Water Well Pressure Fluctuating

[T Malone]

Hello,

I have an old clay tile well with a new submersible pump that was installed two summers ago. The well is approximately 35' deep. We have had water pressure issues for the last few days, and at times there is no water. We have a UV light filter, a water softener, and a sediment filter in the well house. Just now, there was zero water coming out in the house. The pressure on the gauge in the well house showed zero. When I turned the last ball valve before the water exits the well house towards the house off, about 30 seconds later the pressure gauge shot up to 20 PSI and is slowly climbing from there.

Does this indicate a leak between the well house and the house somewhere?

The water softener also seems to be running a regen everyday for the last few days, but I'm wondering if it just keeps getting interrupted due to the low water pressure.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Valveman]

Unfortunately it sounds like the overload in the motor is tripping. Even though it is only 2 years old it could have cycled on and off enough by now to have damaged the motor, or if it is a 3 wire motor, maybe just the start cap and relay. Get a clip around AC amp meter and see how many amps the motor is drawing. If the amps are high the motor maybe damaged. If the amps are within spec for the motor it could just be a bad start cap. When the overload in a submersible trips it cools down in a minute or so and just seems the water magically came back on.

Nearly every problem with a pump system is caused by the pump cycling on and off too much. Adding a Cycle Stop Valve is all you have to do to solve that problem.

 

[T Malone]

Thanks so much for the reply. I'll check the amps. I have some new info to add. I started to think my shallow well is just not recharging quickly enough with the lack of rain we've had. So I connected a water hose to a hose bib right past the pressure tank and turned it on. It took 16 minutes at about 8.25 GPM for the water to drain to a trickle, and then stop. Pressure gauge showed zero. Then, I turned the hose and the ballcock valve going towards the house off and let the well recharge. After an hour and a half or so we had water again and the pressure gauge read 60 PSI (which is what the pressure tank is set to).

Think my well may be going dry?

I really appreciate the info on the Cycle Stop Valve. I just watched a video on how they work and I will definitely be adding one of those, no matter what my issue ends up being. I noticed you're in Lubbock. Do you work for the guy that invented them?

 

[Valveman]

Thanks so much for the reply. I'll check the amps. I have some new info to add. I started to think my shallow well is just not recharging quickly enough with the lack of rain we've had. So I connected a water hose to a hose bib right past the pressure tank and turned it on. It took 16 minutes at about 8.25 GPM for the water to drain to a trickle, and then stop. Pressure gauge showed zero. Then, I turned the hose and the ballcock valve going towards the house off and let the well recharge. After an hour and a half or so we had water again and the pressure gauge read 60 PSI (which is what the pressure tank is set to).

Think my well may be going dry?

I really appreciate the info on the Cycle Stop Valve. I just watched a video on how they work and I will definitely be adding one of those, no matter what my issue ends up being. I noticed you're in Lubbock. Do you work for the guy that invented them?

Running the well dry will also destroy the pump. But after adding the Cycle Stop Valve you can reduce the size of the zones or slow the hose bib down to as little as 2 GPM if needed without cycling the pump to death.

A Cycle Sensor is a separate item that connects to the breaker, not the plumbing, and will protect the pump from running dry.

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

Disclaimer: I am the guy. Lol!

 

[T Malone]

I thought you may be! Thanks so much for the help, and for your cool product.

 

[T Malone]

Welp, here's what I got. 6 amps. I contacted the guy who put the pump in to get the model number. All I know for sure is that it's a Berkeley 1/2 HP 10 GPM 230V.

 

[Valveman]

6.0 is max amps for a 1/2HP. 6.08 means there might be trouble. If the pump has run dry a time or two it will have gotten hot. The thrust bearing will have ground down a little and the stator or winding will have swollen. Running without pumping any water, cycling on and off, or water flowing into the well from above the pump can all cause the motor to overheat. The Cycle Sensor and Cycle Stop Valve can solve the first two problems. Water not flowing past the motor before going into the pump intake can be solved by adding a simple flow inducer sleeve or shroud.