Water Pump

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this.

My water pump, when it turns on after having the water running for a bit, seems to have a false start. It will seem like it starts, the stop quickly (less then a second) and then about 2-3 seconds later it will turn on for the duration of the cycle and turn off again.

Anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?

Thanks Jon

Reply to
Jon
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Note some air tanks have an air valve on top where you can just hook up a bicycle pump and pump some air in. Easier than draining, etc.

Reply to
Heathcliff

I am betting it is the pressure switch but it coulds be the centrifugal switch in the pump. Try adjusting the pressure switch a few pounds one way or the other and see if irt changes.

Reply to
gfretwell

I've had that happen with my pumps, when the air "pad" in the pressure tank had gone, either the air being absorbed into the water in a conventional tank, or when the diaphragm or bladder ruptured in a captive air tank. The result is that the pressure drops very rapidly when you turn the water on, then goes back up quickly, cycles up and down.

Easy enough to fix it, with a conventional tank -- turn off the power to the pump and drain the tank, opening it somewhere high as well as draining out the bottom. I've only had to replace the captive air tanks when they went bad.

The water pump when we first bought this place had a doo-hickie (or maybe it was a thingamabob) that injected a little bit of air into the tank each time the pump ran. It clogged up a lot and I never replaced it.

Reply to
Robert E. Lewis

Check the pressure reading just as, or just before, the pump starts. Add air to, as he said, 2 psi below that. You should have a 20 psi difference on the switch settings on/off. Sounds like yours is 35/55. The purpose of the air bubble is to provide a 'spring' to operate the system. The proper pressure, 2 psi below cut-in, optimizes pump run time. Anything off of that results in the pump running more than necessary. A few psi lower isn't going to make much difference but you don't want it to be higher than cut-in.

Harry K

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Ok, this tank is fairly new...I bough the house about 2 months ago and the old owner just installed it. It is a captive air tank and the pump itself is set to about 35. There is an air valve on top of the pump, so is this problem as simple as checking the air pressure in the tank and adjusting accordingly? Also the tank says to be sure pressure is set 2psi below cut in. I assume that is 2 below the 35, right?

Thanks snipped-for-privacy@aol.com, Robert E. Lewis and Heathcliff for your responses.

Reply to
Jon

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