On Jun 18, 1:49 pm, Meat Plow wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:34:31 -0700, Gary Slusser wrote:
On Jun 18, 11:40 am, mustang wrote:
We recently lost water pressure from our submersible well. Upon
inspection I found the pressure control switch to be completely
blackened by soot. I assumed a bad switch, so I replaced it. The new
switch cut in fine, but at cutout the switch started arcing rapidly,
followed by a big flash and bang. So that's what happened to the old
switch! Pressure settings are correct, bladder pressure is correct,
tank has been drained, etc., but very rapid cycling at cutout pressure
remains. Any ideas? Bad controller, low water, leak in pipe?

If the air pressure is correct, 1-2 psi less than cut-in setting, with
no water in the tank, then you have serious blockage between the
switch and pump, or an electrical problem.

If the OP is having those kinds of problems with the switch he could have
a short of the electric cable going to the submersible, sometimes caused
by the loss of the support of the pump and the cable getting stretched
over the top of the well casing. Happened to me once.

I've talked with several local experts, who can't figure this one
out. As a last resort, I installed another pressure switch (the third
one in 30 days) and it is working normally for the moment. We'll see
what happens next.
Thanks, folks.