Low well pressure.

[DaleT]

So last week the spare bath tub faucet developed a rather severe leak. We don't use that tub very often due to a variety of reasons. Well I crawled under the house to try and shut the water off only to find there are no shut offs to that bathroom. So in order to stop the leak while I repaired the faucet I had to shut the well pump off. Got that all taken care of and turned the pump back on and the pressure is noticeably lower throughout the house. Any thoughts on what could have happened? I still need to add the shutoffs but haven't yet. Thanks.

Dale

I should also add, the pump does not appear to be cycling more than normal.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Low well pressure.

Pressure is very dependent on flow capability. Is there a chance that when you turned the pump off that it picked up some sediment in the line? Do you use a pressure tank? Have you checked that? What about the well pressure switch?

It always seems that nothing is simple and I feel your pain. I would check everything...... it would not be uncommon to have more than one thing go wrong at a time.

 

[DaleT]

Re: Low well pressure.

Honestly, I haven't checked anything yet. I'm completely new to the world of wells, grew up a mile outside Detroit.

I do have a pressure tank, again not sure what it's set at, gonna have to get out there tomorrow after work and take a look.

Thanks though, some things and areas to check first.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Low well pressure.

If you shut off the well pump and drained the system down AND if you have a captive air pressure tank, you would have lost all the precharge air pressure in the tank.

If you have a bladder style pressure tank, and the bladder is intact, the bladder would have retained the air precharge when the pressure tank had given up all the water in it.

You can tell the difference between the two styles of tanks by the following.

Bladder tanks have a rounded bottom with one pipe entering it from center bottom.

A captive air tank has straight walls all the way to the floor and usually have two pipes several inches above the floor of the tank, one in and one out.

Take a look and let me know which it is you have. No point in going into more detail until that is established.

 

[DaleT]

Re: Low well pressure.

Thanks WizeOne, I'll check it out and post back my results. I'm reasonably sure it's not a bladder system. Unfortunately the whole system is in the crawlspace. I'm trying to find somewhere to move it where I have better access and can add a whole house filter and softener but that's not gonna be anytime soon.

Dale

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Low well pressure.

Bladder tanks also have a schrader valve (Air stem just like on your tires on your car) There should be a posted pressure and I know it only takes a few pounds (it should be posted on the tank) and a bicycle pump works fine.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Low well pressure.

Bladder tanks also have a schrader valve (Air stem just like on your tires on your car) There should be a posted pressure and I know it only takes a few pounds (it should be posted on the tank) and a bicycle pump works fine.

I have had both types of tank at the cottage, and they both had a Schraeder valve.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Low well pressure.

Dale-

Pressure switch should set at around 45 PSI cut in, 65 PSI cut out . Check on that first.

I wonder if some of the sediment / minerals , etc. that are commonly found in well water clogged something up.

Did you take off all the aerators on you faucets/ shower heads etc. to flush them out?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Low well pressure.

Dale-

Pressure switch should set at around 45 PSI cut in, 65 PSI cut out . Check on that first.

Check your pressure switch rating first. A large percentage of the systems are setup to run 30/50. A lot even use a 20/40 switch.

Unscrew the pressure switch from the pipe and look to see if the switch or the pipe is particually clogged. Seen that happend several time in the past.

 

[rbh]

Re: Low well pressure.

Our system's pump is the above ground jet style (I wish we had a submersible)
The tank has a bladder in it but will not hold an air charge so we just charge the tank, 35 PSI air charge, pump on at 45 PSI off at 65 PSI.
There is a big difference between low preasure and low flow as was said.
low preasure could be a result of the preasure switch cutting in and out to early. (turn on a tap and go watch the preasure gauge and get the on and off PSI numbers)
low flow could be a shut off is not open all the way or the faucets are partially plugged.

 

[DaleT]

Re: Low well pressure.

Thanks all, probably not gonna get time to really check it out til saturday or sunday (Graduations and a funeral the next 2 days). But I'll post back the results or findings as soon as I can.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Low well pressure.

Bladder tanks also have a schrader valve (Air stem just like on your tires on your car) There should be a posted pressure and I know it only takes a few pounds (it should be posted on the tank) and a bicycle pump works fine.

Not likely Bob, on the 'few pounds. A bladder tank, dry (no water) needs two PSI below the pump on setting. If the switch is set to turn on at 40 psi and turn off at 60 psi, the dry pressure tank needs 38 lbs of air pressure (2 psi short of pump turn on pressure)

Most modern pressure switches are preset to operate between 40 and 60 lbs. They can still be purchased to operate at 30-50 psi. There is no difference between the switches, just what they are set at from the factory. They are also adjustable in the field, however too many people monkey with then who have no understanding of how it should be done and never re-balance the pressure tank to boot.

You can only measure this precharge pressure when the system is drained down. If the above scenario was the case and the tank pressure was substantially less than 38 psi, you would be there all day trying to pump it up with a low volume bicycle pump.

If the tank is of the no bladder type, then all the above still holds except you want your precharge at 5 psi below the pump cut in pressure.

Non bladder tanks will need periodic recharging as they do not seperate the air and water in the tank. As such, the water will slowly absorb the air charge and deplete it.

A low precharge in either style tank can be responsible for low pressure in the home. When the well pump is at rest, it is that precharge pressure that pushes the water into the home, not the pump itself.

