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dan dan is offline
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Default Water pressure pump keeps turning on

On Mon, 7 Jun 2021 06:55:04 -0700, Bob F wrote:
Rust or crud is blocking the passage.


It must be that because otherwise why would there be zero anything?
It must have been plugged for many years as I've never seen it move.

You could try probing into the
gauge hole with a screwdriver to see if it you can knock it loose.


When I opened it up I cleaned out what I could.
There wasn't much and it was gooey (not hard).
Not even a teaspoon full.

The threaded hole isn't deep so the passageways must be to the side.
I don't think I can get to them.
It might be difficult to take apart this part of the pump mechanism.
It may not be worth it just to get the gauge working.

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


The gauge is stuck at 40 psi now (before it was around 60psi or 70).
If it's plugged it's not in the first 1-1/2 inches as a paperclip goes up.

I don't mind replacing the gauge with an oil filled gauge if I can find one.
But if there's no pressure in the hole the gauge isn't going to matter.

One question is how accurate is the pressure measured at the bladder?
That's EASY to measure.

But is that the true water pressure?
I don't know.


|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.


I agree with all of your advice as you are logically sound.

I had loosened the short bolt 3/8th inch nut by 5 turns (which should lower
the high end cutoff by about 10 pounds) but the pump still ran on forever.

So if the 20# range was previously at 40 to 60, now it would be 30 to 50.

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.


After adjusting the upper end smaller bolt, I lowered the whole range by
five turns (loosened big bolt nut) so if it was 40 to 60 originally, and if
it's 30 to 50 now, then it would be 30 to 40 now. (I don't know what it was
set at prior so I'm just giving examples.)

With the range lowered by 5 turns and the upper end lowered by 5 turns
I'm hoping to test what will happen. I will respond back when I find out.


|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.


Given EVERYTHING else around it is built like a Sherman tank, I have to
wonder if the plumber who put that plastic plug in knew what he was doing.

Then again, the motor says it has a safety thermal valve so the motor
"should" have shut off - but maybe the pump was cooled enough by the water
to prevent the motor from overheating even as the pump may have overheated.

Something pretty major had to happen for that plug to blow out like a
balloon (which you noticed before I did) and to still keep the threads which
were inside the pump seemingly intact.

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


Yes. It may be that the pump just can't get past 52 psi which if that's the
case I'm fine with the pressure switch turning it off around 40 psi.

What kind of pressure do people normally have in their house anyway?