pressure (on the big spring) enough to get the pump to shut off? I don't know if you can go that low. Then the precharge should be adjusted down to 2 PSI below the new cut-on . Normally three and a half revolutions of the range nut will change both the cut-in and cut-out settings by approximately 10 psi. Just consider this temporary. Get the pump replaced. The pump will progress in the bad direction.

Get the pump replaced. Think of the $30 or so water bill that you have not had to pay during those 10 years. This is important enough to allocate money away from cable TV or restaurants. What does your fiance think? When you do get the pump replaced, while staying out of the way of the workers, collect data (clear photos of model and date code labels on pump on the top and the motor on the bottom) on the old pump, new pump, how far down the pump is set, how far down the water is (static level). To know the static level, look at the waterline mark on the pipe.

For your filtering, how long does your sediment take to settle? Maybe wash one of your used cartridges in a bucket. If there is sand in the bottom of the bucket, then you have a fair amount of heavier sediment. If it is heavier stuff where a fair amount settles soon, consider adding a Twist2Clean filter in front of the cartridge filter. If your sediment does not have much that will settle out, consider a bigger sediment filter or a backwashing filter. A backwashing iron+sulfur filter will double as sediment filter. It would normally be the first thing after the pressure tank. What does you fiance think of the taste/smell of your water or the color of your toilet tanks?
 
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Coreyl90

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Pump is a submersible, installed 10 years ago when the house was
There are many who post the life expectation on a pump is maybe 8 or 10 years. I think that varies with conditions. In 2014 I got my pit demolished, the casing extended, and a pitless installed. I opted to have the pump installed 2002 put back rather than replacing. But it was working nicely. You have the symptoms of a failed pump.

To work around this, for a few days, can you crank the pressure switch range nut clockwise to increase the cut-in pressure and
counter-clockwise to lower the cut-in pressure (on the big spring) enough to get the pump to shut off? I don't know if you can go that low. Then the precharge should be adjusted down to 2 PSI below the new cut-on . Normally three and a half revolutions of the range nut will change both the cut-in and cut-out settings by approximately 10 psi. Just consider this temporary. Get the pump replaced. The pump will progress in the bad direction.

Get the pump replaced. Think of the $30 or so water bill that you have not had to pay during those 10 years. This is important enough to allocate money away from cable TV or restaurants. What does your fiance think? When you do get the pump replaced, while staying out of the way of the workers, collect data (clear photos of model and date code labels on pump on the top and the motor on the bottom) on the old pump, new pump, how far down the pump is set, how far down the water is (static level). To know the static level, look at the waterline mark on the pipe.

For your filtering, how long does your sediment take to settle? Maybe wash one of your used cartridges in a bucket. If there is sand in the bottom of the bucket, then you have a fair amount of heavier sediment. If it is heavier stuff where a fair amount settles soon, consider adding a Twist2Clean filter in front of the cartridge filter. If your sediment does not have much that will settle out, consider a bigger sediment filter or a backwashing filter. A backwashing iron+sulfur filter will double as sediment filter. It would normally be the first thing after the pressure tank. What does you fiance think of the....
The sediment I have is "heavy sediment" I guess. It doesn't really taste or smell weird. And I agree if it has to be changed then it has to be changed. Since it would only build 20 psi and then it actually got up to 45 before going back to 20 I was somewhat optimistic that there may be another issue and not the pump. So I guess I will be taking that route
 

Reach4

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Hmmm. That rising to 45 thing. Thinking about that again. The filter is after that pressure gauge. Can't think of any thing to explain that. I am not a pro, and my thoughts are not based on experience.

How big (ID or OD) is your well casing?

Check the heavy sand/sediment that you are pulling up. Try to measure some particles with a micrometer or caliper. http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/space-images/charts/wentworth-1922-grain-size.html

If you can describe your conditions better, that would be a good idea. There are people here who know how to deal with sand. Raising your pump may be a temporary solution.
 

Coreyl90

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I
Hmmm. That rising to 45 thing. Thinking about that again. The filter is after that pressure gauge. Can't think of any thing to explain that. I am not a pro, and my thoughts are not based on experience.

How big (ID or OD) is your well casing?

Check the heavy sand/sediment that you are pulling up. Try to measure some particles with a micrometer or caliper. http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/space-images/charts/wentworth-1922-grain-size.html

If you can describe your conditions better, that would be a good idea. There are people here who know how to deal with sand. Raising your pump may be a temporary solution.
When I say heavy sediment I'm referring to the amount. It's mainly sand. I know the line for the pump is 3/4 but I'm not sure about the casing size. Is a wore out pump capable of building a consistent psi? Even though it's lower than the pressure switch. Mine ranges from 20 to 30 when I randomly check it
 

Reach4

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It's mainly sand. I know the line for the pump is 3/4 but I'm not sure about the casing size.
Can't you put a measuring tape around the casing?
Is a wore out pump capable of building a consistent psi? Even though it's lower than the pressure switch. Mine ranges from 20 to 30 when I randomly check it
A worn out pump could do that. Imagine that the turbine blades were eroded down. The harder to understand part is the 45 PSI.

Is your pump running all of the time, or have you been turning the pump off except when you need water or for testing?
 
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Craigpump

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Tell us about your electric bill. Higher than usual? About the same? A worn pump will run longer trying to satisfy the pressure switch. The longer the pump runs, the higher the electric bill.

High end pumps will give longer life than contractor or off brand big box units. Most pumps use some type of plastic for the impellors, a pump moving sand is like putting disc sander on the hood of your car. The paint won't last and neither will the pump.

As for raising the pump, that might help if you raise the pump above the point where the sand is coming in. Most of the time, we see sand up high and it gets drawn into the pump as it settles through the water. If the sand is that bad, you should consider a Lakos Sub K separator.
 

Coreyl90

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Can't you put a measuring tape around the casing?
A worn out pump could do that. Imagine that the turbine blades were eroded down. The harder to understand part is the 45 PSI.

Is your pump running all of the time, or have you been turning the pump off except when you need water or for testing?
The first day or two of issues I didn't turn it off because I assumed my pressure out of the faucet was suffering due to the sediment in my filter. I leave it off now at the breaker box unless I absolutely need the water
 
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