HELP! Well water pressure problems!

[Goodfrost]

Hello,
I will be as brief as possible. I’m not a plumber so I don’t know the proper lingo but I’ll do my best.
I moved into this house 9 months ago, and have always had very low water pressure. It’s a well system with a 1 year old pressure tank. Last week a plumber came and “fixed” the problem. They put air into the pressure tank, and adjusted some pressure settings. They changed my very dirty filters (which are now terribly dirty again).

A few days ago, the pressure suddenly dropped and is worse than ever. Faucet goes on, has good pressure for about 5 seconds, then steadily drops. While this happens, the pressure gauge at the tank hardly drops below 50. Pump is set to 40/60. The pump goes on, pumps to 70psi, then cuts off. Air in the tank shows 56 psi with my tire gauge. What else should I check? Why would my great pressure suddenly become terrible pressure again?

 

[sarg]

Just some things to know:
The pressure tank should be at zero water pressure to check the air pressure. ... Meaning the pump is turned off and all the water is used from the pressure tank. It should be set at 2 to 5 psi below the pump start up pressure.
You state your switch is a 40/60 but the pump shuts off at 70. The switches are the same ... just set at different settings at the factory. (screw on the large spring) Watch your system and see what your "start" pressure really is and then set the tank accordingly i.e. a couple psi below.
You also state the pressure gauge stays at 50 while the system cycles ........ a bad gauge perhaps ?
If the system is not operating normally ..... starts the pump at 50 and shuts off at 70 ( usually a 20 psi range on the switches ) you may have a ruptured bladder in the tank or the 1/4" nipple connecting the switch to the system has become plugged.
The pressure issue is probably a "filter" issue.

 

[Goodfrost]

Just some things to know:
The pressure tank should be at zero water pressure to check the air pressure. ... Meaning the pump is turned off and all the water is used from the pressure tank. It should be set at 2 to 5 psi below the pump start up pressure.
You state your switch is a 40/60 but the pump shuts off at 70. The switches are the same ... just set at different settings at the factory. (screw on the large spring) Watch your system and see what your "start" pressure really is and then set the tank accordingly i.e. a couple psi below.
You also state the pressure gauge stays at 50 while the system cycles ........ a bad gauge perhaps ?
If the system is not operating normally ..... starts the pump at 50 and shuts off at 70 ( usually a 20 psi range on the switches ) you may have a ruptured bladder in the tank or the 1/4" nipple connecting the switch to the system has become plugged.
The pressure issue is probably a "filter" issue.

I replaced my filters again. What is odd is that there is a split in the line that goes right to the house, and left to the pasture hose. Both the house and the hose water pressure are low. Therefore, somewhere between the filters and the split, is some kind of blockage I guess.

 

[MicEd69]

I'm sure @Valveman will be commenting on your situation soon. He will be recommending, as I do as well, that you get a CSV, Cycle Stop Valve. That will give you constant water pressure rather than your water pressure cycling between 40 and 60 and will provide much longer life to your well pump. A sketch of your system would help with the location of your components. Also, the kind of filters and pump operating parameters would help understanding your system and perhaps recommended changes to improve your system.

 

[Valveman]

As was said pressure from a Cycle Stop Valve will be strong and constant at 50 or 60 PSI. But you will lose a lot of that through a filter and even more through a dirty filter. Split pipe is more likely from the pump cycling on and off and/or water hammer that comes with cycling. I would try to pump the well hard for hours or days if needed to get the sand out. If you can't pump the sand out it will always be a problem.