I have a deep well with submercible pump. It's always worked fine, but lately on occasion it seem to not want to start on occasion. This is on a farm. When I use small amounts of water in the house it's fine, but when I fill large livestock water tanks (100 gal or more), it will run for awhile, then it spits and sputters, the water stops flowing for a minute or so, and then it begins pumping again.
I have a good knowledge of both plumbing and electrical, but I have not encountered this problem before.
The pressure tank (bladder type) is fairly new, I replaced it 2 to 3 years ago. And I would think the pump itself must be ok, or it would not pump at all. Nor do I suspect a wiring short, or the breaker would blow.
What I am suspecting is possibly the pressure switch having burnt contacts, or the little hole in the bottom is clogging with crud/rust. This switch is in a pit and not easy to get to, so before I go down there, I thought I'd post this on this newsgroup and see what others have to say about it.
The other thought I have is this: Could the starting capacitor be getting weak? That's located in a shed, so that is easy to get to, but before I replace it, I thought I'd ask. It seems to me that capacitors are either good or bad, and there is no in between with them, but I know they can change capitance, and wonder if that could cause the pump to not start at times?????
That's about all there is to the system, so it's got to be one of those things?
Anyone ever have this problem?
I should note that the pressure switch is set to Approximately.... ON - 30LBS OFF - 50 LBS
It appears it will go up to normal (50lbs), but drops down to zero and stays there for a minute or so before it starts again.
Appreciate all help. Thanks in advance.