DIYbanter - View Single Post

Harry K

wrote:
jmagerl wrote:
My water system is losing pressure causing the pump to come on every 3
minutes for about 10 seconds. The leak is somewhere outside the house.

The most likely cause would be a leak in the 40 year old galvanized pipe
they used to bring the water to the house. (I had a previous leak this
spring of that cause).

I am out of cash for such a major repair at this time and would like to
postpone it till spring (bonus time). So my question would be: Would could I
expect to happen if I installed a check valve inside the house? I am mainly
interested in reducing the short cycling on the pump. What other failures
can cause this problem? If there were a pin hole leak in the pipe, would I
see it at the surface? Would I be open to contamination?

I expect the fix to be a complete repiping with plastic. I also assume that
at some point they would have to pull the pump up to make the attachment.
Would it be advisable to replace the pump at that time (40 years old)?

I guess water is not free. You pay for it one way or another.
The joys of home ownership......

The short cycling is not due to the leak- the on/off setpoints are too
close, or the tank has too little air in it (if its a bladder type
tank, the bladder could be shot).

snip

Dave

The short cycling most assuredly _is_ due to a leak. He says the pump
runs every 3 minutes. It won't do that unless the pressure is leaking
down. Improper precharge or maladjusted pressure switches only cause
problems when water is being drawn.

Harry K