Thread: Delay in water pump kicking on

Hello all;

I'm not on city water so I have a well, well pump, pressure tank, pressure switch etc. The switch is a Square D 30/50. The tank is a Harvard Champion Water Systems Tank HC 203. I've owned the house for 5 years. It's a 20 year old house so as far as I know the water related components are 20 years old. I have not drained the system to check the pressure in the tank. The problem started a short while ago and is as follows:

with no call for water the pressure gauge shows 45 lbs of pressure. I turn the water on and watch the pressure go down to 35 lbs. At 35 lbs the gauge plummets to 0 (zero) and the switch contacts close and the flow of water stops. At that point there is about a 20 - 40 second delay before the pump starts pumping. Then the pump kicks on and the tank goes back up to 45 lbs. It seems as though the longest delay occurs when there is an initial call for water (i.e. I turn the water on in the bathtub so I can take a shower). Subsequent calls for water (i.e. I'm taking the shower) do not experience the long delay though there is a little bit of a delay.

TIA

David
Ester, Alaska

David,

Not knowing how old the tank is it sound to me that you have the pressure switch set at 30 psi and the tank has 30 psi in it, which would cause a delay. You need to have 2 lbs less pressure in the tank so there is still a cushion of air in it. To do this disable the pump by turning it off at the switch or breaker (you may have one or the other). Turn a faucet and drain the water and pressure out of the pipes. Get a tire gauge check the pressure in the tank. If it reads 30 psi or more, release the air pressure to 28 psi. This will give you the cushion of air you need to keep the bladder from bottoming out. Turn the pump back on and check it. This (hopefully) should solve your problem.

Doublebump

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Doublebump;

Thanks for the response. I was also pointed to the FAQ and read about setting the bladder tank air pressure there as well. I tried as you suggested and this, so far, has not resolved the problem. I turned the breaker to the pump off, drained the water and checked the pressure in the tank. It was 35 lbs which was also right about where the pressure guage would plummet to zero. I bled the tank down to ~33 lbs and turned the breaker back on and had the same results. In case the gauge was wrong I bled the tank down to 28 lbs and still had the same results. Of note, when I drain the water with the pump breaker turned off the pressure drops and right about 35 lbs the contacts close and the pressure plummets to zero (I'll need another pair of eyes to determine which happens first). When I subsequently turn the pump breaker back on there is a 20 - 30 second delay beore I hear the pump turn on and water start filling up the tank. I would have thought that as soon as I turned the breaker back on the pump would have fired up given that the contacts were closed.

Should I expect to hear water entering the tank and the typical vibrations etc as soon as the contacts in the switch close? Because, if so, I certainly don't. I have that 20 - 30 second delay between the contacts closing and hearing the water being pumped in to the tank.

Thanks in advance, again.

David

HI Daviid,

Well you have me stumped!! Unless you have added some kind of ON DELAY to you system the only other thing I can suggest is to call a local pump service company and have them come out and check it out. Notice I said "Pump Service" and not a plumber. Plumber's plumb, and pump repair, well you get my drift. Oh by the way I asked Bob (Speedbump) and he agreed with me.
Sorry I can't be of further help.

Good Luck
Doublebump


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