I have an issue with water pressure (house gets water from a well). I have an inline filter that I change once per month, and its usually quite full of dark grey flaky stuff when I change it. This stuff even caused our last water pump to finally quit. I noticed that the second floor is very slow, but its not always. Its both hot and cold. Here are the symptoms. So let's say I make sure that I am only running water from the washing machine (upstairs); no other faucets turned on or anything, so the washing machine is getting max pressure. What happens is the water pressure will be very strong when I first turn it on, but then it will die down, and sometimes almost turn to a dribble. What I think is that there might be some sediment in lines that takes a while to flow into the region that will cause the flow to drop. The piping that goes to the upstairs was replaced AFTER the water filter was installed. We also added a disconnect to backflow the two pipes and try to clear out any clog, but the water came gushing out as if there was no obstruction at all. So what could be the cause for this pressure drop? If its the sediment, how can I prevent build-up from occurring? I know pressure will drop with height, but I doubt that's the issue because when I disconnect the pipes the pressure is very strong. HELP!
Good pressure, then turns to dribble.
- Thread starter kevelev
- Start date
Help Support Plumbing Forums:
Its not just the washing machine. There is a bathtub that has the same symptoms and it also occurs other places even on the first floor. Strong at first and fades down to almost zero flow.
It's probably the filter. Or it could be that your tank isn't giving much of a drawdown either because it's too small or because it's waterlogged and the pressure switch isn't seeing the pressure change quick enough to turn the pump on when it should. That would mean a plugged line to the pressure switch.
Check to see if the pump is off when this happens or if it's running. And if it's not running when the pressure goes low, see if the pressure comes back up when the pump kicks back on.
Check to see if the pump is off when this happens or if it's running. And if it's not running when the pressure goes low, see if the pressure comes back up when the pump kicks back on.
Where is the pressure switch?
A little box about 3.5" X 2.5" square with wires in and out. It turns on and off the pump according to the set pressures.