As an added note, there should always be a shut off valve, on the line to the house, after the pressure tank. This will allow you to shut the water off to the house without having to shut down the well pump and drain the system.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Low well pressure.

Not likely Bob, on the 'few pounds. A bladder tank, dry (no water) needs two PSI below the pump on setting. If the switch is set to turn on at 40 psi and turn off at 60 psi, the dry pressure tank needs 38 lbs of air pressure (2 psi short of pump turn on pressure)

Most modern pressure switches are preset to operate between 40 and 60 lbs. They can still be purchased to operate at 30-50 psi. There is no difference between the switches, just what they are set at from the factory. They are also adjustable in the field, however too many people monkey with then who have no understanding of how it should be done and never re-balance the pressure tank to boot.

You can only measure this precharge pressure when the system is drained down. If the above scenario was the case and the tank pressure was substantially less than 38 psi, you would be there all day trying to pump it up with a low volume bicycle pump.

If the tank is of the no bladder type, then all the above still holds except you want your precharge at 5 psi below the pump cut in pressure.

Non bladder tanks will need periodic recharging as they do not seperate the air and water in the tank. As such, the water will slowly absorb the air charge and deplete it.

A low precharge in either style tank can be responsible for low pressure in the home. When the well pump is at rest, it is that precharge pressure that pushes the water into the home, not the pump itself.

As an added note, there should always be a shut off valve, on the line to the house, after the pressure tank. This will allow you to shut the water off to the house without having to shut down the well pump and drain the system.

Great post ...but...(there's always a but...) disagree with "A low precharge in either style tank can be responsible for low pressure in the home. When the well pump is at rest, it is that precharge pressure that pushes the water into the home, not the pump itself."

The precharge affects the smooth cut in of the pump, but not the actual system pressure....directly.

If the system is running, say , 60/30....when the system is at 50PSI the pump is not running, but it is the system pressure (not the precharge) that is calling the shot.

The bladder/air space is the buffer that stops the pump from cycling constantly.

A waterlogged tank (low precharge air volume/pressure) will give you frequent pump cycling and pressure fluctuations as the pump cuts in and out.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Low well pressure.

Me thinks you have picked up some debris...in either your pressure switch where line enters switch ,take an awil to poke through ...or the foot valve....or or if you have a in line filter that is clogged.....anyways before you do anything thing check this link out it's has alot of info on pumps wells everything you needed to know how to service your entire system ....excellent ,link below
http://www.inspectapedia.com/water/Poor-Water-Pressure-Diagnosis.htm

 

[mike243]

Re: Low well pressure.

wiseone & timfrank are correct,i have worked on a lot of wells in the last 15 years & sediment can/will stop up the pressure switch & gauges & make you cry ,if you do install any type of water treatment equipment make sure a sediment filter is inline before them.i have seen a lot of water softners clogged up because nobody read the recommended method.most frequent phrase from customers "the salesman didnt say too"my plumber didnt say i needed it" ,all wells put out sediment to some degree.hope you get it fixed with a few simple steps,mike243

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Low well pressure.

There's something blocking something !!!
My first rule of the cottage well !!! the more elaborate and expensive stuff is checked after that.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Low well pressure.

I daresay that if Dale T does not have a bladder tank, he let the precharge out of his captive air pressure tank when he drained the system down to work on the leaking faucet. Without the bladder to contain the precharge, once the tank runs out of water, it just pushes the air out the faucet.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Low well pressure.

wiseone & timfrank are correct,i have worked on a lot of wells in the last 15 years & sediment can/will stop up the pressure switch & gauges & make you cry ,if you do install any type of water treatment equipment make sure a sediment filter is inline before them.i have seen a lot of water softners clogged up because nobody read the recommended method.most frequent phrase from customers "the salesman didnt say too"my plumber didnt say i needed it" ,all wells put out sediment to some degree.hope you get it fixed with a few simple steps,mike243

Whether we are correct or not, I don't think we are on track with the OP's problem....
My thought would be hat he must have a pressure gauge in his system somewhere...and that should tell him whether our sidebar about his pressure tank is the right place to look.
What we responders have written in great volume is basically that if your tank is waterlogged/lost air charge....whatever type of tank it might be...you will get very little water volume delivered, for a significant drop in pressure.
To really check this, you need to have a water source near your gauge. When the pressure gauge uis at system cut-out pressure and no water is being drawn off, get a bucket and open a valve that will put water into the container....and watch your pressure gauge. a seriously waterlogged tank will give a couple of quarts, max, before the cut-IN pressure is reached...meaning that the pressure will always be low and the pump will cut in and out too often.

As an example, i have a shallow well pump that will deliver 6 gallons of water from max pressure (60 PSI) to cut-in.(30 PSI).

If the tank is delivering a reasonable volume between pump cycles, you can look elsewhere.

The fact that the OP says clearly at the bottom of his post that the pump does not seem to be cycling more often means either that we are barking up the wrong tree with p-tank suggestions....or that his system has ALWAYS cycled too often...

 

[DaleT]

Re: Low well pressure.

Sorry folks, still haven't had time to thoroughly investigate this issue. Your help is greatly appreciated though.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Low well pressure.

Sorry folks, still haven't had time to thoroughly investigate this issue. Your help is greatly appreciated though.

Well DaleT, I guess the Misses isn't screaming loud enough to get your attention on the matter. Either that or there is not that big of a problem.

If we had substandard water performance in this household, I would never hear the end of it.