Hot water out of cold water faucets???

Hi,

I am new to plumbing.

We are having multiple water problems. I am getting warm water out of the cold water side of my faucets. Also, sometimes I have water pressure and sometimes the water pressure is not so good.

I am on well water. I have a bladder tank that is 32 years old, hot water tank, washing machine, dish washer and there are 7 faucets.

We are having trouble with our washing machine which is going to be replaced today.

Also, we used to hear the pump pressure switch click on and off but we no longer hear it click(we think).

Can someone give me any advice as to were to start. I am hoping that the new washing machine will solve some of this dilemma.

Thanks in advance for any help,
yeto

FIrst, if you don't have a working water pressure gauge, you need to install one to see what's actually happening. The switch will have an upper/lower set of numbers; for example, 20/40. In that example, the pump would come on whenever the pressure got below 20, and run until it reached 40, then shut off. Yours may be 30/50, or some other set of numbers, but the min/max is usually somewhere around 20psi difference; otherwise, the pump would just come on and stay on. The gauge would let you see what's happening, then other things may come into play.

If you've not done anything to the bladder tank in 32-years, the tank may be shot. If that's the case, any use of water would require the pump to turn on. That can be checked, but first turn off the pump, open a faucet and let it run until no more water comes out (if it flows for a long time, the bladder tank is probably good), and once the water stops, there's an air pressure valve like on a tire on the tank...check the air pressure in it. That would be set to one-two pounds less than the turn-on pressure of the pump. IOW, if you have a 30/50 switch, you'd put 28-29psi of air pressure in the tank.

Getting hot in the cold lines is probably a bad cartridge in one of the single handle faucets, or shower valve. If they have individual shutoffs, try turning the hot off on them one at a time to see when or if that solves the problem. If you find the one where the problem then goes away, you've located the one that needs servicing.

If you have a hot water recirculation system, the checkvalve may be bad. ANd, depending on how the washing machine is setup, you could get a cross-over through that.

Wow! Thank you for taking time out of your day to send such a detailed reply.

jadnashua said:

FIrst, if you don't have a working water pressure gauge, you need to install one to see what's actually happening. The switch will have an upper/lower set of numbers; for example, 20/40. In that example, the pump would come on whenever the pressure got below 20, and run until it reached 40, then shut off. Yours may be 30/50, or some other set of numbers, but the min/max is usually somewhere around 20psi difference; otherwise, the pump would just come on and stay on. The gauge would let you see what's happening, then other things may come into play.

Click to expand...

I checked the gauge and it was on 27. I turned on 3 faucets and the pressure moved down to 16 but the pump pressure switch never "clicked" to turn the pump on. After turning off the faucet the pressure moved back up to 27.

If you've not done anything to the bladder tank in 32-years, the tank may be shot. If that's the case, any use of water would require the pump to turn on. That can be checked, but first turn off the pump, open a faucet and let it run until no more water comes out (if it flows for a long time, the bladder tank is probably good), and once the water stops, there's an air pressure valve like on a tire on the tank...check the air pressure in it. That would be set to one-two pounds less than the turn-on pressure of the pump. IOW, if you have a 30/50 switch, you'd put 28-29psi of air pressure in the tank.

Click to expand...

I will check this after the washing machine is delivered.

Getting hot in the cold lines is probably a bad cartridge in one of the single handle faucets, or shower valve. If they have individual shutoffs, try turning the hot off on them one at a time to see when or if that solves the problem. If you find the one where the problem then goes away, you've located the one that needs servicing.

Click to expand...

I do not have any single handle faucets in my home. Could the hot/cold problem happen with dual handle faucets? Could the hot/cold problem also be related to low water pressure? I don't see a check valve near the hot water heater. I only see a shut off valve unless that valve has some type of check built in.

If you have a hot water recirculation system, the checkvalve may be bad. ANd, depending on how the washing machine is setup, you could get a cross-over through that.

Click to expand...

I do not have a hot water recirculation system.

It could happen at a two handle faucets if there is an extra valve to shut the water off but still be left on at the hot and cold handles.

Smooky said:

It could happen at a two handle faucets if there is an extra valve to shut the water off but still be left on at the hot and cold handles.

Click to expand...

I am new to plumbing and the only thing I know is my sink faucets have two handles--one to shut off the cold water and one to shut off the hot water. The tub faucets have a third handle in the middle that controls if the water comes out of the tub spout or the shower head. Is there something else I should be looking for?

Tell us about that bladder tank that is 32 years old. That is great. Do you have a brand? Give them a good word.

I suspect that your pump might be running all of the time. 27 PSI may be as much as it can deliver. If so, you will probably want to call a well service person to fix that. The repairs are not going to be cheap, but think of all of the water bills that you have not had to pay. If you had set aside $20 per month, you could pay for the work out of the well fund.

You could measure the voltage on the wires after the pressure switch and before the well. See if there is 240 volts on those wires all of the time. If so, call the well service. The sooner you do that, the more electricity you will save. If you draw 2400 watts all of the time, that might add $200 to your electric bill per month. Where does that energy go? It converts to heat that warms up your well water. Is your incoming well pipe warm? If so, that hole in the pipe explains both of your symptoms.

