Low water pressure

[ewarne02]

We have recently been having problems with our above ground water pump. After trying to solve the problem myself, i eventually broke down and called a plumber. He said our pump was bad and he had it re-built for us. After having the pump rebuilt it ran great.
The problem we have now is that we have hardly any water pressure. And when we run a faucet or the shower, air pockets are mixed with water. When the air pockets come out, so does what looks like black sand.
We have a 30/50 shallow well pump. When the plumber re-installed the pump he never tested the water in the house. He simply put the motor back on and left. Now the pump turns on at 15psi and shuts off at 24psi. So here are my questions in short..
-Is the correct pressure being built by the pump? (on at15psi,off at 28psi)
-Where is the air coming from?
-What is the black sand that is coming out with the air?
-Should i have the plumber come back out and fix the problem

Thank You for anyone who helps, it is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Ballvalve]

Plumbers dont usually try and fix pumps. This is a good example why.

15 to 24 PSI? Hello?

Stop payment on the check and find a PUMP AND WELL guy that can perform actual, practical work. Or an electrician that is also a mechanic and contractor.

Not only have you been screwed by lousy work, you likely have no water in your well anyway.

Hey! Lets get the auto shop to change the muffler on your car before they BOTHER to check that the motor is blown, the tranny is shot and there is no oil in the crankcase.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Thatguy]

We have a 30/50 shallow well pump.
Now the pump turns on at 15psi and shuts off at 24psi.

I guess I would have checked the well water level or the pump current draw before condemning the pump but I am not a "well guy."

Seems like your hysteresis has gone from 50-30 = 20 down to 24 -15 = 9 and your lower limit is now down to 15 from 30.

Your well performance doesn't seem to stack up too well against a proposed water delivery standard for city water which is
more than 20 PSI and
PSI x GPM more than 400.

If you know of any pass/fail limits for resi. water wells I'd like to hear them.

You can check your well's new performance. Here is an example using Excel.

Well volume [V]= 123 gallons
Well input/output [IO]= 7 GPM

user demand [D, D>IO]= 8 GPM
output duration [OD] = V/(D-IO)
OD= 123 minutes
output gallons [G] = OD x D
G= 984 gallons

People tend to take notice if you quote numbers rather than saying "I'm not happy with my well."

 

[Justwater]

Just like carl in slingblade, start simple. What kind of well are we talking about? How deep? What size diameter? Was the same size motor on pump replaced? If everything was fine before the pump went out, it's a slim chance that the well has now went out, but not unheard of.

Sounds like the pump is pulling air not allowing the it to build pressure. Your plumber was either too dumb or too lazy to fix it so he set the pressure at whatever it would build to. air in the lines can also break loose alot of corrosion and buildup in the plumbing, and sometimes resemble black sand. Just from what I read, that was my first thought.

 

[Masterpumpman]

I hate it when unqualified plumbers attempt to repair wells and pumps. However many plumbers today are certified, qualified and licensed pump service providers. Jet pumps such as yours are great but they are unique in that not many people understand them.

That being said, I suspect that before your pump quit it heated up causing the PVC fittings on the suction line to swell, then shrink when they cooled causing a suction leak. That's the reason for the air/water in the system. If that's not the case, air is entering the pump from somewhere. Air in the pump will prevent the pump from pumping sufficient water and pressure.

The low cut off and on pressure is another matter. You should be having a 30/50 or 40/60 pressure setting. The plumber may have readjusted the pressure switch setting because he didn't know what else to do.

My recommendation is to contact the same plumber and give him the opportunity to rectify the problem. . . with a time limit. I don't recommend prople turning down checks as checks should be considered like cash being paid. Asking for that money being reimbursed if the plumber doesn't rectify the problem in a reasonable time isn't out of line on your part. An unqualified but licensed contractor stands to be fined by the state license board if the contractor does faulty work. As it now stands your plumber has done faulty work.

I suspect that the sand pumping is being caused by the frequent cycling of the pump due to the low cut off/on setting.

You do have a serious problem but at this point I don't see it being your well!