Mr Love,
I hope you can help with this problem, as it has me and everyone I've talked to stumped.
When I bought my house in 2001 it had an H2OwTo pump/tank system installed in the attached garage. The reason is that I live far above (in elevation) the main water line running through my community and it is necessary (so I've been told) to have this system in order to have adequate water pressure.
Last winter my pump started kicking on all by itself, with no water running, and I immediately thought I had a leak somewhere. I checked all the toilets, under sinks, in the crawl space, and around the hot water heater and found no leaks. The pump would kick on every 15-20 mins in the beginning, then gradually went to every 5-10 mins. Then it went back up to 20 mins. My water bill showed higher water useage, but I could find no leaks. I'm no plumber but common sense told me it definitely wasn't a leak causing this yo-yoing time frame, but where was the water going? And what was causing the increased pump activity?
I talked to several plumbers in my area and none of them had any experience with this type of system, so I managed by turning off the pump at the breaker and only using it when needed. Springtime came, along with warmer temps, and it stopped doing it all by itself. The water bill went back to normal, and all was fine...until this winter. It is now doing the same thing, only this time I have a small drip coming from the pump, which sits on top of the pressure tank, but its just a drip every few seconds. Hardly enough to cause the pump to kick on so frequently. The pressure switch is set at 30-50, and when the pump kicks on it runs up to 50, shuts off, and immediately starts bleeding off. In about 5 mins. it kicks on again, so it seems to be more serious than last winter.
So my question is; why did it stop doing it when the temperatures were warm/hot, and start again when the temps turned cold? Could it be a bad pressure switch? A leaky bladder? And where could the water be going? Should I replace the entire system?
Anxiously awaiting your answer....
Thanks,
Gary
I hope you can help with this problem, as it has me and everyone I've talked to stumped.
When I bought my house in 2001 it had an H2OwTo pump/tank system installed in the attached garage. The reason is that I live far above (in elevation) the main water line running through my community and it is necessary (so I've been told) to have this system in order to have adequate water pressure.
Last winter my pump started kicking on all by itself, with no water running, and I immediately thought I had a leak somewhere. I checked all the toilets, under sinks, in the crawl space, and around the hot water heater and found no leaks. The pump would kick on every 15-20 mins in the beginning, then gradually went to every 5-10 mins. Then it went back up to 20 mins. My water bill showed higher water useage, but I could find no leaks. I'm no plumber but common sense told me it definitely wasn't a leak causing this yo-yoing time frame, but where was the water going? And what was causing the increased pump activity?
I talked to several plumbers in my area and none of them had any experience with this type of system, so I managed by turning off the pump at the breaker and only using it when needed. Springtime came, along with warmer temps, and it stopped doing it all by itself. The water bill went back to normal, and all was fine...until this winter. It is now doing the same thing, only this time I have a small drip coming from the pump, which sits on top of the pressure tank, but its just a drip every few seconds. Hardly enough to cause the pump to kick on so frequently. The pressure switch is set at 30-50, and when the pump kicks on it runs up to 50, shuts off, and immediately starts bleeding off. In about 5 mins. it kicks on again, so it seems to be more serious than last winter.
So my question is; why did it stop doing it when the temperatures were warm/hot, and start again when the temps turned cold? Could it be a bad pressure switch? A leaky bladder? And where could the water be going? Should I replace the entire system?
Anxiously awaiting your answer....
Thanks,
Gary