keithplumb
New Member
I am trying to troubleshoot an issue I have been having. My water pressure is significantly variable, and it has gotten to the point that it won't run my irrigation without me tricking it. This is something that was not present when I first purchased my house a few years back, but seems to have surfaced now.
If I go and turn on an outside hose, for instance to wash a car, or hose the lawn, I will have weak water pressure. It will remain weak as I let it run for several minutes, and then the water pressure gets extremely strong. It will get so strong that the hose will blow off screw on sprayer adapters, used to spray "weed n' feed" off the garden hose.
If I go to manually cycle my irrigation controls I can hear water come to the valve when it turns on, but it won't deliver enough pressure to raise the sprinkler heads. If I go and turn on the hose, and wait for the water to get strong, it will then run my irrigation. I have walked over to the well head, and I can hear the pump running, even when the irrigation is trying to work, but the sprinklers won't pop up. It is as if the pump runs at part throttle, and sometimes gets a boost of power sometimes.
My house has a deep well pump, with the installer's note on the panel saying "163 feet". There is a 2HP, 230V/10Amp pump, and the well head is approximately 150 feet from the house, with the pressure tank and water treatment located inside the house in a pump room. The pressure tank is a was a blue (now tan) Amtrol Well-X-Trol pressure tank that I believe is approximately 80 gallons, pressure is set at 40/70 and seems to cycle on-off correctly. Prior to my pressure tank I have an epoxy lined retention tank of approximately the same size, that has an air injection system (hydrocharger) due to iron issues in the well. After the tanks, I have a McClean Iron treatment filter, followed by a water softener of the same brand. The iron filter had it's media replaced approximately six months ago.
Pressure tank has been drawn down, and pressure checked to be 38 lbs. (matching specs written by installer)
If I go and turn on an outside hose, for instance to wash a car, or hose the lawn, I will have weak water pressure. It will remain weak as I let it run for several minutes, and then the water pressure gets extremely strong. It will get so strong that the hose will blow off screw on sprayer adapters, used to spray "weed n' feed" off the garden hose.
If I go to manually cycle my irrigation controls I can hear water come to the valve when it turns on, but it won't deliver enough pressure to raise the sprinkler heads. If I go and turn on the hose, and wait for the water to get strong, it will then run my irrigation. I have walked over to the well head, and I can hear the pump running, even when the irrigation is trying to work, but the sprinklers won't pop up. It is as if the pump runs at part throttle, and sometimes gets a boost of power sometimes.
My house has a deep well pump, with the installer's note on the panel saying "163 feet". There is a 2HP, 230V/10Amp pump, and the well head is approximately 150 feet from the house, with the pressure tank and water treatment located inside the house in a pump room. The pressure tank is a was a blue (now tan) Amtrol Well-X-Trol pressure tank that I believe is approximately 80 gallons, pressure is set at 40/70 and seems to cycle on-off correctly. Prior to my pressure tank I have an epoxy lined retention tank of approximately the same size, that has an air injection system (hydrocharger) due to iron issues in the well. After the tanks, I have a McClean Iron treatment filter, followed by a water softener of the same brand. The iron filter had it's media replaced approximately six months ago.
Pressure tank has been drawn down, and pressure checked to be 38 lbs. (matching specs written by installer)