Setting Well Pressure

[Valveman]

The instructions to those pressure switches are confusing. If you don't mess with the small adjustment screw the difference between on and off will stay at 20 PSI. If you already messed with the little adjustment screw, just loosen it all the way. That will be about 17-20 PSI between on and off. Then make all your adjustments with the larger adjustment screw. Tightening it down will increase the pressure, lefty loosy will decrease the pressure setting. The most common setting is 40/60.

Filing points in the pressure switch is not good. There is a contact surface that you are destroying. I would get a new switch. Ants can get in a switch and mess up the contacts, but most of the time the contacts are burned from cycling on and off too much. When i see burned pressure switches or pressure switch band widths opened up to 30/60, I know the person is having problems with the pump cycling, which is what destroys most pumps.

The pump should never cycle while running sprinklers. Not only do the sprinklers not shoot out far enough at the lower end of the pressure cycle, but the pump is being cycled to death. A constant pressure valve like the Cycle Stop Valve would keep the pressure at a constant 50 PSI while running sprinklers or showers, instead of the pump continually cycling between 40 and 60. This not only keeps the spray pattern perfect but makes the pump, tank, pressure switch, and everything else last much longer.

 

[bspeedy]

Filing points in the pressure switch is not good. There is a contact surface that you are destroying. I would get a new switch. Ants can get in a switch and mess up the contacts, but most of the time the contacts are burned from cycling on and off too much. When i see burned pressure switches or pressure switch band widths opened up to 30/60, I know the person is having problems with the pump cycling, which is what destroys most pumps.

Please verify that your bladder tank has not failed and is causing short cycling. If it's original to the system, it may no longer be functioning properly.

 

[turnkey4099]

I think one screw limits the upper (cutout) range, the other the lower (cutin) range.

Nope, tall moves the range but doesn't change it. I was the unpaid maintenance man for the community well for several years until I driledl my own to get out of that job.

 

[turnkey4099]

Detailed instructions:
How to adjust water pump pressure switch, pump cut-on pressure and pump cut-off pressure - private pump and well system do-it-yourself repairs

Bruce

Thanks, rather long winded and detailed.

 

[turnkey4099]

The instructions to those pressure switches are confusing. If you don't mess with the small adjustment screw the difference between on and off will stay at 20 PSI. If you already messed with the little adjustment screw, just loosen it all the way. That will be about 17-20 PSI between on and off. Then make all your adjustments with the larger adjustment screw. Tightening it down will increase the pressure, lefty loosy will decrease the pressure setting. The most common setting is 40/60.

Filing points in the pressure switch is not good. There is a contact surface that you are destroying. I would get a new switch. Ants can get in a switch and mess up the contacts, but most of the time the contacts are burned from cycling on and off too much. When i see burned pressure switches or pressure switch band widths opened up to 30/60, I know the person is having problems with the pump cycling, which is what destroys most pumps.

The pump should never cycle while running sprinklers. Not only do the sprinklers not shoot out far enough at the lower end of the pressure cycle, but the pump is being cycled to death. A constant pressure valve like the Cycle Stop Valve would keep the pressure at a constant 50 PSI while running sprinklers or showers, instead of the pump continually cycling between 40 and 60. This not only keeps the spray pattern perfect but makes the pump, tank, pressure switch, and everything else last much longer.

wI agree with the filing. Pressure switches are cheap, not worth tinkering with.

 

[turnkey4099]

The instructions to those pressure switches are confusing. If you don't mess with the small adjustment screw the difference between on and off will stay at 20 PSI. If you already messed with the little adjustment screw, just loosen it all the way. That will be about 17-20 PSI between on and off. Then make all your adjustments with the larger adjustment screw. Tightening it down will increase the pressure, lefty loosy will decrease the pressure setting. The most common setting is 40/60.

Filing points in the pressure switch is not good. There is a contact surface that you are destroying. I would get a new switch. Ants can get in a switch and mess up the contacts, but most of the time the contacts are burned from cycling on and off too much. When i see burned pressure switches or pressure switch band widths opened up to 30/60, I know the person is having problems with the pump cycling, which is what destroys most pumps.

The pump should never cycle while running sprinklers. Not only do the sprinklers not shoot out far enough at the lower end of the pressure cycle, but the pump is being cycled to death. A constant pressure valve like the Cycle Stop Valve would keep the pressure at a constant 50 PSI while running sprinklers or showers, instead of the pump continually cycling between 40 and 60. This not only keeps the spray pattern perfect but makes the pump, tank, pressure switch, and everything else last much longer.

Cycle Stop Valves are a recent thing. Wells ran for years and years with the old system and most systems out there still do. What kills pumps is 'short cycling' - not enough precharge air being he most common cause.

 

[fried1765]

The gauge is on the other end of the line from the tank at the well, that is outside a long way away. It shows me the pressure in the tank and that everything is working right. If the pressure slowly drops when we aren't using water, there is a problem, like a leaking toilet flapper, fill valve or outside hydrant.

I also have a light at the well, that can be seen from the house, it comes on when the pump runs.

I have a light.....in the house ..... that tells me when the pump is running.

 

[Valveman]

What kills pumps is 'short cycling'.

Yep and that is exactly what a Cycle Stop Valves keeps from happening, hence the name. And your right the old pressure tank only systems are very reliable, as long as you don't run small amounts of water that cause the pump to cycle. And now that there is a way to stop the pump from cycling no matter what you do, pressure tank systems are even more reliable. And I have been using them for 25 years, there is nothing recent about them, or me either anymore.

 

[beowulf]

OP - update:
Confirmed that my pressure switch was set to a 40 start-60 cut off range. But still had some unexplained recycling - i.e., no water running yet pump was recycling when it should not have done so. I thought it might be that the check valve was letting water back into the well but then learned that there is a second check switch down line in the well. So, maybe that is an issue, maybe not.

Then turned power off and using the bib at the pump, completely drained the bladder tank and checked the pressure at the tank - only about 7 - 10 lbs. Hooked up a compressor and recharged the air in the pressure tank to 37. Closed the bib, turned the power on and it started up- filling the tank and then shut off at 60. It now, with no water being drawn down, stayed at 60, i.e., no more of the recycling I saw before.

Thanks to the posts here warning me about the risk to the pump with recycling, as that caused me to go back and try to figure it out. So far, all is well, but I have no idea exactly why the lack of air in the tank would cause recycling when there was no water being drawn down. If we were using water, even with a problem bladder, I assume the pump would give us water to the house but would just keep recycling. Not understanding the dynamics of all this bothers me so will likely keep thinking about it.

 

[beowulf]

I had never heard of a cycle stop valve but based on the comments here I checked them out. For those interested see:

youtube cycle stop valves - Bing video

and

How to Install a Cycle Stop Valve - Bing video


I am not sure how to retrofit one of these on my system but am going to look into it.