Inconsistent Water Pressure - Driven Well

[nasonjo]

Good Afternoon!

I have been having an issue with my water pressure in my house for about a year now. It seems to have started last year when I noticed my shower and sink water pressure started to die down and went from full pressure to probably 1/2 to 1/4 pressure with water just "spilling" out then jumps back up to full pressure at very random and inconsistent times. It may last for 2 minutes or it may last for 15 seconds. I couldn't even water my lawn last year as there was not enough pressure to get the sprinkler head going and rotating. I took a look at my pressure tank (Flex-Lite FL7) and Cut in pressure is at 38 PSI and Cut out was at 60.. the needle then seems to settle at 58 (within seconds) and drops to about 56 after 5 minutes and holds there from what I can tell. I can depress the top schrader valve and air comes out.. no water. I do notice that the pressure tank (FL7) never has water in it.. I am not an expert but I thought the tank was supposed to have water with a bladder near the top half with pressurized air at the top.. mine is light and easy to tip (plastic tank) and feels like just air and no water... I do have another larger tank next to it (Flex-Lite FLU30) that is filled with water... I am not sure if the issue is with the FL7 or it is a completely different issue. Any advice on how to fix this issue or what to look for would be appreciated.

 

[Valveman]

A 20 gallon size tank only holds 5 gallons of water. They should feel light. A heavy tank means it is bad and waterlogged. It sounds like the overload in the motor is tripping. They will automatically reset in a minute or two and water will just pulse right back on. You maybe needing a new pump soon. Pumps only have so many on/off cycles built into them and when a tank only holds 5-10 gallons of water, the pump cycles on/off for every 5-10 gallons used. You really can't put on a large enough tank to stop pump cycling, it just slows it down a little. Eliminate pump cycling and you tank bladder, pump, pressure switch, check valve and everything else in your water system will last much longer. Oh and BTW, the CSV delivers strong constant 50 PSI instead of seeing 40 to 60 over and over in the shower like you have now. With a constant pressure shower you won't even need soap as it will just blast the dirt off. LOL!

 

[nasonjo]

A 20 gallon size tank only holds 5 gallons of water. They should feel light. A heavy tank means it is bad and waterlogged. It sounds like the overload in the motor is tripping. They will automatically reset in a minute or two and water will just pulse right back on. You maybe needing a new pump soon. Pumps only have so many on/off cycles built into them and when a tank only holds 5-10 gallons of water, the pump cycles on/off for every 5-10 gallons used. You really can't put on a large enough tank to stop pump cycling, it just slows it down a little. Eliminate pump cycling and you tank bladder, pump, pressure switch, check valve and everything else in your water system will last much longer. Oh and BTW, the CSV delivers strong constant 50 PSI instead of seeing 40 to 60 over and over in the shower like you have now. With a constant pressure shower you won't even need soap as it will just blast the dirt off. LOL!

The pump (and house) is only 7 years old. It seems too new for this... but the builder did do shoddy work so I expect everything else to be in line with that. I have had to replace most appliances, rerun the dump pump... now this. Hopefully it is not the pump but I will have to have someone come check it because I don’t really know how to tell if it is pump or something within the tank.

 

[Valveman]

Better educate yourself. Or the person you have coming to look at it will sell you what he makes the most money with, which is the opposite of what is best for you. Seven years is the average life of pumps and tanks that is designed in at the factory. Some last 20-30 years, some last 20-30 days, as the average is seven years. They figure seven years worth of on/off cycles and make things to last just that long. The sooner you use up all the starts built in to the pump/motor, the sooner you need a new pump and tank. I am afraid you may have already used up all your cycles, but check the air in the tank and watch the gauge while water is being used to see if the pump is cycling on and off or just delivering low pressure all the time.

 

[shlasko53]

Good Afternoon!

I have been having an issue with my water pressure in my house for about a year now. It seems to have started last year when I noticed my shower and sink water pressure started to die down and went from full pressure to probably 1/2 to 1/4 pressure with water just "spilling" out then jumps back up to full pressure at very random and inconsistent times. It may last for 2 minutes or it may last for 15 seconds. I couldn't even water my lawn last year as there was not enough pressure to get the sprinkler head going and rotating. I took a look at my pressure tank (Flex-Lite FL7) and Cut in pressure is at 38 PSI and Cut out was at 60.. the needle then seems to settle at 58 (within seconds) and drops to about 56 after 5 minutes and holds there from what I can tell. I can depress the top schrader valve and air comes out.. no water. I do notice that the pressure tank (FL7) never has water in it.. I am not an expert but I thought the tank was supposed to have water with a bladder near the top half with pressurized air at the top.. mine is light and easy to tip (plastic tank) and feels like just air and no water... I do have another larger tank next to it (Flex-Lite FLU30) that is filled with water... I am not sure if the issue is with the FL7 or it is a completely different issue. Any advice on how to fix this issue or what to look for would be appreciated.

