Jet Pump Cycling Quickly

I'm struggling with a shallow well jet pump/pressure tank system in seasonal cabin.

Pump functioning-rebuilt before this season. Ace/Simer 1/2hp

Water supply from a brook 25' from house, 15 degrees slope down from pump. Foot valve, 2" black flex pvc.

4 year old 40 gal H2How pressure tank precharged 38 psi-pressure OK empty and filled.

As soon as we open a faucet, flush WC, the pump cycles on/off and pressure surges.

I have not found leaks in the system except for very, very slow seepage from a coupling between pump and tank. Can this kind of tiny leak screw everything up?

What am I not seeing? Anything I didn't address?

I'm not understanding the problem.... Are you saying the pump rapidly turns on/off while the tank is being refilled or you are using water, and it shouldn't be?

What do you mean the pressure surges, that it doesn't gradually rise?

Why was the pump rebuilt?

How many feet of elevation above the water level?

And I thought that I was being so clear...

When a faucet is opened or toilet flushed, the water pressure pulses and the pump cycles on/off. As soon as the faucet is closed, toilet tank fills, pump is quiet. Pump cycled so often during a shower this weekend that it overheated
and shut down.

Pump was rebuilt-new impeller/seals-because it simply never pressurized the system last season. The water supply is a brook, and I figured that maybe some sand had damaged the innards.

Pump functioned this spring-filled the system, hot water heater, etc.

Starting at the brook- foot valve, pvc fitting clamped to 5-6 foot run of 2" black flex pvc, another pcv fitting into a stainless coupling, then a 20' run of
2" flex up about 10-12' elev. to the pump.

1/2 hp Simer jet pump w/pressure gauge on the pump housing, 1 1/4" outlet
into a coupling, then to 40 gal H2How pressure tank, 1" copper to a drain valve, then an AquaCare filter, then on to water heater and the rest of the house, bathroom sink, WC, shower and kitchen faucet.

Tank has been drained and pressure reads a steady 38 psi. No water squirts out of the Schrader valve. There is tiny seepage from coupling 6 inches from pressure gauge. No other obvious leaks.

That's all I can tell you. This same system functioned very well for 3-4 seasons, so I'm mystified. One thing- I used a Sharktooth this spring to splice a broken copper pipe on the hot water run. Not leaking.

Last word this morning

There is a valve between the pump and the tank. Should I remove it and replace with straight pipe?

One more last word

I had already planned to replace the coupling this week, but I will plan to remove the valve as well. I do a fair amount of mechanical work on old cars and bicycles and have learned the hard way to try to start with the simplest solutions first. I didn't know where to start with this one. Would it make sense to replace the old brass gate valve with a ball valve, or simply eliminate it?

I'll let you know how it shakes out.

Thanks

Jkevin

Gate valves are a bad choice for a valve that is not used frequently, take it out because there is no need for it being there.

Also take the cartridge out of the filter first to see if that cures the problem.

The seep leak could allow air suction but that isn't you problem now.

No cartridge

Run system without a filter cartidge?

Is your water visibly dirty at times? If not, why are you filtering clear water?

A sediment cartridge isn't going to protect you from invisible contaminates, just dirt, and usually invisible dirt, and you sure don't want to be using a carbon filter cartridge on brook water but... removing the cartridge is to enable you to troubleshoot your current problem...

BTW, that type filter was never meant to be a POE "whole house" filter. It was meant for POU at an ice maker, coffee/iced tea maker etc..

Filter

The filter is a whole house type- installed by a plumber at his recommendation- between the pressure tank and the water heater/house. It is strictly a fine sediment filter.

http://www.aquapure.com/store/systems/ap101t.html

And yes, there is visible stuff in the filter, so it makes sense that there could be a blockage at the valve. This is a non-potable- shower, toilet, sink system.

If you filter, or collect, enough invisible dirt, it shows up in the cartridge or toilet tanks but...

The point is that the "whole house" filter is misapplied because there's no sense in filtering invisible dirt. The plumber doesn't know that or just likes to sell disposable filters but it could be causing your problem instead of the gate valve. And if you knew how to troubleshoot your problem, I don't think you'd be here asking for advice, so I say remove the cartridge and see if it is causing your problem or not, before removing the gate valve. But the gate valve should be removed in either case because you can not tell if they are fully open, or closed and they break after not being used for years and the gate partially of fully closes and you don't know it.

He said; "As soon as we open a faucet, flush WC, the pump cycles on/off and pressure surges."

And a blocked filter cartridge can cause that the same as a busted and partially closed gate valve.

Sammy, he says he has "pressure surges" and I don't think you can have a surge in pressure without having low pressure and then, higher pressure, and then a blockage not allowing free flow building higher pressure and then lower pressure as the water goes through the blocked up cartridge etc. etc..

But then I could be wrong, but I've seen and heard of a cartridge doing this in the past so I don't think I am wrong.

There is a great way to prove this one way or the other, remove the cartridge, it takes 3 minutes, and run water and see what it happens.

That is a lot less time and effort than removing a gate valve, don't you agree?

And for all we know the cartridge hasn't been replaced lately and needs to be anyway. He says; "It is strictly a fine sediment filter." And then he knows for sure if the valve is probably the cause.