H2ow-To water pump at 70psi - low flow

Hi all, thank you in advance for any assistance... I have a H2ow-to pump that indicates it was installed pre-pressurized. I don't know how old the pump is, but I do know that it's at least 5 years old. We have rust issues with our water (toilet valves and washing machine filters get rust buildup).

We've never had great pressure while we've lived here, but lately, it seems that we have great pressure when the water turns on (more so than usual), then after 30 or 60 seconds, the pressure and flow just decrease to almost nothing.

After reading through a few posts, I went outside and checked the standing pressure (pump wasn't on) and it was 70psi. I decided to see what the pump would do when the water was turned on, and when I went back out, the standing pressure was at 80psi. When the water was turned on, the pressure dropped to 60psi before the pump turned on. The water pressure and flow was ok for about a minute before it was almost nothing. The pump kept dropping to 50psi, then stayed there for a couple of minutes until we turned the water off... then the pump stayed on until it hit 90psi (isn't that too high??!!).

Any ideas? Also, should I be concerned about the high pressure?

Took some pictures for reference...

Here's the tank: (cut off the name - it's says Pre-charged)

http://gallery.me.com/combstribe#100121/PICT0385&bgcolor=black

and the whole setup:

http://gallery.me.com/combstribe#100121/PICT0390&bgcolor=black

As a sidenote, I noticed that the nut that is on the gray box is loose (it was just spinning from the vibration when the pump was on) -- I tried to tighten it, but to no avail. Don't know what's it's for.

The pressure does seem a little high. Most switches are set to on 30 and off50 or 40/60.

Some of your pipes may be blocked or almost blocked with iron. That will cause the problem you are having.

Try taking off some of the aerators in the sinks, and use a Q-TIP and see if there is a lot of iron in the sinks. The iron in the pipes could be your problem. The pressure switch may need to changed to a 40on 60off switch.
IMO the pressure you have is too high.

That nut you are trying tighten is the nut that holds down the pressure switch lid. It does not have to be very tight. Some lids don't fit all that good anyway.

Travis

will check the faucets

Thanks Travis, I checked the washing machine filter in the cold water line and it was full of rust... will check the faucets now and see where that gets me, then post back. Can I adjust the pressure myself?

filters on all other faucets look fine...

our pressure has been good this morning - until I got to the rinse cycle on the washing machine... it's been filling for 30 minutes and it's not even a 1/2 way full. It's almost like the pump can only keep up for so long, then it just runs constantly...