Well Pressure Drops Out

I recently installed a new pump, tank and pressure switch in hopes of improving water pressure at my home. The pressure did improve, but now I'm experiencing a different problem. Periodically, the water pressure drops out completely. You will be taking a shower (or doing wash, etc), initially you will have good pressure, but it starts to drop until it ceases completely. At this point, if you wait couple of minutes, the pump will kick in and build up pressure and everything will be fine. This seems to happen most often when there has been no water use occuring in the home (like first thing in the morning, or after nobody has been home for a few hours). I've checked my settings, and dropped my pump 40 feet deeper (thinking it was running the well dry). I've also installed a check valve, but with no results. Any ideas on what I could try next?

GoodNeitzel

You should first check the precharge and pressure switch settings. If the precharge pressure is greater than the switch setting, there will be a small time of running out of water before the pump delivers water.

However, the delay should be measured in seconds, not a couple of minutes.

It is also possible that the connection to the pressure switch is plugged. If you watch the pressure gauge and the switch when the water runs out you might be able to diagnose the problem. Is the switch clicking at the right pressure setting?

If you don't have a gauge near the pressure switch then the pump was not properly installed.

It would be a coincidence, but after installing the other check valve, there could be a leak letting the water run down on the pump side of the valve. When the pump starts you would get a big slug of air. You would be noticing the air spitting from the faucets if this were the case. I would still get rid of the extra check valve. It's not necessary and will mask other problems that may come up later.

bob...