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Bob F Bob F is offline
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Default Water pressure pump keeps turning on

On 6/7/2021 5:15 AM, dan wrote:
On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 21:39:03 -0700, Bob F wrote:
You could try removing the copper tube on the switch by loosening th nut
on the switch end of it, and try starting the pump for a moment to see
if water comes squirting out, it nothing comes out, something is plugged
up ahead of that that would need to be fixed.


That's a good idea. With the pump running I loosened the top copper nut.
Water squirted out, clearly under pressure within a few turns.
So that pipe is definitely carrying water under pressure.

Interestingly at the same time I _removed_ the dial gauge (to clean it).
There is NOTHING coming out of the dial gauge hole. Not air. Not water.
Even when the pump is running for a few minutes.

Again, try adjusting the nut on the big spring of the switch to a lower
pressure cutoff to see if that solves the problem. Your pump clearly can
barely make it to 53 PSI, and the 50 PSI switch might just be a little
above that just from age, or the pump is not pumping as strong as it
used to. Both the pump and the switch have tolerances and adjustment is
the way to fix that quickly.


I plan on replacing the switch but you have a point that if it's not the
switch, at least playing with the adjustments can pinpoint if that's the
problem, or if the pump can't get up to cutoff pressure (it may have
overheated).

I hadn't thought of the problem being the pump until you mentioned that.

I will look up HOW that switch works because there are three or so different
adjusting locations and I'm confused since I haven't looked at that yet.

On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 21:53:28 -0700, Bob F wrote:
By the way, your pump probably ran till the water in it boiled, and that
over-pressured your hose, and blew out the plastic fitting, which looks
like it's outer end was stretched by the hot pressure before the plug
blew out.


I think you're right when I look at the distorted plastic plug.

At first I thought it was two different threads, big and little.
But now I realize it blew up like a balloon until it finally failed.

That's probably why the pinhole in it which is the failure from heat.
Somehow, eventually, it worked its way out - maybe from the water pressure
on the pinhole "spinning" it out (if that's even possible) as these things
are in there really tightly.

The inner end was likely confined by the threads in the pump.
So the outer end was ballooned only.

I didn't think of this until you said it and I 100% agree with you.
It must have been HOT.

Also, however you end up fixing it, you should make sure the pressure
switch setting is at least a few PSI lower than the pumps maximum
pressure capability. Otherwise, tolerances may repeat the problem over time.


I hadn't thought of that but it's a good idea to lower the set pressure.

Unfortunately when I REMOVED the stuck gauge with the pump running NOTHING
came out (I was trying to determine if it was clogged and I was trying to
tell if it sensed water or air). There was some gunk (not much) in the hole
of the pump and no gunk to speak of in the gauge hole.

I find it odd that the side of the pump with the guage (which looks EXACTLY
like the side of the pump with the copper hose (they seem symmetric) has
NOTHING coming out of it at the same time that the copper side has water
pressure when I loosened the bolt.

My tentative conclusion is the gauge side is blocked somehow - or - since
the gauge never worked - maybe it isn't designed to have pressure???????

I need to buy a water pressure gauge that goes on the end of a garden hose.
I do know that when the bladder shows only about 25 psi the water pressure
in the house is ok and when the bladder is at about 30 psi the water
pressure in the house is fine.

Could it also be the air pressure in the bladder being too low?
(I'll pump it up today when the pressure drops down again.)

On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 21:57:01 -0700, Bob F wrote:
Just had another thought. Could the air noise you are hearing be from
the conduit carrying the power wire from the power box nearby? If so, it
could be air pushed through the conduit from the motor cooling fan.


You are probably right. The hiss may be from my imagination since it's
really hard to hear given the pump is running - and the air that I can feel
is very little - like the puff you do with a baby before you dunk it into
the water (to get it to close its mouth).

The constant puff of air I can feel at the bottom of the pressure switch is
probably just air from the motor running.

The problems I can fix now a
|1| I can pressurize the bladder to 28psi when the pump is off and no pressure.
|2| I can watch the operating of the pressure switch when the pump goes on.
|3| I can lower the low/high pressure to something like 30/40 psi.

The mysteries that have been solved a
|1| The distorted plug probably ballooned from pressure & heat.
|2| The bad gauge never moving is because there is no pressure on that side.


Rust or crud is blocking the passage. You could try probing into the
gauge hole with a screwdriver to see if it you can knock it loose. I'd
do that with some water pressure in the system, so the crud that breaks
loose gets flushed out (in your face?) rather than stay in the pump and
maybe damage the impeller inside. Otherwise, you will need to
disassemble the impeller end of pump a bit to clean it out.

Also, check that the hole in the end of the gauge is not plugged while
you have it out

|3| The copper pipe to the pressure switch definitely has water in it (not air).


The ell on the switch and the switch itself could still be plugged, so
you could check those too. You should be able to loosen the electrical
conduit and motor nuts in the switch box and rotate it to where you can
see with the copper tubing disconnected.


The mysteries that remain a
|1| Why does the pressure gauge side of the motor have nothing coming out?
|2| Is it lack of pressure or a bad switch preventing the motor from turning off?


Adjust to test that.

|3| Was the plastic 1-inch plug originally there as a safety valve?


That is a very good thought. You might consider that to be a reason to
replace it. You could also also add a thermal switch on the pump case to
activate an alarm, cutoff relay, or ever a garden sprinkler valve to
vent water outside.

Getting the pressure switch working properly should mostly solve that
problem for a long time