Well pump issues?

Grant Ward

Grant Ward

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Symptoms:
*Fluctuating water pressure
*Sputtering faucets
*Water pressure valve can't keep a steady pressure when water is running

Google and YouTube research leads me to think either the water pressure tank has gone bad, or the well pump is going bad.

Any insight?
 
It's possible the water pressure valve itself could be bad. I'd check that first as its the cheapest and easiest fix. How much is it fluctuating? Like constant low/high? Does it fluctuate and then stays low? Have you been in the room with the valve to watch it click on and off while the water is running? If its clicking on and off a lot, there's a chance its gone bad. You can turn the power off, take off the protective cover and look at the contacts. If you see some slight charring or discoloration, it might be having issues and needs to be replaced. Also, sometimes the metal nipple it sits on can get plugged up with rust/silt. You have to unscrew the switch from it (power off) and look down inside to see, but its a simple fix if you do it yourself.

Next would be to check the tank itself. It's possible the bladder inside is ruptured (worn out) and has become water logged. If this has happened, you'll probably have more low water pressure than the symptoms you currently have until you get no water at all. This should be a rather easy check. Just gently rock the tank back and forth. If its full or near full, its gone bad.

If its the pump, it'll have the symptoms (really all 3 have those symptoms to start with) but like the tank issue, you'll end up with no water at all once the pump finally gives up. Typically with a pump going bad you might see issues starting before major symptoms. Like spells of low pressure. Maybe no water at all for a few seconds and then everything is fine. It's basically warning you its about to give up. How old is it? If its been there 20 years or so, it's likely that (especially if the other two check out ok). Even if its not, you should probably look into getting a new one because they don't last much longer than that. 25 years on the higher end so depending on your finances, you could milk it for awhile longer if you need to.

And while I assume you ruled everything else out to get to these 3, I just want to make sure because some people overlook stuff that's a real simple fix. If you have a whole house water filter, check the filter, replace it with a clean one and bleed the lines properly (can take several minutes). If you don't have one (or even if you do), check the aerators on the faucets. You can unscrew them by hand or an adjustable wrench. Clean them out. Though if you're getting pressure issues on bath tubs and toilets, it won't be a faucet aerator issue. Lastly, just visibly inspect everywhere on your property where you know the lines are to see if you notice any signs of a leak.
 
wildturkey said:
It's possible the water pressure valve itself could be bad. I'd check that first as its the cheapest and easiest fix. How much is it fluctuating? Like constant low/high? Does it fluctuate and then stays low? Have you been in the room with the valve to watch it click on and off while the water is running? If its clicking on and off a lot, there's a chance its gone bad. You can turn the power off, take off the protective cover and look at the contacts. If you see some slight charring or discoloration, it might be having issues and needs to be replaced. Also, sometimes the metal nipple it sits on can get plugged up with rust/silt. You have to unscrew the switch from it (power off) and look down inside to see, but its a simple fix if you do it yourself.

Next would be to check the tank itself. It's possible the bladder inside is ruptured (worn out) and has become water logged. If this has happened, you'll probably have more low water pressure than the symptoms you currently have until you get no water at all. This should be a rather easy check. Just gently rock the tank back and forth. If its full or near full, its gone bad.

If its the pump, it'll have the symptoms (really all 3 have those symptoms to start with) but like the tank issue, you'll end up with no water at all once the pump finally gives up. Typically with a pump going bad you might see issues starting before major symptoms. Like spells of low pressure. Maybe no water at all for a few seconds and then everything is fine. It's basically warning you its about to give up. How old is it? If its been there 20 years or so, it's likely that (especially if the other two check out ok). Even if its not, you should probably look into getting a new one because they don't last much longer than that. 25 years on the higher end so depending on your finances, you could milk it for awhile longer if you need to.

And while I assume you ruled everything else out to get to these 3, I just want to make sure because some people overlook stuff that's a real simple fix. If you have a whole house water filter, check the filter, replace it with a clean one and bleed the lines properly (can take several minutes). If you don't have one (or even if you do), check the aerators on the faucets. You can unscrew them by hand or an adjustable wrench. Clean them out. Though if you're getting pressure issues on bath tubs and toilets, it won't be a faucet aerator issue. Lastly, just visibly inspect everywhere on your property where you know the lines are to see if you notice any signs of a leak.
Click to expand...
Dang dude, thanks for the detailed reply.

