Water Well Pump Trouble

Replace them.

When water freezes, it expands. That has damaged the pressure sensor part of the gauge/switch.

OK.

There is a piece with 4 contacts and the spring action.

Should I change out the contacts and the pressure dial?

I am still fighting the left overs of the flu and will go back out later today when I get my legs back under me, and get a photo of the set up just to be sure. The old guy that used to come out and fix these things died during the holidays.

Its a 120v pump if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the quick response. 20F is laughable in your neighborhood but its extremely frigid for us . Ha ha.

Change out whatever makes and holds the contacts closed. Maybe a diaphragm type, probably.

I'd just get a new pressure switch. Don't know if it is a one piece gauge/switch or two separate pieces, but both may be bad.

Warm here in AZ, but, we have a place in Minn. where it was -20/25° F last week.

I haven't called the neighbor yet to find out if the plumbing has broken. Should be OK if the furnace didn't quit on me. We set the heat at 55 and let it run all winter. More than you wanted to know.

I use the green camera in the tool bar to copy pictures from my pictures folder.

and -11F in Cleveland, OH.

Sound like the pressure switch has gone bad. Have you tried adjusting it? Or look for the possibility that the mechanical parts of it have gotten wet and froze up.

Its 73F again.........no freeze now ......

It did run for about a half of a day after the 20F then it shut down.

New Problem....can not post any PNG pix. Never had this problem before.

Any Administrators out there today that could help???

A Pix is worth 10,000 words on here.

thank you.

I have a good pix of everything ....just can not post it. It is PNG format.

Convert to .jpg, that always works for me.....MS Paint will do that usually....

Replace the whole unit.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Flotec-40-60-Pressure-Switch-TC2153/100177985#

STA-RITE MSE-7 120v model...

I'll find a dealer.

The switch shouldn't matter. Your pump is fine.

It just needs the little unit to tell it what to do. Home Depot/Lowes will have it.

Rather than guessing, I'd just replace the gauge too. You're talking less than $40 for everything you need.

I grew up on well water & had the honors of fixing the system. It sounds like the bellows on the switch is damaged or the ice knock some scale loose and blocking both the pressure switch and the gauge. Try taking both off , flushing and inspecting both. Other than that, replacement of one or both. Good luck and hope you get feel'n better

I wouldn't mess with it, I'd just replace the switch and get a beer , call it a day

Agreed.

But do I change out the switch part AND the Pressure gauge/ and the tube that runs back up to the switch. Once again, out of my element.

Still can not post any pictures.

unless the contacts are discolored and burnt you can probably just inspect/clean. I'd be more focused on the diaphragm and anything mechanical .it wouldn't hurt to replace the guage but that's just something for you to look at, it has no influence on the switch itself

Understood. I was wondering about that tube that runs from the pressure gauge back to the pump housing. ******** I wonder why the dang camera opt ain't working for me after all of these years.

as long as the tube is free of obstruction it will be fine to use 1000's of times

The tube might be fine, but what is the liquid in the gauge, and what is it's freezing point?

If this is a fluid-filled gauge from the factory, it is probably either Glycerine or silicone oil.Either way, no need to worry about freezing.It is there to prevent excessive wear on the internal components of the gauge due to vibration from the motor.

If however the gauge is not normally fluid filled, you have a broken Bourdon Tube inside of the gauge,and the fluid is water..Repair of Bourdon tube not possible by untrained persons,as it requires special equipment and recalibration,so simply replace the gauge.

The orifice on the pressure switch is about 3/32 to 1/8' dia., it doesn't take much to plug the hole, same goes for the gauge too. the stand pipe for both could have a lot of rust scale built up and why I recommended removing both the switch and gauge and inspecting both of them, clean the orifices as necessary, but do not poke anything in them, as damage will be the result. The diaphragm/bellows could be cracked on the pressure switch but you should have seen water inside the switch housing, same goes with the gauge, it would have a full glass of water. And, it is a cheap fix if you have to replace one or both. Also, if you need water for flushing, remove the top plug on your tank and gravity will drain your tank, giving you enough water for the flushing and priming the pump(if you haven't drain the tank already)

netmaker-

Make the quickest, most complete, probably cheapest and easiest repair you can---> replace the pressure switch and the pressure gauge. They are inexpensive and not worth the trouble of an in-depth diagnosis. Just make sure you put a valve between the gauge and the system so you can replace the gauge later on without shutting down the system.

