New Pump - pressure gauge cycling quickly

[peekay]

Hello. I have a brand new 3/4HP pump that is quickly cycling (on/off/on/off).

Hose to lake is primed and when I plug in the pump it starts quickly cycling. If I hold up the small hose going to the pressure switch it will stay on but it is not even pulling/pushing any water (I have a semi-transparent host to pressure tank and can see / hold it to see if water is being pushed).

Lake -> Pump with attached pressure switch -> Pressure Tank -> Cottage

 

[Valveman]

If you do not have any faucets open at the time then your check valve is not working. If faucets are open while it is cycling the pressure switch is seeing 30 to 50 or better. You may just have more than 28 PSI air in the tank and it is bouncing so fast you can't see the pressure.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

Your connection between the pressure tank and the pump has to be large and/or short if you are using the connection to the pressure switch that came with the pump. But you are talking about a transparent connection, and I am thinking that did not come with the pump.

How about a photo that shows the input to the pressure tank, and the pressure switch, and the connections between.

 

[Bannerman]

If the pressure tank is waterlogged, there will be no air to compress and no remaining room for water to enter, so repeated ON/OFF pump cycling will be the usual symptom.

Disconnect the pump from electricity, then drain the pressure tank of all water. Once there is no water remaining in the tank, use a tire pressure gauge to check the tank's air pre-charge pressure.

If the tank remains heavy, but little/no water drains out, use an air compressor to add short bursts of air into the tank's Schrader valve until there is no water remaining in the tank. Once empty or water, add sufficient air into the tank until the pre-charge pressure is ~4 psi less than the pressure switch cut-in pressure. Wait about 20 minutes, then check the air pre-charge pressure again to establish if the pressure remains the same.