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My latest problem
Hello everyone,
First time posting here but not my first time to the site. Got some very useful info from here in the past. So I feel I must say thank you.
I'm no expert but I have gained a decent amount of experience over the last 10 years. Replaced many parts and help diagnose quite a few problems for myself as well as neighbors. I have a new problem that has me stumped though. I'll start with what my system consists of:
200' well
1hp submersible
Franklin Electric 1hp control box
2 - 32 gallon pressure tanks
Square D 30-50 pressure switch (I adjusted this a few years back to be roughly 40-60)
Well the the first signs of a problem started a couple months ago and has slowly gotten worse. When the pump cycles on there is about a 3 second delay with no water at all. It started as only about a 1/2 second of time with no water. So I finally got some time to inspect the system today. I figured maybe the pressure switch wasn't engaging until a very low pressure or maybe even zero. I let the water run and watched the gauge closely. At about 38 psi instantly the flow stops and needle falls to zero. I hear the pressure switch click on and about 3 seconds later the gauge comes back up to 30 or so and I have water again. So I let it cycle and watch again. The pump kicks off at about 65. Needle slowly drops to 38, the water stops and the needle drops to zero. I then shut the faucet off and let the pump build pressure and kick off. I shut the power off and then tried again. Same result as the first couple off times. Where is this 38psi of pressure going so fast?
Pressure switch seems to be working fine. Pressure gauge is new. Pump was replaced a couple years ago. Control box is fairly new.
Maybe the check valve is bad in the pump or maybe I have a leak somewhere. I let the system build pressure and let it sit for half an hour. It held just fine.
Any ideas?
The air pressure in the bladder should be 2 - 5 PSI less than the kick-in pressure setting on the switch. You have too much air for the kick-in setting. Either increase the kick-in or reduce the air precharge.Originally Posted by Rydog79
Perhaps your air pressure gauge and your water pressure gauges are not reading the same.
Very good thought. I'll try a different air gauge. The one I'm using is not very good. Thank you.
Yep that was the problem. Tanks were actually 2 or 3 pounds higher than cut-in. Adjusted switch to 40 and tanks to about 37 and everything is perfect. Thanks LLigetfa. Moral of the story: always use quality tools
You're welcome. It comes up often enough that I've been nagging valveman to put it in a sticky.
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