If all else fails, is this your work?

Good Luck, Old Salt

netmaker,

when we have a long power outage here, the pump loses pressure and has to be primed. sometimes it doesn't work the first time. sometimes you have to run a tap at a moderate level to create demand while you are holding the lever up to get it to run. I've also had it go flat after a while and had to be primed again, with the tap running qed.

Just checkin, in case, if you haven't done all trials to prime first, why jump to replacing stuff...

Tank fills up when I manually hold the contacts, so I know it has not lost its prime.

I am in agreement that I should switch out the SWITCH and the GAUGE. Correct on the cost being under $50 for all.

A service call, If I could find someone, would be well over $100 plus parts.

If this flu thing eases up I'll go into town tomorrow.

Thanks to all.

Thank you all again.

You have a leaking check valve or foot valve.The foot valve is on the bottom of the suction line in the bottom of the well.The pump should not be losing prime.A check valve is located near the pump.Either one will work fine if they do not leak.

Replace the valve.A check valve can be placed between the pump and the larger of the 2 lines coming from the well,or the single suction line if you only have one pipe.

If there is a leak in the pipe from the check valve to the bottom of the well, the pump will not lose prime with the check valve installed, but it may take a while for it to recover the (lost _leaked out) water from the well pipe.You may also hear air surges in the line while this is happening.If only the bottom foot valve is leaking, the water pipe will remain full of water,like holding your finger over the end of a full straw will hold the water when removed from the glass.Then there will be no delay time before it starts pumping air-free water.

This is so wrong I am speechless.

It's not wrong; it just didn't end up applying to this thread.

Don't be a dick.

This was in reply to post#22,(ArtSmith)where the pump was losing prime, not to the OP.

Follow the posting "in reply to" numbers to get coherent information.

Thank you for that. I failed to go back to see to whom you were speaking.

I thought it was totally out of character for you.

I should have known better.

Naughty step, here I come...................................................

Air bladder tanks should be charged to the cut-in pressure of your system.In netmaker's, case, 40 psi.as per tank manufacturer's instructions.

It has been a standard to actually set it 2 psi below cut in pressure. The reason is to prevent any interruption in the water supply. You can Google many manufacturers and they are consistent. But then we are doing a fine dance. I would set it 2 psi less but I now use a constant pressure pump for my own house.

You are absolutely correct.My memory must have slipped a cog or two over the years.

When you get past 65,things go downhill faster, it seems.

Thanks for the correction.I really hate to give out bad info.

Take this advice from a person that has repaired and serviced many pumps over the last 45 years:

First,disconnect all power to the pump.

Remove the wiring form the pressure switch, noting the positions for later.

Unscrew the small pipe from the pressure switch by rotating the switch counter clockwise.Examine the inside of the pipe and make sure it is clear of rust and debris.A small piece of coat hanger or similar wire can be used.

Rust is a common problem here because of the small diameter pipe, ususally 1/8" galvanized pipe.You may get some water flow here if the tank has pressure in it.If you have pressure, and no water from the 1/8" nipple, it is clogged.Sometimes a small drill bit is required to clean the hole,or replace the nipple, they are cheap.

Then check the hole in the bottom of the switch where it screwed onto the pipe,it should be open also.If you hear the switch "click"(ON) when you remove it, you know you have a clog below the switch.If it does not click, check the hole in the bottom of the switch carefully for a clog.

The gauge is probably connected with a Tee fitting,and if it goes to zero when you clean out the pipe,you have cleared the clog and the problem.If everything looks clear,no clogs,then gauge and pressure switch are faulty.Replace them.

Do not try to replace the contacts in the switch,it is more trouble than it is worth.

If you buy a 40-60 switch,do not adjust it.It is factory set for 40-60 psi.

A new switch and gauge should simply screw right on to the same place the old one was removed.

Replace the wiring in the same order it was removed.

If you have any problems, feel free to ask.

Here is a link to a video on how to replace a pump switch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPQopIH2bBs

If you have it fixed, I hope you covered it for the second blast of cold temperatures.