well pump not well

 

I have been noticing that the well pump at the ranch at times would continue to run after the target pressure set point has been reached. The pressure gauge has been getting more and more sluggish over the course of my brief ownership of this property. I had bought a replacement well pump pressure switch in the event the switch should fail.

Should the well pump fails to shut off once target pressure in the storage tanks has been reached, bad thing can happen over a prolong period. The over-pressure blowoff valve may or may not open. The best case is it opens and you ended up with a flooded room where the storage tanks are. If the overpressure valve does not open, the pump may work itself to death fighting the excessive pressure and continuous wear and tear, or risk overheating.

Having a burnt out pump a hundred feet down the well not just make life difficult, but hurts the pocket book also. If I leave the ranch for a trip I like to switch off the well pump just to be safe. I have noticed the increase of instances of the pump not shutting off recently. I had to open the pump switch cover and gently pry the contacts open. Last night I went to bed but woke up worrying that the pump may be stuck on so I went and checked. I was not obsessive compulsive as my hunch was spot on. The pressure gauge pegged at 100 PSI which is about 40% too high for a typical domestic well pump. There were pools of water on the floor as the over-pressure valve did blow off, and the pump did shut off, but only long after reaching 100 PSI. All these would become apparent once I realize the cause later.

I switch off the power to the pump and prepare to investigate the problem in the morning and deal with it. I wasn't going to disturb the peace of the country by working in the middle of the night.

I had been suspecting that the likely cause of the pump switch and pressure gauge sluggishness could be caused by calcification of the plumbing they are on. I reasoned that if the build up is so excessive it can pinch off the passage in which both devices rely to measure the pressure of the storage tanks. I drained the tanks and drove into trouble shooting in the morning.

I removed the pressure switch and the problem is self-evident. The 1/4" diameter pipe is clogged with sediment and oxidation due to galvanic corrosion. I clear the blockage with a small screw driver easily. Next I removed the pressure gauge and it too suffered from the same cause. I clear out that blockage too with ease and tested the pressure gauge roughly with compressed air. I knew the problem is not the gauge but the blocked plumbing.

the blocked 1/4" nipple for the pump switch - it is galvanized pipe

the blockage on the pressure gauge that it did not return to zero even when the accumulation tanks were empty and the drain valve open; this nipple is brass

here you can see the blockage in both nipples are cleared

Initially I thought it odd that one nipple is galvanized and the other is brass. For a moment I thought both should be brass, but I soon realize whoever installed this knew what he was doing and use the right metal. The reason the one for the pump switch is galvanized iron is the pump switch is steel. It is better to have the nipple corrode slightly rather than the switch and protect the switch since the main manifold is copper.

I knew the existing pump switch is good despite it stuck on. The reason it stuck on was because it could not sense the actual pump pressure. However I decided to install the new switch and keeping the old one as spare.

new pump switch installed and I re-installed the pressure gauge and the 90-degree elbow

From trouble shooting to rectifying the problems all took under 2 hours of my time. Much of that was clearing the area and moping the pools of water also. Have I not being self-sufficient this could be a few hundred dollars bill in addition to having to wait for the well specialist to show up. Additionally through this I know so much more about my private well system and the weak areas that are prone to fail over time. There is no substitution for knowing your stuff.

In this post I use the pump switch term loosely as it technically is really a pump pressure regulator, or governor. There is a pump system shut off switch, as well as the overload breaker for its 240Vac power.