Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this.

My water pump, when it turns on after having the water running for a bit,
seems to have a false start.
It will seem like it starts, the stop quickly (less then a second) and then
about 2-3 seconds later it will turn on for the duration of the cycle and
turn off again.

Anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?

Thanks
Jon

"Jon" wrote in message
news
Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this.

My water pump, when it turns on after having the water running for a bit,
seems to have a false start.
It will seem like it starts, the stop quickly (less then a second) and
then
about 2-3 seconds later it will turn on for the duration of the cycle and
turn off again.

Anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?


I've had that happen with my pumps, when the air "pad" in the pressure tank
had gone, either the air being absorbed into the water in a conventional
tank, or when the diaphragm or bladder ruptured in a captive air tank. The
result is that the pressure drops very rapidly when you turn the water on,
then goes back up quickly, cycles up and down.

Easy enough to fix it, with a conventional tank -- turn off the power to the
pump and drain the tank, opening it somewhere high as well as draining out
the bottom. I've only had to replace the captive air tanks when they went
bad.

The water pump when we first bought this place had a doo-hickie (or maybe it
was a thingamabob) that injected a little bit of air into the tank each time
the pump ran. It clogged up a lot and I never replaced it.


--

Robert

Robert E. Lewis wrote:
"Jon" wrote in message
news
Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this.

My water pump, when it turns on after having the water running for a bit,
seems to have a false start.
It will seem like it starts, the stop quickly (less then a second) and
then
about 2-3 seconds later it will turn on for the duration of the cycle and
turn off again.

Anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?


I've had that happen with my pumps, when the air "pad" in the pressure tank
had gone, either the air being absorbed into the water in a conventional
tank, or when the diaphragm or bladder ruptured in a captive air tank. The
result is that the pressure drops very rapidly when you turn the water on,
then goes back up quickly, cycles up and down.

Easy enough to fix it, with a conventional tank -- turn off the power to the
pump and drain the tank, opening it somewhere high as well as draining out
the bottom. I've only had to replace the captive air tanks when they went
bad.

The water pump when we first bought this place had a doo-hickie (or maybe it
was a thingamabob) that injected a little bit of air into the tank each time
the pump ran. It clogged up a lot and I never replaced it.

Robert

Note some air tanks have an air valve on top where you can just hook up
a bicycle pump and pump some air in. Easier than draining, etc.

Ok, this tank is fairly new...I bough the house about 2 months ago and the
old owner just installed it.
It is a captive air tank and the pump itself is set to about 35.
There is an air valve on top of the pump, so is this problem as simple as
checking the air pressure in the tank and adjusting accordingly? Also the
tank says to be sure pressure is set 2psi below cut in. I assume that is 2
below the 35, right?

Thanks , Robert E. Lewis and Heathcliff for your responses.

"Heathcliff" wrote in message
oups.com...

Robert E. Lewis wrote:
"Jon" wrote in message
news
Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this.

My water pump, when it turns on after having the water running for a
bit,
seems to have a false start.
It will seem like it starts, the stop quickly (less then a second) and
then
about 2-3 seconds later it will turn on for the duration of the cycle
and
turn off again.

Anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?


I've had that happen with my pumps, when the air "pad" in the pressure
tank
had gone, either the air being absorbed into the water in a conventional
tank, or when the diaphragm or bladder ruptured in a captive air tank.
The
result is that the pressure drops very rapidly when you turn the water
on,
then goes back up quickly, cycles up and down.

Easy enough to fix it, with a conventional tank -- turn off the power to
the
pump and drain the tank, opening it somewhere high as well as draining
out
the bottom. I've only had to replace the captive air tanks when they
went
bad.

The water pump when we first bought this place had a doo-hickie (or
maybe it
was a thingamabob) that injected a little bit of air into the tank each
time
the pump ran. It clogged up a lot and I never replaced it.

Robert

Note some air tanks have an air valve on top where you can just hook up
a bicycle pump and pump some air in. Easier than draining, etc.

Jon wrote:
Ok, this tank is fairly new...I bough the house about 2 months ago and the
old owner just installed it.
It is a captive air tank and the pump itself is set to about 35.
There is an air valve on top of the pump, so is this problem as simple as
checking the air pressure in the tank and adjusting accordingly? Also the
tank says to be sure pressure is set 2psi below cut in. I assume that is 2
below the 35, right?

Thanks , Robert E. Lewis and Heathcliff for your responses.

"Heathcliff" wrote in message
oups.com...

Robert E. Lewis wrote:
"Jon" wrote in message
news Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this.

My water pump, when it turns on after having the water running for a
bit,
seems to have a false start.
It will seem like it starts, the stop quickly (less then a second) and
then
about 2-3 seconds later it will turn on for the duration of the cycle
and
turn off again.

Anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?


I've had that happen with my pumps, when the air "pad" in the pressure
tank
had gone, either the air being absorbed into the water in a conventional
tank, or when the diaphragm or bladder ruptured in a captive air tank.
The
result is that the pressure drops very rapidly when you turn the water
on,
then goes back up quickly, cycles up and down.

Easy enough to fix it, with a conventional tank -- turn off the power to
the
pump and drain the tank, opening it somewhere high as well as draining
out
the bottom. I've only had to replace the captive air tanks when they
went
bad.

The water pump when we first bought this place had a doo-hickie (or
maybe it
was a thingamabob) that injected a little bit of air into the tank each
time
the pump ran. It clogged up a lot and I never replaced it.

Robert

Note some air tanks have an air valve on top where you can just hook up
a bicycle pump and pump some air in. Easier than draining, etc.


Check the pressure reading just as, or just before, the pump starts.
Add air to, as he said, 2 psi below that. You should have a 20 psi
difference on the switch settings on/off. Sounds like yours is 35/55.
The purpose of the air bubble is to provide a 'spring' to operate the
system. The proper pressure, 2 psi below cut-in, optimizes pump run
time. Anything off of that results in the pump running more than
necessary. A few psi lower isn't going to make much difference but you
don't want it to be higher than cut-in.

Harry K

Harry K