Whole House Reverse Osmosis Troubleshooting

[Terry McCloud]

Hello all, I have had a lot of luck getting solid advice from you folks and I have yet another question. My whole home RO basically consists of:
Submersible well pump - spin down filter - Pressure tank - 5mic 20" filter - Rainbird Solenoid (wired to both the following pressure switch which is set at 20/40 and to the float switch in the finished water holding tank) - Pressure switch - Pressure Pump - RO membrane - Holding Tank... and continues but no problems with the rest.

So to explain the solenoid, it is normally closed thus preventing water from slowly pushing through RO system when tank is full. When the switch in tank indicates low volume the solenoid opens and the pressure switch below also kicks on which turns on the pump to push water into membrane.. System worked pretty well for a year since installed. However I have replaced the solenoid valve 2x and now I have this intermittent problem where the tank level drops, switch activates the pressure switch and pump kicks on but is not receiving water. This only happens however when the pressure switch for the well submersible reaches its kick on pressure of ~40 psi and even then is intermittent. If i mess with the float switch off and on I can recreate the issue sometimes when the well pump switch is not activated.

To summarize, I have no clue why the pump sometimes is trying to run without water or sounds like it is running without water which results in a breaker tripping. I thought maybe there is air in the lines somehow when the well pump kicks on and creates a vapor lock in the pump thus not allowing water in? I contacted many local companies but no one will help because they "don't work on other installers systems," well the installer moved up north sooo..... any help is appreciated.

Lastly, there are no gauges on the system except for the well pump pressure switch gauge and the gauge reading final discharge pressure from submersible in the holding tank going into the home. I was thinking of adding some gauges, one on either side of the 20" sediment filter and one below the solenoid so that I can see when filters are clogging up system and also the difference between before and after solenoid while in operation. Any thoughts?
Attached a few pics to help with following along with the explanation. Thanks again!

 

[Terry McCloud]

Ok so maybe my first post was to lengthy. How can I tell if my Hallmark single stage motor non submersible pump is failing? The pressure switch is in the on position, the pump is getting water when it needs to, but the pump makes a cavitation type noise every so often and then trips the breaker while doing so.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WorthFlorida]

As I understand it, the pump will turn on with the pressure tank satisfied at 40 PSI because the RO tank is low, so turn on the pump? If this is correct there is too much head pressure on the pump. Pumps trip breakers because of overloading. A motor under load that slows down the RPM's, will draw more current, motor will get hotter than normal, its internal thermo-breaker may trip and it all shortens the life of the motor over time. I know motors but not familiar with RO systems other than under the sink type and hopefully someone here knows how this is normally handled?

 

[Terry McCloud]

Yes the solenoid opens and feeds anywhere from 40-65 psi to pump which pressurizes it further to what psi I am unsure. I am adding a gauge today post pump to see that. Since there is no backflow preventer could the pump when the solenoid kicks shut be getting the 100+ psi (guessing) backpressure and cause the lock up

 

[WorthFlorida]

I really do not know how this is usually connected but what makes sense is you use a solenoid to shut the water off to the RO system just like a water line to a refrigerator. The pump should only work on its pressure switch for the main pressure tank.