On Sun, 13 Nov 2005 10:08:07 -0500, Kent McPherson wrote:

I have an Aermotor T12-75 well pump with pressure switch. I have no
documentation on it. Our water pressure seems low. I assume it should not be
as good as our previous house that had city water but it does seem a bit
low. Watching the pressure gauge, the pump cuts in at 30 and then works it
way back up to 50 and cuts out. The pressures sound about right. The house
is 8 years old and I doubt if the system has ever had any maintenance. Is
there any I should have done to hopefully improve the pressure?

Sounds like things are operating normally - 30/50 pressure is fine. You can,
however, raise it if you like by adjusting the nuts in the pressure switch -
mine is 40/60. Need to make sure you don't get too high though - I've been
told that some shut-offs on things like washers won't work if the pressure is
too high.

Make sure that the pressure tank is ok by watching how long it takes for the
pump to cut on when water is running. If it takes a minute or more from full
pressure until the pump cuts in, things are probably fine. BTW, pressure in
the pressure tank should be a couple of pounds less than the cut in pressure
(30 psi from your post) - gotta drain the tank to check the pressure.

I would look for the following as possible causes of low pressu
1) whole house filter (will be located on the main water line) - cartridge
needs changing
2) fixture filter (under sink type) - cartridge needs changing (don't forget
fridge if it has one)
3) screens in faucets - look for sand or encrustation with calcium and/or
other minerals
4) shower heads - remove and check for sand or encrustation

Note that a whole house or fixture filter could include a water softening
unit, depending on water quality.

Soaking in vinegar can help loosen calcium encrustation so that it can be
brushed off.

If you find sand, I'd suggest putting in a filter (I have a whole house
filter as a preventative - installed it when I hooked the well to the house
during construction) and keeping the cartridge changed regularly - how
regularly depends on how long it takes for the pressure to start dropping due
to buildup on the filter. Sand in your fixtures can damage the shut-off
valves and cause dripping faucets and toilets that won't quit running all the
way - particularly unwanted in water using appliances like washers and
dishwashers.

Sand does not always come from running the well low - I had a lot of sand get
into my filter when the water table rose. My well was drilled when we were in
drought conditions and when we started getting normal rainfall 2 years later,
the powder that was forced into the cracks in the rocks when the well was
drilled was washed out by the higher water. Wound up with the filter clogging
twice in one month, but then things were back to the normal 2-3 months. Glad
I had the filter - wouldn't have wanted all that stuff in the house.

HTH

Later, Mike
(substitute strickland in the obvious location to reply directly)
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