Pump cycling too often after not using for winter.

First off, I am a complete newbie when it comes to wells, so thanks for any help.

I have both a well and city water. My well only feeds an exterior faucet, city water feeds my interior. During the winter, I turn off my well pump and don't use it until spring.

My equipment: Well-X-Trol by AMTROL Model WX-202. Square D 40/60 switch, submersible pump (Franklin?)

I noticed after turing on my well pump today and using the faucet, that the pump keeps cycling on and off about every 10 or 15 seconds. I watch the pressure and it moves between ~36 and ~64 psi and back in that 10 second interval.

I then checked my pressure tank pressure and it was showing no pressure. So I charged it to 38PSI.

It is still cycling the same, which is obviously way too much. It's almost like there is no water in the pressure tank and it's using only the directly pumped well water.

(added)
When the faucet is not opened, the guage is showing 56psi and the pump does not kick in at all.

Do I have to wait for a while now that I have the pressure tank pressurized correctly? Any other thoughts as to why this is happening?

Thanks,

Jeff
"WellNoob"

Try to check the gauges. When you get some water in the tank, shut off the power and compare the water pressure gauge with the air pressure that you measure with a tire gauge. Any difference is error in one or the other, or both.

Since you had no air pressure, there is a good chance that you have either a leak in the bladder, or a leak in the tank.

I once worked on a tank where the bladder was fastened down near the outlet of the tank. There was a hole rusted through the tank on the bottom. It wouldn't hold air for more than about 30 minutes. I wasted a lot of time before I figured out that problem.

Rusting is a common problem for systems that are shut down.

I shut off the power to the pump/well.

The inline guage remained at approx 56 psi. Tire gauge (pressure tank) read 36.5 psi.

With power off, I opened the faucet to relieve pressure. Remeasured and both measurements were 32 psi.

Not sure what this tells us, any further thoughts?

PS: The tank is pretty firmly attached to my cement floor in my laundry room, but I don't see any external leakage on the edges.

"I shut off the power to the pump/well. The inline guage remained at approx 56 psi. Tire gauge (pressure tank) read 36.5 psi."

This condition can exist only if one of the gauges is defective or mislocated, or there is a valve closed or nearly closed between the tank and the water gauge, or the line to the gauge is plugged. I would replace the water gauge and check to verify that the line to the pressure switch and the pressure gauge are clear.

If you have a check valve in the vicinity of the tank, especilaly after the switch, you will have a problem. Can you post a picture of the arrangement?

"With power off, I opened the faucet to relieve pressure. Remeasured and both measurements were 32 psi."

This suggests that the gauge was stuck. Check the lines to the gauge and pressure switch, and replace the water gauge.

"PS: The tank is pretty firmly attached to my cement floor in my laundry room, but I don't see any external leakage on the edges."

You won't see any water leaks if the leak is on the air side of the bladder, which can be right at the outlet of the tank in some tanks. If your tank is holding air pressure and is not full of water, then the tank is not leaking air.

When you are done, the air pressure in the tank should always be the same as the pressure at the water gauge. If it isn't, you need to find the reason and fix it. There is one exception to that condition; if the tank is empty of water you should read the "precharge" air pressure, and probably zero on the water gauge.

Thanks for the details. I will reply in a day or two with follow-up.