House water pressure (Well)

[eclipseman]

All,
I figured this forum is as good as any to ask. My wife and I purchased our current house last year. The water pressure in the house is less than desirable but it is fine. That being said, of course I'm interested in increasing the pressure if possible. From what I read, low water pressure can be due to many things. Constrictions in pipes, well pump going bad, pressure tank not functioning properly or worst case scenario, the well itself is not optimal and the only way to fix is drill a new well. The house is old (1920s). The pressure tank is definitely older (70s?). I have no idea how old the well pump is. Some house hold observations...when I shower...the water pressure will be ok, then after maybe 8 minutes or so it will drastically go down (like someone flushed a toilet) but then after a minute it starts going back up and will do this every few minutes there after. My wife and I cannot afford drilling a new well anytime soon, so if that is the issue we will deal with it but if there are things we can do or check to see if we can help it then great. Thoughts?

 

[Turkey Creek]

IMO sounds like your pressure switch is going bad or the lower limit on the pressure switch is to low for your liking. The switch tells the pump when to turn off and on. Once the preset minimum pressure is reached in the pressure tank it should cause the well to kick on.

 

[Tree Spud]

Your water lines could have lime/mineral build up restricting flow. A pressure tank that old probably has failed seals it may also be undersized. Well water pump rotor is probably worn, seals or packing old and pump beyond useful life. This means the pump is still working but can't maintain suction.

 

[scott44]

The pressure on the bladder tank should be a couple pounds less than the cut-off on the pressure switch. There should be a valve like an inner tube valve on the tank where you can check the pressure on the tank and add or decrease the pressure if needed. You might have to put a pressure gauge on the discharge side of the pump to help trouble shoot.

 

[Gator]

I agree with TurkeyCreek, at least look at the settings on the pressure switch first. That would definitely explain the up and down oscillating of the pressure as you describe.

 

[eclipseman]

IMO sounds like your pressure switch is going bad or the lower limit on the pressure switch is to low for your liking. The switch tells the pump when to turn off and on. Once the preset minimum pressure is reached in the pressure tank it should cause the well to kick on.

Everyone in this thread just went above my knowledge of having a well system haha. The pressure switch you speak of...is this part of the pressure tank or the well pump?

 

[eclipseman]

Your water lines could have lime/mineral build up restricting flow. A pressure tank that old probably has failed seals it may also be undersized. Well water pump rotor is probably worn, seals or packing old and pump beyond useful life. This means the pump is still working but can't maintain suction.

How does one go about remedying these things? I am somewhat mechanically inclined but replacing the well pump will likely need to be done by a pro. I think I could handle the pressure tank though. What about the lime build up?

 

[Gator]

Everyone in this thread just went above my knowledge of having a well system haha. The pressure switch you speak of...is this part of the pressure tank or the well pump?

Pressure tank. You should have a gauge that you can see the pressure, you can run water somewhere and watch the gauge fall until the pressure switch tells the pump to run, then you'll watch the pressure rise until the pressure switch tells the pump to turn off. If these numbers are low, it might be as simple as adjusting the two limits.

 

[scott44]

Try this

 

[Tree Spud]

How does one go about remedying these things? I am somewhat mechanically inclined but replacing the well pump will likely need to be done by a pro. I think I could handle the pressure tank though. What about the lime build up?

The above advise is good on the pressure tank and checking out a few other things. We had the same issue with the pump running too long and our well eventually failed. You should probably get a plumber or well company in to check on the pump condition. When ours went out, we were 5 days without water.

 

[JFK52]

Eclipseman, did you have an inspector do a survey of all your household systems before you bought the house? If you took out a mortgage, most companies require this before closing. Did the problem exist then or did it start since you bought the house? Just trying to get a time line on the problem. Did you have the water itself tested? Are you in an area know for high amounts of lime or other minerals? Do you know the diameter of your well, age, and the depth of it? Most people never bother to learn these things until there is a problem that needs attention. I have my own wells on both my home and hunting land. I read and taught myself as much as I could about wells and their related systems. I do not by any means consider myself an expert, but an informed private well owner. One of the fellows who hunts on my land is a master plumber and a lot of my knowledge has come from conversations with him.

