Well pump runs for about 20 seconds every hour or so.

[Steve W]

pump is about 15 years old, tank is about 11 years old. I have turned off various faucets and outlets, can not find any leaks, but I can hear the pump run intermittently every hour or so.

I did tap on the tank, bottom is dull sound and top pings. I did release air from the tank and it did not have any water come out.

i can not find any leaks anywhere. the gauge inline from the well before the pressure switch never moves, when water is flowing, not sure if that is an issue or not.

I was thinking about replacing the pressure switch as a first step.?

any advice is appreciated.
tia

i just checked the pressure in my air tank and it is 52 psi and according the the label it should be 38 psi.

should i let some air out?

 

[Reach4]

If you have a submersible pump, set the air precharge to 2 psi below the cut-in pressure. If you have a jet pump, start with 5 below. Air precharge is always checked and set with the water pressure zero. If you have several pounds of air pressure more than the cut-on pressure, the water pressure and air pressure will be about the same. This is only useful to compare the calibration on your air pressure gauge with the water pressure gauge.

Turn off the water valve to the house. See if the pressure dropping stops.

You could also check the drawdown of your pressure tank in gallons. It should be about 1/4 of the nominal tank size.

We know there is some deficiency beyond a leak. The pump should run a minimum of 60 seconds if the tank is properly sized, the tank is in good condition, and the air precharge is correct.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

When you can't find a water leak, this problem is nearly always caused by a bad check valve on the pump.

 

[Steve W]

When you can't find a water leak, this problem is nearly always caused by a bad check valve on the pump.

if submersible, that would require pulling the pump to check?

 

[Steve W]

If you have a submersible pump, set the air precharge to 2 psi below the cut-in pressure

ok will check the air pressure with everything at zero

 

[Steve W]

Turn off the water valve to the house. See if the pressure dropping stops.

You could also check the drawdown of your pressure tank in gallons. It should be about 1/4 of the nominal tank size.

We know there is some deficiency beyond a leak. The pump should run a minimum of 60 seconds if the tank is properly sized, the tank is in good condition, and the air precharge is correct.

turned off the water valve, the pressure dropping stopped, pump did not run at all

the valve is after the pressure switch/tank

I am guessing I have a leak somewhere?

 

[Reach4]

I am guessing I have a leak somewhere?

Yes. You could continue your investigation by turning off the stop valves to toilets. You could turn off the supply valve to the water heater. Turn the WH off or to vacation mode when you do that.

Also, the pressure tank probably has a problem and/or the CSV is adjusted to too high.

 

[Valveman]

If you have more than 1 GPM leaking the CSV would not let the pump shut off. With less than 1 GPM leaking the CSV will let the pump shut off, but the leak will make it come back on.

 

[Steve W]

Yes. You could continue your investigation by turning off the stop valves to toilets. You could turn off the supply valve to the water heater. Turn the WH off or to vacation mode when you do that.

Also, the pressure tank probably has a problem and/or the CSV is adjusted to too high.

finally got time to do this and found one of my toilets leaking.
thank you for all the suggestions.

 

[AcidWater]

What is "CSV?"
cutoff switch (pressure) value ???

 

[AcidWater]

If you have a submersible pump, set the air precharge to 2 psi below the cut-in pressure. If you have a jet pump, start with 5 below. Air precharge is always checked and set with the water pressure zero.

If you have several pounds of air pressure more than the cut-on pressure, the water pressure and air pressure will be about the same.
This is only useful to compare the calibration on your air pressure gauge with the water pressure gauge.

I don't know how to parse your wording. Do you mean:

If you have several pounds of air pressure more than the cut-on pressure,
BOTH the water pressure and air pressure GAGES WILL READ about the same.

or

If THE AIR GAGE SHOWS several pounds of air pressure more than the cut-on pressure,
the water pressure and air pressure will be ACTUALLY BE about the same.


Either way, I don't understand how two gages connected to the same volume of air + water can read differently.
Maybe... the gravitational weight of the water is only exerted on the bottom (water) gage, so that gage would read higher...
this is the Ideal Gas Law meeting the real world at 4am...

 

[Valveman]

When the pump is turned off and the tank is empty of water, the air gauge on the tank reads the pre-charge amount of air in the tank like 38 PSI. When the pump is turned on and building pressure from 40 to 60, the air gauge on the tank will read the same as the gauge on the water line. You can't measure the air charge in the tank when the breaker to the pump is on, as it reads the same as the water pressure like you are thinking. But when the breaker to the pump is off and a faucet opened to drain the tank, the air charge in the tank should be 35-38 PSI just like the spare tire in the trunk of your car.

Here is what a CSV does.

 

[Reach4]

If you have several pounds of air pressure more than the cut-on pressure,
BOTH the water pressure and air pressure GAUGES WILL SHOULD READ about the same if the gauges are both good.

If THE AIR GAGE SHOWS several pounds of air pressure more than the cut-on pressure,
the water pressure and air pressure will be ACTUALLY BE about the same.

Yes, that. The actual differences will be due to altitude difference (0.43 psi/ft) of the diaphragm and the water pressure gauge, plus any effects of the diaphragm not being totally limp (usually small). So if there is more than about 1 psi difference in the readings, at least one of your gauges is probably off.