Electrical Box ticking and pressure issues

Hello - I see a theme with many posts - new home owners with a well and no experience!

We moved in about 6 weeks ago and noticed a ticking noise coming from the basement where our pressure tank is located. We were told by the home inspector it was normal for the tank to tick when the switch goes on and off so we didn't worry about it.

About a week ago our electrical box for the pump exploded! the converter inside literally blew apart with such force the box also blew open. This happened when I turned on the washing machine after having finished a dishwasher load...and so no water for the night. In the morning we purchased a new box -1/2hp and replaced the top portion where the converter is and viola water (My husband wasn't comfortable replacing the whole thing because of all the wires...)

I am concerned because the ticking noise appears to be coming directly from the electrical box and it is quite frequent - i.e. everytime we use water and even occasionally when we're not using water.

in addition our water pressure is funny - it is continually intermittent - high pressure/low pressure, very cyclical (sp?).

My husband is in the process of replacing the pressure gauge that was broken and he is going to attempt to adjust the pressure but I wonder if the two problems could be connected??

our pressure tank info - pro source PS42T-T02, and 1/2 hp submersible motor switch. All of this pump talk is chinese to me so if a response could be in layman's terms I would appreciate it!

Thank-you,
Julie

Hi Julie,

The Pro Source is one of the worst tanks on the market. It is totally waterlogged. If you try to push it sideways from the top, you will see that is is very heavy meaning it's full of water. It shouldn't be. You need a new tank and you need it fast. The pump motor does not like cycling like that anymore than your control box does. A Cycle Stop Valve and a new Bladder Tank might be just what the doctor ordered.

bob...

The clicking is probably the relay in the control box.

If the control box is not matched to the pump, the box or the pump will fail. In your case, I suspect that a capacitor blew up. That might be caused by an undersized control box.

Owners of wells with pumps should learn all about them BEFORE there is a problem. You should learn the make and model number of the pump, tank, control box, and switch; and learn how the switch and control operate the pump. You must have a reliable pressure gauge on the system.

You should have a Multimeter, and if you have a submersible pump you should have or know where you can borrow a clamp-on ammeter. It is best if you have a friendly neighbor who knows about pump systems.

At this point, you should learn all you can of the above because you are probably going to need the information sooner rather than later.

If the ticking is frequent it may be that your tank is waterlogged. You must have that pressure gauge installed.

It should take a minute to go from start to stop on the pump. If it is more frequent, check for waterlogging.

You have a 19 gallon tank, which is large enough to handle a 6 GPM pump.

Get the gauge installed and come back to us with the info on running time.

Thank you both for your quick replies.

I think the waterlogged tank diagnosis sounds the most feasible - the tank is very heavy. We are going to have a plumbing service that specializes in rural well systems come out to have a look.

Any idea on how much this may cost?? I don't want to pay more than we have to. I'm afraid we could easily be seen as naive - which we are.

This is a lesson well learned and we are definitely going to do our research on how the well system works in it's entirety!

By the way the pressure gauge took about 5 secs to read.

Julie

I'm not sure what you meant by pressure gauge took 5 seconds to read?

Plumbers are usually not the people to call for well repairs. Unless these guys do a lot of well repairs.

If you want to save a few bucks you can buy a good Bladder Tank from me and put it in yourself. It's only one pipe.

bob...