I have to agree with Tree Spud that you will need a master plumber to check out things if it is anything beyond the pressure tank issue.

 

[eclipseman]

Eclipseman, did you have an inspector do a survey of all your household systems before you bought the house? If you took out a mortgage, most companies require this before closing. Did the problem exist then or did it start since you bought the house? Just trying to get a time line on the problem. Did you have the water itself tested? Are you in an area know for high amounts of lime or other minerals? Do you know the diameter of your well, age, and the depth of it? Most people never bother to learn these things until there is a problem that needs attention. I have my own wells on both my home and hunting land. I read and taught myself as much as I could about wells and their related systems. I do not by any means consider myself an expert, but an informed private well owner. One of the fellows who hunts on my land is a master plumber and a lot of my knowledge has come from conversations with him.

I have to agree with Tree Spud that you will need a master plumber to check out things if it is anything beyond the pressure tank issue.

We had an inspector and last year we ran the water for a long time at multiple spouts with no loss of pressure so this is definitely a new issue. I really hope it is nothing major as we do not have a ton of money at the moment. How much would a New well pump cost? What are the high cost items in order from high to low? My father in law knows a well person I’ll have him over soon if I can. Thanks!

 

[Livesintrees]

If you don’t have a pressure gauge have a plumber install one. You need to see what the pressure is. And more importantly that it’s binding that pressure when the water is not in use.

 

[Tree Spud]

We had an inspector and last year we ran the water for a long time at multiple spouts with no loss of pressure so this is definitely a new issue. I really hope it is nothing major as we do not have a ton of money at the moment. How much would a New well pump cost? What are the high cost items in order from high to low? My father in law knows a well person I’ll have him over soon if I can. Thanks!

Well digging companies are usually just busy busy people these days, with the current economy and high residential building it will be about availability.

To replace our well pump was $2,600, that was 3 years ago. Don't take this wrong but unless your FIL is a master plumber or well digger, your wasting your time.

Get someone qualified to look at your situation, that costs nothing, at least you are on their radar ....

 

[Red Picqua]

first.. find out if you have a pressure switch
second remove pressure switch cover
third verify if there are two springs inside the box. or one.
fourth if two springs. turn the small nut clockwise 1 which will increase the cut off pressure
5th if only one spring.. turn spring one turn to increase cut off pressure.
6th. verify it works.
7th. find another project.

 

[Red Picqua]

Try this

this is for check valve replacement. NOT your issue. IMO

 

[eclipseman]

Well digging companies are usually just busy busy people these days, with the current economy and high residential building it will be about availability.

To replace our well pump was $2,600, that was 3 years ago. Don't take this wrong but unless your FIL is a master plumber or well digger, your wasting your time.

Get someone qualified to look at your situation, that costs nothing, at least you are on their radar ....

My fil friend is a well installer

 

[buckdeer1]

If you remove pressure switch cover be careful as there is electrical wires that you can short out.You can get a gauge that screws onto a hose connection which alot of well pumps have by pressure tank.You probably have a cased well with a submersible pump and depending on how deep the water table is that is where the pump is and determines size which rarely is less than a 1 horse pump.They are connected to what is usually a 1 1/4 plastic pipe that runs up to a connection that is on the side of your well casing.At this fitting on the outside of casing is where the line connects that goes to your house and the pressure tank.

 

[Rlsbowhunt]

Sounds like a pressure tank or switch problem to me. A guage is a must to see what is actually going on, you can install a permanent one (best) or temporary on a spigot. Turn on a water source and see what the gauge does. A bad pressure tank will usually short cycle your pump, causing high and low pressure swings. Just from your description it sounds like a pressure tank or pressure switch issue.

 

[swat1018]

We had an inspector and last year we ran the water for a long time at multiple spouts with no loss of pressure so this is definitely a new issue. I really hope it is nothing major as we do not have a ton of money at the moment. How much would a New well pump cost? What are the high cost items in order from high to low? My father in law knows a well person I’ll have him over soon if I can. Thanks!

If you have water pressure at times, I doubt it's the well. It's a pressure regulation issue. Bladder tank, or low side of the pressure switch likely.