Water pressure in house has always been low, and I want to fix it.

Hi,
The water pressure in my house has always been very verry low (lived here for 12 years). The shower is pathetic, and if 2 faucets are on at the same time, forget about it. I am thinking this is because of the pressure tank, but am not sure. We had a new well pump installed a couple years ago. Is it possible that the tank is just too small for the house? The tank is an Amtrol Well-X-Trol 32 gallon. The gauge next to the tank says 30 psi. There are 2 filters that the water runs through, however these are both clean and updated often.

Any help anyone could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks.

What size is the supply piping from your well equipment to the house?

It appears to be 1 inch piping.

Tanks don't make pressure, pumps do. Maybe all you need to do is increase the pressure switch setting from 30/50 to 40/60.

coolconman said:

Hi,
The water pressure in my house has always been very verry low (lived here for 12 years). The shower is pathetic, and if 2 faucets are on at the same time, forget about it. I am thinking this is because of the pressure tank, but am not sure. We had a new well pump installed a couple years ago. Is it possible that the tank is just too small for the house? The tank is an Amtrol Well-X-Trol 32 gallon. The gauge next to the tank says 30 psi. There are 2 filters that the water runs through, however these are both clean and updated often.

Any help anyone could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Is the gauge reading 30psi after the pump has pumped the tank full and turned off? I'm no well/pump technician, but my deepwell pump cuts in at 30psi and cuts out at 50psi. If you're starting at 30psi and running off from that pressure the pressure will only get less and less. I would think you'd want 45-50 pounds of pressure to build up before the pump turns off. Get the pressure up by adjusting the pressure switch and you might get a good improvement. I'm no well/pump repairman but starting out at 30psi and going down from there seems to me would insure some anemic water pressure. Here's some info on pressure switches....Pressure Switches.

Best wishes, Ed

Yes, the gauge reads 30 psi after the pump has filled the tank. After reading about pressure switches, I went on to adjust the screw on the switch that controls the cut in/cut out pressure by giving it a few clockwise turns. This caused the gauge to increase its reading to about 37 psi. I went on and turned it some more, hoping to get it up to 50-60 psi range. Unfortunately, after the second round of adjustments, the gauge reads 30 psi again.

Also, for anyone who knows anything about pressure switches, I am using a square D Pumptrol switch. On this switch, there are 4 terminals which electrical wires are to be connected to. Interestingly, on my switch there are only 2 wires connected (to the 2 leftmost terminals). Just noticed that the pump is running constantly. Makes me think there is a leak or problem somewhere between the well and the pressure tank.

What type of well...jet, submersible, shallow? Voltage?

Ed

Submersible pump, 300-400 foot well, 230 volts. Lots of water in the well.

coolconman said:

Submersible pump, 300-400 foot well, 230 volts. Lots of water in the well.

Click to expand...

coolconman, I want to repeat that I'm not a well repairman or anything so definitely take what I say with a grain of salt. Nobody else is giving much feedback but hopefully if I steer you wrong somebody will at least jump in to correct me.

My well is only around 175' deep and is using a 240v 3/4hp pump. I have FOUR wires on my Square-D 30/50 pressure switch. One line comes from the power source and one line goes to the relay box (the relay then feeds down the well to the pump). Does your pump setup have a relay box, also? My guess is that it doesn't and you are directly feeding the pump from the pressure switch. One set of contact points powers the pump, while the other set of contact points in the pressure switch is to switch in and out a start-capacitor for the motor. Your's apparently is a smaller motor or either has a built-in capacitor of sorts and doesn't need the external relay box and the switch is acting as a basic on/off switch that breaks both lines of the 240v circuit. Here's a rough sketch of how my pressure switch is wired (I left the relay out in the sketch, you can substitute the words "relay box" for "pump" if you want to):
View attachment 10723
I feel like I'm rambling here and hope somebody straightens me out. Basically I think your pressure switch wiring is ok but that something is "amiss" with the switch itself. I think at this point I would consider picking up a new ($20) Square-D 30/50 pressure switch and replacing your current one...wire it exactly as your current one is wired.

Best wishes,
Ed

So I had my friend who works on wells and pumps come out and check out the situation. It turned out that the copper pipe coming up from the well (in the well) was extremely corroded, looking like swiss cheese. After he replaced that pipe, the problem is fixed and I finally have good water presure in the house. Apperently, my pressure switch is wired in a very weird fashion, yet it works. Thanks everybody for your help and advice, it is really appreciated.

Glad to hear you got it squared away.

Ed