Cistern empty, well pump stays on for only 2 mins.

[eldudeman]

Hello everyone, new here.

I have a 3000 gallon cistern that was emptied out and not replenished by the 3/4hp low volume pump. The pump will only run for 1m 40s, then shut off. The controller is set to turn back on after 60 mins. It's weird to me that the well pump will only run for 1m 40s. At that rate, The cistern will not fill.

I switched the controller to turn the pump on after 2 minutes and it will still run strong for 1m 40s and turn off for 2 mins, then back on again. I increased the sensitivity to +20% and it still only runs for 1m 40s. Flow into the cistern seems strong for that short period until it turns off. Pump is 180ft.

Is this because my well can't keep up with demand? Is the controller failing? What should I test? Current to pump?

Thank you for your help!

 

[GReynolds929]

Sounds like the pump overload is tripping. How old is it? Probably used all it's cycles up.

 

[Valveman]

Many of those dry well protectors look for a 25% drop in amps to shut the pump off. Just pumping from a greater depth can cause a 25% drop in amps. I would also restrict the output with a ball valve to allow the pump to run for 3-5 minutes. But restricting with a valve causes the amps to drop and may trip out the controller. I would disconnect the controller and use a regular AC amp meter to see what the pump is doing. If the pump will still draw water even though the amps are 25% lower, then you just need a dry well protector that will work at whatever percentage is needed.

We make the Cycle Sensor so the underload can be adjusted as needed. This way it works with wells pumping from a greater depth or when the pump is restricted with a valve.

https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/cycle-sensor-pump-monitor

 

[eldudeman]

Many of those dry well protectors look for a 25% drop in amps to shut the pump off. Just pumping from a greater depth can cause a 25% drop in amps. I would also restrict the output with a ball valve to allow the pump to run for 3-5 minutes. But restricting with a valve causes the amps to drop and may trip out the controller. I would disconnect the controller and use a regular AC amp meter to see what the pump is doing. If the pump will still draw water even though the amps are 25% lower, then you just need a dry well protector that will work at whatever percentage is needed.

We make the Cycle Sensor so the underload can be adjusted as needed. This way it works with wells pumping from a greater depth or when the pump is restricted with a valve.

https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/cycle-sensor-pump-monitor

Thank you for pointing me in this direction. I'll test and get back here.

What benefit does installing a ball valve on the pump output provide?