The home was built in 2007, we moved in 2011. So all items related to well pump are in 12-16 years old, as I've never had to replace anything since being here.

The water pressure will be steady, then get really strong for about 2-3 seconds before going back steady. This process happens about every 30 seconds.

Yes, I've been next to the valve during this. The valve clicks probably 4-5 times a minute.

I changed the whole home filter last night, so I don't believe it to be a sediment issue.

Thanks again for all insight. Greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Grant Ward said:
Dang dude, thanks for the detailed reply.

The home was built in 2007, we moved in 2011. So all items related to well pump are in 12-16 years old, as I've never had to replace anything since being here.

The water pressure will be steady, then get really strong for about 2-3 seconds before going back steady. This process happens about every 30 seconds.

Yes, I've been next to the valve during this. The valve clicks probably 4-5 times a minute.

I changed the whole home filter last night, so I don't believe it to be a sediment issue.

Thanks again for all insight. Greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

It sounds like the pump is working just fine and the problem is pressure related. I'm leaning towards the bladder in your tank has gone bad.
 
Grant Ward said:
Dang dude, thanks for the detailed reply.

The home was built in 2007, we moved in 2011. So all items related to well pump are in 12-16 years old, as I've never had to replace anything since being here.

The water pressure will be steady, then get really strong for about 2-3 seconds before going back steady. This process happens about every 30 seconds.

Yes, I've been next to the valve during this. The valve clicks probably 4-5 times a minute.

I changed the whole home filter last night, so I don't believe it to be a sediment issue.

Thanks again for all insight. Greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

So the pressure is never going "low", right? It's going "normal" and then really high, surging and causing spurts? The pressure valve should be a 30/50 valve or maybe a 40/60. Does it hold pressure (not clicking on/off) when the water isn't running? And you said 4 to 5 times a minute while running, that seems a little high to me (not an expert, just based on experience). I guess it depends on how large your tank is but in my experience, it'll do its on/off cycle once or twice a minute. It might be the valve if its clicking a lot. Should be an easy fix if you're mechanically inclined. They're about 30 bucks and there's youtube videos out there on how to replace them. I also recommend taking pictures with your phone of it beforehand so you know where everything goes (the wires go in a specific order to the contacts).

But like dikowt dowg said, if you think the valve is ok, its probably the tank (I'd be surprised if a pump went bad that soon since you said the house was built in 2007). Have you tried rocking it to check the water level? If it won't move easy, you can also tap it with your knuckles starting at the bottom and going up to listen to the sound difference. Like I said, it should be no more than half to 2/3rds full. There needs to be air in the upper 3rd to quarter of the tank. If its full or near full water, its bad. It'll cause the switch to cycle on/off a lot if the tank is waterlogged
 
wildturkey said:
So the pressure is never going "low", right? It's going "normal" and then really high, surging and causing spurts? The pressure valve should be a 30/50 valve or maybe a 40/60. Does it hold pressure (not clicking on/off) when the water isn't running? And you said 4 to 5 times a minute while running, that seems a little high to me (not an expert, just based on experience). I guess it depends on how large your tank is but in my experience, it'll do its on/off cycle once or twice a minute. It might be the valve if its clicking a lot. Should be an easy fix if you're mechanically inclined. They're about 30 bucks and there's youtube videos out there on how to replace them. I also recommend taking pictures with your phone of it beforehand so you know where everything goes (the wires go in a specific order to the contacts).

But like dikowt dowg said, if you think the valve is ok, its probably the tank (I'd be surprised if a pump went bad that soon since you said the house was built in 2007). Have you tried rocking it to check the water level? If it won't move easy, you can also tap it with your knuckles starting at the bottom and going up to listen to the sound difference. Like I said, it should be no more than half to 2/3rds full. There needs to be air in the upper 3rd to quarter of the tank. If its full or near full water, its bad. It'll cause the switch to cycle on/off a lot if the tank is waterlogged
Click to expand...
When the pressure is at it's lowest, it is definitely not a steady stream. Yes, the tank is holding pressure when the water isn't running.
 