The cut-in pressure that the pressure switch is set to should be 2 lb higher than the air pressure in the tank. Otherwise the pressure will go to zero before the pump turns on. You can adjust either the pressure in the tank or the switch.

 

[Nasonjo1]

The cut-in pressure that the pressure switch is set to should be 2 lb higher than the air pressure in the tank. Otherwise the pressure will go to zero before the pump turns on. You can adjust either the pressure in the tank or the switch.

Pressure in tank is 38 PSI. Cut in pressure also 38 PSI.... would this be a problem? Also the connection to the well... is this a bad connection?



(sorry about the account switch... can’t login to my account)

 

[Nasonjo1]

Pressure in tank is 38 PSI. Cut in pressure also 38 PSI.... would this be a problem? Also the connection to the well... is this a bad connection?



(sorry about the account switch... can’t login to my account)

 

[shlasko53]

That's not a bad connection. That is a wire in there. The pipe is underground,. That always happens. Add some air to the tank. You'll see.

 

[Valveman]

Air pressure in the tank should be 35-36 with the pump starting at 38. But if that were the problem it would be just a quick bounce off and the water would be right back on. If the water is staying off for up to 2 minutes and then magically coming back on, the overload in the motor is tripping. It maybe too late and you already need a new pump. But eliminating the cycling will sometimes help get more life out of a pump that has been cycled too much already.

 

[shlasko53]

That's not a bad connection. That is a wire in there. The pipe is underground,. That always happens. Add some air to the tank. You'll see.

OOps I got that backward!

 

[shlasko53]

Air pressure in the tank should be 35-36 with the pump starting at 38. But if that were the problem it would be just a quick bounce off and the water would be right back on. If the water is staying off for up to 2 minutes and then magically coming back on, the overload in the motor is tripping. It maybe too late and you already need a new pump. But eliminating the cycling will sometimes help get more life out of a pump that has been cycled too much already.

I stand corrected.

 

[Nasonjo1]

Air pressure in the tank should be 35-36 with the pump starting at 38. But if that were the problem it would be just a quick bounce off and the water would be right back on. If the water is staying off for up to 2 minutes and then magically coming back on, the overload in the motor is tripping. It maybe too late and you already need a new pump. But eliminating the cycling will sometimes help get more life out of a pump that has been cycled too much already.

There is always water coming out. It is just really low pressure then sputters and gets to full pressure then back and forth at random intervals. How would you eliminate cycling?

 

[Valveman]

That is not the kind of cycling I am talking about, which would be 38/58 over and over. That sounds like you are sucking air from the well or have a suction leak. Suction leak is usually right where plastic pipe attaches to the pump suction.

 

[nasonjo]

That is not the kind of cycling I am talking about, which would be 38/58 over and over. That sounds like you are sucking air from the well or have a suction leak. Suction leak is usually right where plastic pipe attaches to the pump suction.

Not really sure what you are talking about then? ...So cycling is not the issue then? Just connection from pump to pipe?

 

[Valveman]

I would call that surging or losing prime, not cycling. When you get the suction leak fixed it will cycle between 38 and 58 when using water, which isn't good. Maybe this will help.

 

[nasonjo]

So I had a plumber come out and we actually worked through the issue step by step. At first he thought a bad well pump but then he put a water filter in bypass (I have a water softener and also another one that filters iron, manganese, and sulfur) and apparently there is an issue with it becuase bypassing fixed the pressure. I called the original plumber that installed the system and he said he used 100% katolox light to pack it. He said it might be clumping up and he would repack with a 50/50 aeration mix/katolox light. He told me that the repacking will cost $600.

1. This price seems very steep to repack a filter. I watched a few videos and it seems pretty straight forward.

2. Katolox Light is VERY expensive... is there anything else I can use that effectively filters out iron, manganese, and sulfur? Do I need to use the same stuff?

 

[nasonjo]

The tank on the far right is the one with the issue. The taller green tank is the water softener (which I have on bypass and don't currently use)