Water pressure switch to protect well pump?

Water (or vacuum?) pressure switch to protect well pump?

Hi, I have a well pump at about 25 meters from the surface, and I need to install some kind of protection for the pump to avoid dry running. My system is as follows:

The pump (approx 1HP) feeds a gravity water tank in the attic which uses a floating switch to turn the pump on and off, as water is required. It is not a pressurized system. I was wondering if I could install a simple water pressure switch (1 to 5 bar). in the water line that feeds the attic tank? I know that the pressure switch would turn off the pump whenever it detects a sudden fall in pressure, but in my case the pressuer would obviously fall every time the float switch in the attic tank turns off the pump. But also, presumably, if the water level in the well fell below the pump, the pressure switch would also sense the fall in pressure and turn off the pump?
Obviously this would mean the pressure switch would be turning on and off very frequently, every time the float switch stops the pump, and whenever the water level fell below the pump. Actually at the moment I dont have an anti return valve installed in the system, so the pump always has to fill the water pipe from "scratch". Or would it be better to also install the anti-return valve,on the "well" side of the pressure switch?
Would a possible alternative be to connect a vacuum switch to a 2 cm diameter pipe (and via electric cable to the pump) which is placed in the well to a depth of 1 meter above the pump? So that when the water level falls and the end of the pipe is not submerged, the air preessure at the switch would fall, thus activating the switch and turning off the pump? Thank you.

You can buy a pressure switch with a low pressure cutoff. Bunch of companies make them. I use Square D brand.

ok, but would a pressure switch work well if it has to turn on and off, maybe 3 times every day? Because in my installation, every time the float switch turns off the well pump, the pressure switch would "think" it was a fall in pressure and switch to "off" and then when it senses the rise in pressure again (as float switch turns pump back "on"),. it would turn "on" again. But what I want to know is, would this system actually work well, seeing as there would be 2 "on/off" switches controlling the pump? Wait a minute - I don't think it would work...because if both the float switch and the pressure switch turn to "off", then when the float switch turns "on" again (as attic tank empties), the pressure switch would still be in the "off" position, so the pump couldn't restart. Is there a way around this? Thank you.

Nope, once it trips you need to manually re-set it. Google pressure switch and you can find what you are looking for or if you have a plumbing supply house nearby stop on in.

So in my case the pressure switch wouldn't be a solution, because I would need to manually reset the switch every time the attic tank needs refilling. Is there some way to resolve this - I mean use a pressure switch, which would only activate to protect from the pump dry run?

A Franklin Pumptec would work in your situation:

http://www.franklin-electric.com/bu...n/ProtectionDetail.aspx?Product=11&ProdLine=6

TreyH
** Not a professional - Only a DIYr **

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