Well Pump Runs...CONSTANTLY....

Went down the basement to check on something once. Pump was running and running, looked at the pressure gauge and it was pegged. Pulled the disconnect real fast. Pressure switch had a buildup of calcium or whatever making a tiny pinhole for the flow. Cleaned that out and all was well. Then i realized my plastic pipes were good for 100 psi. Then it dawned on me i had no pressure relief valve. Redid the entire setup. Relief at 75 psi. I think i counted 13 fittings from where the pipe comes in the basement, got that down to a few. The air valve on the tank should be the exact size as a tire valve. 30-50 switch set the tank at 28psi. 40-60 switch tank at 38 psi.

Check valve bottom of the well...
pressure switch not every 2 years...
crud will confuse the pressure switch...
lack of air in the tank will cause the pressure drop too...
nothing to compress, air good water bad...

The pump is cycling and you' re not running any water anywhere? Water logged tank(bad bladder).Pipe running up the wall to switch full of air, throwing off switch. The switch is tied in to the tank where it needs to it just has a long pipe connecting it, just make sure pipe running up wall is full of water not air.(air compresses- water doesn't).Leak on the well side of the pressure tank(under ground pipe,pittless adaptor, drop pipe in well, or bad check valve in pump).I think I'd pretty much check things in that order to. Any idea how deep the pump is set?

plumb-r wrote:The pump is cycling and you' re not running any water anywhere? Water logged tank(bad bladder).Pipe running up the wall to switch full of air, throwing off switch. The switch is tied in to the tank where it needs to it just has a long pipe connecting it, just make sure pipe running up wall is full of water not air.(air compresses- water doesn't).Leak on the well side of the pressure tank(under ground pipe,pittless adaptor, drop pipe in well, or bad check valve in pump).I think I'd pretty much check things in that order to. Any idea how deep the pump is set?

Yes, the pump is cycling and no water is being run. How would I bleed the air out of the pipe leading up to the pressure switch? There is no bleed valve on it, so I'd somehow have to unscrew the pipe or the switch with power on it to bleed it. There are no leaks on the well pipe that leads to the tank that I can see and I can see as far back to where it terminates underground; there was at one point but it's been repaired. No idea how deep the we is. I've never had a reason to take the sanitary cover off the well head, and by the looks of it I don't believe it's ever been apart; bolts are so rusted they don't even look like bolts anymore.

Your tank is waterlogged or you have a leak. Don't worry about pressure switch its fine. The best way to check tank is tap on side it should be less than half full of water. If it is good look for a leak. The new pump should have a factory check built in. You should also have one for every 100' of verticle lift and one before line goes out of house to well. Make sure pittless adapter is fully seated. I would bet you tank has a hole in the bladder.

http://db.tt/3uvxCnge



I'm not sure if this link is good. But since I can't upload pics using the site's uploader I had to link the pic to Dropbox.

Anyway, that's a pic of schrader valve on the tank with my tired gauge sitting on it. You can see the dark area around the stem is where the gauge doesn't sit. The gauge is too big; amd it's a standard tire gauge.

Edit
Ok I see why it won't let me use the site's uploader. Holy huge Batman! If this is annoying for anyone I'll take it down.

Phil May wrote:Your tank is waterlogged or you have a leak. Don't worry about pressure switch its fine. The best way to check tank is tap on side it should be less than half full of water. If it is good look for a leak. The new pump should have a factory check built in. You should also have one for every 100' of verticle lift and one before line goes out of house to well. Make sure pittless adapter is fully seated. I would bet you tank has a hole in the bladder.

When I shut my pump off and drain the system it drains the lime that goes into the well. Because when I turn it back on I get a lot of air and then rusty water.

I'll look for leaks and what not tomorrow. We've been living with the well this way for a long time so what's another day. It's only become a bother now because we've been trying really hard to save what little money we do have and I'm sick of JCP&L raping me.

there is supposed to be a check valve right after the point where the black plastic pipe from the well goes to the bronze "t" fitting that screws into the bottom of the tank. i had that check valve come apart internally and the pump cycled as the newly pumped up pressure just went right back down the well pipe!

cambell makes a dependable one http://www.campbellmfg.com/products/wellsystem.htm
#13 in the pic

Eagle,

Looking at my setup I don't believe there is a check valve. It looks like I just have a coupler there. Here's a link to a picture og my relief valve, gauge and pressure switch riser. Tell me if the part juat before the relief valve looks like a check valve to you.

http://db.tt/gSgyvwLb



Sorry, for the huge pctures. When I took them last night I forgot to change the camera settings from high resolution.

No, I got up to use the facilities then when I went back to bed my daughter had snuck in and had stolen my pillow.

The plumbing supply house should know what check valve should be there if I give them the tank part number shouldn't they? Or should I pull the thing apart and take what's there to them?

Yeah, I had to pee. LoL

The guys I go to for my plumbing needs are pretty good. A bit moody but very helpful.

No check valve in that pic. You'll need a 1" diameter check valve. The check valve built into the pump must not be working.

Well... adding a check valve isn't going to help much if the pump is more than 25 feet down, and it must likely is or you wouldn't have a deep well pump. The check valve at the tank is to keep the house from draining into the well if you remove the pump for service. You say some air came out when you tried to put the gauge on it, so the bladder in tank is probably OK. It might be bad and still have some air in the tank. Oh, and it looks like the reason you can't get a gauge on it is simply because it's bent. Of course trying to bend it back will most assuredly break it, then, game over, new tank. You say you are real sure the line down into the well drains when you shut it off. That being the case, the foot valve in the well is broken. Most are in the pump, some are just above it. If it's in the pump yet the pump still works as it seems to, you can add one just above the pump. Make sure you shut off the power before you pull the pump!! Then assuming you have a pitless adapter in the well, you will need a "T-bar" to pull the pump. It must be a T so if you drop it you do not lose the whole pump, pipe, wire & pitless down the well. THEN you'd be in trouble! A threaded piece of pipe with cross bar screws into the top of the pitless adapter. You pull up disconnecting the pitless and then the whole rig pump & all is pulled out. If it's more than 150 feet or so down it is a two man operation. My well buddy has a giant winch that pulls it and wraps the pipe onto a giant drum. After he's done thumbing the winch control the pump lands in his truck on a custom vice. Here's a link that might help:

http://www.wildcatdreams.net/?p=257