Increasing well water pressure

[thebone]

Hi gang.

Apologies if this has been asked before under different wording.

Just curious what some of my options might be.

I have a 30/50 pressure switch. The air in the tank when empty I made to be 28 psi. The standing PSI when idle (with air and water) is about 38 PSI.

The pump cuts in when it drops to 30 psi and cuts out at 50, as per the switch. I have a submersible pump but have no idea what type or HP rating.

Now, my wife is used to city water so the drastic reduction in water pressure was a shock to her. I know I can never get to city water pressure but is there something I can do to increase the pressure?

I figure if I can get the pressure to somewhere between 40-50 it should be ok. BTW no design plans regarding well depth as it was built 20 yrs go and paper records are long since gone.

thanks in advance.

[Porky]

If you want more pressure just turn the nut on the long thread in the pressure switch to the right (each complete turn should increase the pressure about 1-1/2 lbs. Of course you should reset the pressure in the tank to 2 lbs. below the cut-on pressure.

Then your wife won't like the constant change in pressure while taking a shower. Install a Cycle Stop Valve http://www.cyclestopvalves.com/index2.html. She'll love the constant pressure.

[cacher_chick]

You can adjust the pressure switch to some extent, but it might be better to replace the switch with a 40/60.

If your well pump isn't up to the task, it may not be able to build enough pressure to reach the higher cut-off pressure.

[valveman]

It irritates me that people think the pressure from their well pump can't be as strong as city pressure. It is your pump system. You can have as much pressure as you want. You can have two or three times as much pressure as "city pressure" if you want. You just need a pump that can produce the pressure, which most submersibles can. Then you just need to turn up the pressure switch to the pressure you want. A Cycle Stop Valve will make the pressure constant, which makes it seem even stronger. But you can turn your shower into a 1000 PSI pressure washer if you want. It is your pump system. If your well pump pressure isn't as strong as you want, it is nobodies fault but your own.

[LLigetfa]

People think it's all about the pressure but GPM is a large factor.

People often think you need more HP to get more pressure but that is not always the case. The HP is more about moving more GPM. People also often cannot differentiate GPM issues from pressure. A submersible pump can often produce more than enough GPM but perhaps not at the GPM you want. The GPM may be constrained by plumbing or filters.

My 1/2 HP sub can easily produce 80 PSI but does not put out enough GPM in some situations because of my micronizer.