Well Pump Short Cycling

[gamgee9720]

For the first time I'm having issues with an older pump. Currently the pump is short cycling.. Here are the specs.

1/3 hp pump down about 180 feet (Pump is original at 30 years old) Well recharge rate it about 1gpm WellxTrol 20gal tank Pressure Switch is set to 44-64psi

The pump kicks on at 44psi, runs for a 1 second, then turns off for

45-60 seconds It takes 15-20 to bring the tank up to 64psi, running 1 sec on 45 off the entire time.

I checked the tank pressure when it was empty and it was at 25psi.. I charged to 38 and refilled -- still short cycled, I charged to 42psi (manufacturers recomendation of 2psi below cutin) and it still short cycled.

I don;t think the well is dry as the short cycling was observed last evening and this morning (12 hours of recharge on the well).

Any thoughts??

[Lawrence]

It sound like your pump needs to be replaced after 30 years. To do this you would contact the company who drilled the well. Their name should be on the well. Where I live the driller has to clearly mark their name on the well. If they can't be found then you will have to hire another similar company.

Usually a plumber won't work on your well. You have to hire a well drilling company. They will have to pull 180 feet of casing out of the well with pump attached. It is a tough job. Best to have a replacement ready to go.

[Mark Lloyd]

Some sort of automatic circuit breaker? If the well IS dry, that might explain the pump overheating (water would keep it cooler).

[rogersdawn2]

sounds like the problem is in the well call any well service company doesnt have to be the one who drilled it . check around some will come out and give a free est. thanks scott

[Bob S.]

Ruptured bladder in pressure tank will cause somewhat similar symptoms when the tank becomes waterlogged..

[Harry K]

Except that isn't his problem. He has changed the pre-charge correctly witht the tank empty so there is plenty of air in it.

Harry K

[Bob S.]

Sorry, you're right. I read too fast and missed the "when empty" part. Bob S.

[John Gilmer]

Something "ain't right!"

Just WTF "kicks" the pump off? If it's the pressure switch then the tank is waterlogges or the pressure switch is messed up.

Or is the pump "kicking off" because of it's built in thermal overload? If that's the case then it's call the well company and pull out the pump. Did pumps have "in the pump" thermal overloads back then? (Last summer we had to replace a 30 year old pump. I don't know whether it had a thermal overload. The new pump (2 wire, BTW) definitely does.

>

[Bob S.]

Wait, maybe I apologized too fast. How does he know the tank is empty? If the tank is waterlogged from a split in the bladder, the water between the tank wall & bladder wouldn't drain off. There would still be air at the top of the tank to give a pressure reading, but pressure switch operation would be very squirrley. That's what happened to mine, but I had the additional clue of rusty water when it sat overnight. I still think it is a "possibility".

[Harry K]

Good point but I don't see it going to that extreme. He did say he had raised the pressure more than 10 pounds IIRC. That much air would have at least changed the period of short cycling.

I am stumped as to why it would do it in 1 sec. I can't even see an overheat condition ocurring that fast.

Harry K

[Harry K]

I am stumped as to cause. I can't see a thermal overload happening in

1 sec run time. Overload trip due to shot pump bearings, something nearly seized up? I would say there is something seriously wrong with the pump and it needs to be pulled.

Harry K

[John Gilmer]

Well, again, WTF trips the pump off?

If you trust yourself not to get electrocuted, you might pull the cover off the pressure switch and, at first, just object the operation. If it clicks ON and then clicks OFF after a second then, like it or not, you have a "situation."

[John Gilmer]

Well, if you are up to replacing the pressure switch then exposed wired holds no terror for you.

Just take the cover off and WATCH. If you have a VERY DRY piece of wood you can manually force the switch into operate regardless of what the pressure is. It could be that the "dead" zone (the distance between the low and high points) has been reduced because of some problem.

[gamgee9720]

And the winner is!!!

Pump is shot, Tank is shot.

After 30 years of scale, sediment, and hard livin' the arteries of the tank got clogged. There are three areas of concern to the tank reducer 1 inch from tank to 3/4 for house, the 90 degree turn at the bottom of the tank, and the dispurser just inside the pressure tank (deflects the water so it doesn't blast into the bottom of the air bladder). These had reduced down to about 1/4 inch due to scale. When the pump turned on, there was suffecient resistance that caused the pump to stop. After the reset it attempted again.. Each time there was enough water getting through to raise the PSI a pound or so. Eventually after 30 min or so the tank would come to full pressure.

After shortcycling so much over 36 hours, the pump finally kicked the bucket. The controller would still call for water every minute or so, but it took 8 hours of trying to get the tank filled.

When we pulled the pump the inlet screen was 75% plugged. After 32.5 years it was time to send it to the big well in the sky...

Thanks for all your input!

[Harry K]

Now there is something I never heard of before. Learn something new every day I guess.

Yes, not odd at all that a pump needs replacing after 30 years.

Thanks for the followup. Harry K

[Gerry Atrick]

Not if it has a LIFETIME warranty :)

[Goedjn]

Clog or a closed valve between the pump and the tank?