Deep-Well Jet Pump Runs Continuously

[Crowman]

I have a 1/2 hp deep-well jet pump hooked up to a bladder tank. The pump was set to cut on at around 30 psi but fails to cut off. The pressure will not climb above 55 psi.

I adjusted the pressure switch down so it cuts in at 25 psi and it will drop out at about 45 psi, but there is little pressure in the house. There is an in-line water filter installed in the system discharge, and has about a 10 pound differential across it. I have a pressure gage directly on the pump discharge (reads 60 psi) and a pressure gage on the inlet side of the filter (reads 60 psi) and a gage on the outlet side to monitor the differential across it. The pump pressure switch is down stream of the filter and the downstream pressure gage is located below it so I can see what the output through the filter is. This is the gage that drops from 55 to 30 psi and reads what the pressure switch sees.

The bladder tank pressure was reading 51 psi so I bled the pressure down from the pressure tank and had water blow out of the valve. If I tap the pressure switch it will drop out. It is a new switch, only a couple months old. The bladder tank was put in in 1995 and the pump replaced in 2008.

Any ideas?

[LLigetfa]

Your bladder tank is shot but that in and of itself should not prevent the pump from shutting off. The inline filter is in the wrong place and should be after the pressure switch and tank. The inline filter is also undersized of clogged if you have that much drop across it.

You might try cleaning out the eductor on the jet pump to improve the pressure it can put out.

[Crowman]

Installed replacement bladder tank today, set air pressure at 18.5 psi in empty tank; then, cut pump back on. Original filter was installed on 8/4/2011 and had an 8 lb differential across it on startup. GE SmartWater sediment filter element was clogged and had 18 psi differential across it today. Put new element in filter, and had less than 2 lb drop. Pump now cuts on at around 25 psi and cuts off at about 50 psi. Will have to watch pressure loss through filter more closely. Had pressure switch mounted in tee on filter outlet (downstream) side to keep gunk out of it. Filter inlet is on outgoing side of bladder tank discharge. There is nothing between pump and bladder tank except isolation valves.