Expect that if the well person has to pull your well pump up to fix the problem (leak in the pipe down the hole letting most of the water run back down), he will probably very reasonably suggest that you replace the pump at the same time-- even if it is still working.

There is another possibility or two, but less likely. Where is that pressure gauge? Is it next to the bladder tank? Are you not hearing the clicks due to reduced hearing? For that to be the case and to explain the pressure thing would take some unlikely circumstances, such as measuring the pressure away from the pressure tank, and only running the faucet for your test for a very short time -- plus the pressure gauge being inaccurate or the pressure switch being inaccurate... in other words more than one condition. The hole in the pipe or weak pump are the most likely. Think $1200 budgetary (and that is a guess that may not fit your circumstance)... Maybe not. I hope it is something cheaper.

Reach4 said:

Tell us about that bladder tank that is 32 years old. That is great. Do you have a brand? Give them a good word.

Click to expand...

It has a "wellXtrol" sticker on the side of the tank.

I suspect that your pump might be running all of the time. 27 PSI may be as much as it can deliver. If so, you will probably want to call a well service person to fix that. The repairs are not going to be cheap, but think of all of the water bills that you have not had to pay. If you had set aside $20 per month, you could pay for the work out of the well fund.

You could measure the voltage on the wires after the pressure switch and before the well. See if there is 240 volts on those wires all of the time. If so, call the well service. The sooner you do that, the more electricity you will save. If you draw 2400 watts all of the time, that might add $200 to your electric bill per month. Where does that energy go? It converts to heat that warms up your well water. Is your incoming well pipe warm? If so, that hole in the pipe explains both of your symptoms.

Expect that if the well person has to pull your well pump up to fix the problem (leak in the pipe down the hole letting most of the water run back down), he will probably very reasonably suggest that you replace the pump at the same time-- even if it is still working.

There is another possibility or two, but less likely. Where is that pressure gauge? Is it next to the bladder tank? Are you not hearing the clicks due to reduced hearing? For that to be the case and to explain the pressure thing would take some unlikely circumstances, such as measuring the pressure away from the pressure tank, and only running the faucet for your test for a very short time -- plus the pressure gauge being inaccurate or the pressure switch being inaccurate... in other words more than one condition. The hole in the pipe or weak pump are the most likely. Think $1200 budgetary (and that is a guess that may not fit your circumstance)... Maybe not. I hope it is something cheaper.

Click to expand...

I flipped the circuit breaker to the pump and I immediately heard water bubbling in the tank and the hot water heater as if water was being sucked out. Does this tell us anything related to my problem? My house has a submersible pump. Also, would the low pressure have anything to do with hot water showing up on the cold water side?

Thanks for all the help so far,
yeto

Sounds like the checkvalve is bad or there's a hole in the line. When you shut the pump off, things should hold pressure until you start to use water. If the bladder on the tank is bad, it could make some noises as water leaks by the bladder.

yeto said:

It has a "wellXtrol" sticker on the side of the tank.



I flipped the circuit breaker to the pump and I immediately heard water bubbling in the tank and the hot water heater as if water was being sucked out. Does this tell us anything related to my problem? My house has a submersible pump. Also, would the low pressure have anything to do with hot water showing up on the cold water side?

Click to expand...

Turning off the pump and having the water sucked down does confirm where the problem is.

Did you read the bit that your 2400 watt pump was heating the water? That mostly gets turned into heat.

The bigger the sucking, the farther down the well the hole in the pipe or the faulty checkvalve is. You need a well service person/team to pull your pump, and fix and/or replace. Sooner is better since
1. You will save electricity by doing it sooner
2. Your pumping system may fail totally, and then you would have a real crisis.
3. The sooner you get this fixed, the sooner you are back to normal pressure.

Okay, this is where I'm at.

The new washing machine fixed the hot/warm water coming out of the cold water faucet issue.

I have a pump/well service person hopefully coming this afternoon. I have a submersible pump. Would the check valve be built into the submersible pump? Also, would my type of system have a foot valve? The pump is 32 years old. While we have it out should it be replaced? I think I know the answer to that would be yes. I mean, how much longer can it last? Any brands of pumps I should request?

Thanks in advance for any help and thanks for all the help so far,
yeto

What pump did your pump/well person propose? Grundfos is a top brand but there are other good pumps. Some pumps are the same as other pumps with different branding. Since you are unlikely to buy your pump directly, you will probably going to get a pump that your well person provides.

When your pump ran before, how long did it run as a minimum?

What is your well depth and casing size?


How many wires run down the casing, and if the answer is 3, what colors are they?

Did your warm cold water return if you leave your pump on overnight?

It makes more sense to take out a bank loan for well work than to take out a loan for a car to replace a car that still runs OK. You probably pay around $0.24 per hour to run your pump. That in itself is not a deciding factor in fixing your well, but it is a factor.