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Well Pressure switch question

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JPSmit

JPSmit

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As many of you know from other conversations, Mrs JP & have relocated to a country home for retirement. This has resulted in a new learning curve with regard to matters such as septic beds and wells. Due to the age of the house, the access to the cellar is outside.

A couple of times now the pressure switch on the well has shut off in the middle of the night (still diagnosing this) meaning that I have had to go out in my PJs to re-start it. Not a huge deal but....

So, wise rural dwellers, is there such a thing as a remotly operated pressure switch (reasonably priced?) I have googled it and it appears there are but, I don't know enough to know what is useful for my situation.

Thoughts and solutions gratefully received. Thanks
 
JP, what type of well pump do you have? Shallow well, deep well, submerged pump, or above ground? Pictures? PJ
 
I have two wells with pressure switches. They have large 220v currents running through contact points and the points get pitted. I replace them about every two years. I also have a controller box on the wells which has a large capacitor inside. Those last for 5 to 7 years.
Interesting is that the irrigation pump equipment does not last as long as the deep well pump.
 
The switch should cycle by itself. What do you have to do to start it??
Also, The pump should not cycle too quickly. If it does, your tank maybe full of water, not air.
 
I don't see a photo of J-P's setup or mfr/model, but my submerged pump (200 ft depth) well system has the pressure switch at the air tank inside the basement - not on the submerged pump itself.

J-P - do you have an adjustable water pressure switch at the air tank? Something like this -

Where-Pressure-Switch-Located-Well-Pump-System2-1024x1024.png


You set the low pressure (pump comes on) and the high pressure (pump goes off) with the two switches under the plastic cover. With the power turned off!

colleenroberts.com

Complete Guide: How to Adjust a Pressure Switch on a Water Well Pump System

Adjusting a pressure switch on well pump system requires a couple of steps - this tutorial covers what you should know along with safety.
colleenroberts.com colleenroberts.com

If the system has some years on it, the two switch contacts may need to be filed a bit to remove oxidation.

Tom M.
 
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A picture of what you have would help. A pressure switch operates automatically. I’ve wired hundreds of well systems and I can’t remember ever seeing one that could be reset.
 
Pictures please!

In your first post: "A couple of times now the pressure switch on the well has shut off in the middle of the night "

If you mean the pressure switch that turns the pump on and off, that's what they're supposed to do. The switch turns on if the pressure is low, and turns off when the chosen high pressure is reached. If the pump is running 24/7 and never turning off, that's also a problem.

Anyway, please post a photo of the switch you're talking about.

Thanks.
Tom M.
 
If your switch box is exposed even a little to acces from outside, insects (ants, mostly) can make the switch malfunction. Take the cover off (acorn nut in Tom's photo) and check for such.
Bob
 
John - he's posted several times in other BCF areas this afternoon, but nothing in this thread.

He must be doing it himself -

stooges-1.jpg
 
Sorry about the delay - I had to run some errands this afternoon that invariably took more time than ever.

1. Well is in the front yard. It is 60 feet deep and the pump is in the well. (10 inch pipe or so coming out of the ground)

2. The pressure switch is this:

1704765876449.png


I am fairly certain the pressure switch is new. When it shuts off. (Tom as per your comment) It is indeed because the pressure is too low. I re-start and all is good. When I re-start I take the top off the switch box Bob so that I can see the contacts connect as I need to hold them there for a few seconds.

The well should have enough water. It has only run dry once - the toilet kept running on and I suspect it took about three hours. Other than the switch has shut off about 5 times since September. The first three times the clock on the water softener was set incorrectly so the water softener was regenerating during the day at the same time as Mrs JP was running a tub - which used too much water.

The last two weeks it has shut off in the middle of the night. This week (Monday) and early last week. While it is possible that there was a power outage there was no reason for there to be an outage (weather etc) and no other indication (clocks flashing at 1200) This makes me think that it is likely during the softener regeneration. I am keeping track of the date and need to check when the softener regenerates to confirm this. What I don't understand is that while the softener uses a fair bit of water (35-65 gallons) but a bathtub uses 40- 70 gallons so it should be a wash (see what I did there)

At any rate the cause of the shutoff needs to be investigated but, my REAL question is the one at the beginning, namely whether there is a way to restart the pressure switch remotely so that I don't have to go to the cellar every time.

Does this make any kinds of sense?

thanks all for your input
JP
 
OK - trying to pull this all together - what do you mean " ... When it shuts off. (Tom as per your comment) It is indeed because the pressure is too low."

If you mean the pump shuts off, it should shut off when the pressure reaches its *high* limit - not a low limit. A pressure switch can only switch off a pump; the switch itself doesn't "switch off".

I'm confoozled!

Also, how do you "re-start"? Do you mean you power off the circuit breaker, then power back on?

Keep in mind, your 60 foot well is actually pretty shallow. And you don't know how far down the water level actually is. If the water level is far down in that hole, a pump can empty it pretty fast, then shut off due to lack of water until the hole refills.

" ... is [there] a way to restart the pressure switch remotely so that I don't have to go to the cellar every time."

I don't know how anyone can restart a pressure switch, unless you mean power cycle the system.

I think that if you can afford to buy that "mini-palace", you should get a well specialist to troubleshoot the system and do any needed repairs! We're not there to see what's actually going on, and you don't want to wreck the system!

Just my tuppence.
Tom M.
 
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Even if you lose power, the switch does not need to be reset. When the pressure drops, typically to 30 psi, the switch should turn the pump on. it should turn off around 50 psi. Perhaps the adjustment is way out of range. I assume that you need to reset because you lose water? Plenty of youtube videos about the adjustment of the switch.
 
re-set is the wrong word.

1. switch turns off (completely) because water pressure is too low.

2. I discover this when I turn on the tap and there is no water

3. I go down to the cellar and use the little lever on the side of the box to turn it back on

4. Tap works again.

Just trying to sort out if there is a way to do #3 from inside the house and not have to go down to the cellar.
 
Thanks J-P - you've got low water level in the well, and probably need to have the well drilled deeper (200ft?)

I don't know what the "little lever on the side of the box" is - but every time the pump runs, it's emptying the water out of the bottom of the well hole.

What did the house inspector say on the water system, when you had the pre-purchase inspection? You may have a legal recourse on the problem.

Tom M.
 
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When my well runs dry, the pump continues to run continuously because it can't build pressure. The switch is suppose to shut the pump off when pressure reaches the set point (50 - 60 psig), and turn on again at 30 - 40 psig. What may be happening is the switch is not turning on again when you use the water and the pressure drops. My old pressure switch had a lever on the side so one could manually turn it on or off, but, IIRC, my newer switch doesn't. I only use well water to water the front lawn because the well water is too hard for anything else.
 
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