Water Not Working Some Mornings!!

[Brandon Cannon]

I moved into a new house and have been there almost 2 months now and every now and again when I wake up in the morning to shower no water will come out of my faucets. At first I had a pressure switch with a lever on it and I would go out and switch it to on and let it start pumping up and I will then put it back on auto and the water will be back working as usual (before I touch the switch when the water is not working the pressure gauge shows 50 psi, but still no running water). I recently change the pressure switch to one without a lever and I went 2 weeks with no issues thinking I fixed the problem, but Saturday morning when I got up to go hunting my water was not running, so I went out to my new pressure switch and the gauge shows 60psi, I manually turned the switch on to get it pumping and the water was back running. Any idea what is causing the water to stop running and the pressure gauge shows it has pressure? I want to try to fix this myself before I get a well guy to the house. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Reach4]

How about a photo that shows the pressure switch, pressure gauge, entrance to the pressure tank, and the a couple feet of pipe from the pump.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Brandon Cannon]

@Reach4 I can definitely get these photos this afternoon when I get home.

 

[Brandon Cannon]

@Reach4 Here are the images of my well set up, maybe this will help you understand what is going on. Also you can see how its wet under there and it looks like I have standing water on my pump so I may need to replace my pump as it seems there may be a leak.

 

[Valveman]

With the gauge showing 60 PSI and no water in the house, I would replace the 1/4 X 3 galvanized nipple under the pressure switch with a brass or SS one. If that nipple is clogged the gauge will still show 60 and the pump will not come on. You have an old Cycle Stop Valve on the line so the pump is probably still in good shape. However, the leak under the well seal maybe causing the pump to cycle on/off even when no one is using any water, which is bad for the pump. Fix the leak, change the nipple, and see if it happens again.

 

[Reach4]

1. Your symptom involves check valve G. Normally you would not want a top side check valve, relying on a check valve at the pump. Sometimes a topside check valve is used to work around a leaky check valve in the well or a hole in the pipe in the well.
2. You normally want the pressure switch (D-E) close to the input to the pressure tank H.
3. You would usually not want a valve at F, but at least you have the pressure switch upstream from there.
4. Still, how does the pressure gauge see pressure when there is no pressure in the house? There is a good chance that the nipple D-E is clogged. Much less likely, but possible, is that check valve G sticks closed occasionally.
5. The drain faucet off to the left of K is for getting rid of sediment from the tank. While making changes, consider putting that valve lower, or putting the tank higher.

What I am thinking is to remove or deactivate G, remove or move F. Move pressure switch tee down to about J. Clean or replace the nipple to the gauge and pressure switch.

I have no clue as to what LMNP is.

 

[Brandon Cannon]

Thanks I will try this out. In order to do this work I will need to shut off the breaker to well and do I need to close a valve to keep from losing water? Would that be valve N (I know you said you had no clue what that was) or valve F? Or is there another valve that will shut the water off based off these pictures?

 

[Reach4]

Thanks I will try this out. In order to do this work I will need to shut off the breaker to well and do I need to close a valve to keep from losing water? Would that be valve N (I know you said you had no clue what that was) or valve F? Or is there another valve that will shut the water off based off these pictures?

Turn off the breaker, and run water in the house to empty out the pressure tank. Follow by opening the drain valve to the left of K.

When you cut pipes, there will be some water spilled. That would be the case even if you left the existing pressure switch in place, opened the breaker, closed valve F, and moved the wires to a new pressure switch.

You might want to post a sketch of your plan before you start cutting.