Replaced the pressure switch with the same symptoms. Looks like it's a time for a tank.
 
wildturkey said:
It's possible the water pressure valve itself could be bad. I'd check that first as its the cheapest and easiest fix. How much is it fluctuating? Like constant low/high? Does it fluctuate and then stays low? Have you been in the room with the valve to watch it click on and off while the water is running? If its clicking on and off a lot, there's a chance its gone bad. You can turn the power off, take off the protective cover and look at the contacts. If you see some slight charring or discoloration, it might be having issues and needs to be replaced. Also, sometimes the metal nipple it sits on can get plugged up with rust/silt. You have to unscrew the switch from it (power off) and look down inside to see, but its a simple fix if you do it yourself.

Next would be to check the tank itself. It's possible the bladder inside is ruptured (worn out) and has become water logged. If this has happened, you'll probably have more low water pressure than the symptoms you currently have until you get no water at all. This should be a rather easy check. Just gently rock the tank back and forth. If its full or near full, its gone bad.

If its the pump, it'll have the symptoms (really all 3 have those symptoms to start with) but like the tank issue, you'll end up with no water at all once the pump finally gives up. Typically with a pump going bad you might see issues starting before major symptoms. Like spells of low pressure. Maybe no water at all for a few seconds and then everything is fine. It's basically warning you its about to give up. How old is it? If its been there 20 years or so, it's likely that (especially if the other two check out ok). Even if its not, you should probably look into getting a new one because they don't last much longer than that. 25 years on the higher end so depending on your finances, you could milk it for awhile longer if you need to.

And while I assume you ruled everything else out to get to these 3, I just want to make sure because some people overlook stuff that's a real simple fix. If you have a whole house water filter, check the filter, replace it with a clean one and bleed the lines properly (can take several minutes). If you don't have one (or even if you do), check the aerators on the faucets. You can unscrew them by hand or an adjustable wrench. Clean them out. Though if you're getting pressure issues on bath tubs and toilets, it won't be a faucet aerator issue. Lastly, just visibly inspect everywhere on your property where you know the lines are to see if you notice any signs of a leak.
Click to expand...

All good advice.

I would add the 'Control Box' into the possible problem.

I had similar issues as OP with low pressure on a 40/60 switch, faucets sputtering, and even my washing machine giving me low water pressure alarms.

First thing I did was shut the power off to the system and drained the tank. I checked the air pressure on the empty tank with a tire gauge and it read 38 lbs where it was supposed to. Basically 2 lbs lower than the low on the 40/60 pressure switch.
Turned the power back on and let the tank fill back up. Once filled I shut the power back off and adjusted the spring down on the pressure switch a couple turns in attempt to increase pressure and it didn't change anything. Looked at the contacts and one side were charred. Bought a new pressure switch ($20), installed and got back to 60 lbs.
However, there were still issues with the pump cutting off at 60 lbs. Just a long low pitch hum noise for a few minutes.
Since I knew I now had a good switch, the next step was the Control Box.
The Control Box has 2 big capacitors and a relay up inside that you can't see unless you take the cover off. (BTW the cover has to be on the Control Box and closed for it to work.)
Anyway one of the capacitors in the control box was discolored. I could have ordered the capacitor but opted to just buy a new control box ($245). Either the pressure switch damaged the control box or vice versa.

Basically power from the breaker panel, to the pressure switch, to the control box, to the pump.

Also of note, some control boxes have two reset buttons located on the bottom of the box. They'll pop in a power surge and just need to be pushed to reset.

All good now. Pump on at 40 lbs, and off at 60 lbs.
 
Well hell...



...that's a deep subject!
 
Grant Ward said:
So I finally got around to working on this again last night. I watched a YT video that guided me how to re-pressurize the tank. That seems to have remedied the issue.
Click to expand...

I see a nipple on my tank that looks like it's for adding air. Is that what you had to do?
 
Grant Ward said:
Yes. I turned the pump off then let all the water out of the tank. I then added air to get it to 38psi. Flipped the pump back on and no more issues!
Click to expand...

That's outstanding. Youtube is great.
 
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