Hi - New to the forum. Here is the scoop. I have a 26 year old well pump. Last weekend I had to replace the Franklin Electric Pump Control and the FSG2 Pumptrol. The reason I needed to do that was the pump would cycle every 10 to 15 seconds with very little water flow. First thing I tried was emptying the tank and filling with air to 28 psi (30-50 psi setup). I checked the Franklin Electric Contol and found the coil resistance did not match the specs on the cover. The FSG2 Pumptrol was full of crud. The nipple was pretty clean. I replaced the original FSG2 Pumptrol with a new one that has an Form M4 switch (Auto,Start, Off); the old one did not have the M4 switch. Tonight my wife reported that there was no water. We were sprinkling the garden tonight but have been doing that off and on for the past week since we just did a lot of planting over the holiday (who didn't)? I checked the pump switch and I turned the handle to START for a second and the pump kicked back in. It continued to run after I switched it back to AUTO. Everything seems OK now.
Question is whether this is a faulty Pumptrol, normal function of the Pumptrol with a M4 switch, or is something else going on with the pump or other part of the system? I read with concern Gary Slusser's reply in the "https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2228." He said that:
"You don't happen to have a switch with the little wire handle on one side and when the water stops you have to rotate that 'switch' until the pump builds about 20 psi before you can leave go, right? If so then you'd have a 'dry' well condition. That's when the pump sucks air, meaning the water level fell to the pump inlet. The same if the pump is shutting off due to overheating and the thermal overload is opening until the pump motor cools enough for it to come on again."
So do I have a faulty pump? Are there any more tests before I call the well pump people? How do I do the 5 gallon test (will that tell me anything)?
On top of everything my sister-in-law is visiting for the weekend!
Question is whether this is a faulty Pumptrol, normal function of the Pumptrol with a M4 switch, or is something else going on with the pump or other part of the system? I read with concern Gary Slusser's reply in the "https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2228." He said that:
"You don't happen to have a switch with the little wire handle on one side and when the water stops you have to rotate that 'switch' until the pump builds about 20 psi before you can leave go, right? If so then you'd have a 'dry' well condition. That's when the pump sucks air, meaning the water level fell to the pump inlet. The same if the pump is shutting off due to overheating and the thermal overload is opening until the pump motor cools enough for it to come on again."
So do I have a faulty pump? Are there any more tests before I call the well pump people? How do I do the 5 gallon test (will that tell me anything)?
On top of everything my sister-in-law is visiting for the weekend!
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