The purpose of this article is to outline possible reasons why you might experience a loss of water pressure or lose all water supply for a period of time but water pressure later returns or improves.
Has someone partially shut off the main or some other water supply valve? Is there an obvious burst pipe? Is the water pump running at all?
The well is being pumped “dry” and you’re waiting for the well itself to recover water. With age however some wells deteriorate and deliver less and less water as their flow rate from the water table into the well diminishes. This occurs as minerals clog the cracks or passages through which water is entering the well.
A pump is shutting down on thermal overload and you’re waiting for it to cool down and automatically re-set it’s overload switch. (Other electrical motors including on some pumps have a reset switch which must be re-set manually by pressing the “popped out” red button down.
If the pump keeps running and you have no water there is a problem with the well or well piping or foot valve in the well — maybe. Turn off the water pump so that you don’t burn out the motor. Some water pumps depend on having water inside the pumping mechanism to avoid wear or overheating.
If the pump shuts itself off and is hot, it’s off on thermal reset. Feel the pump motor. Read the operating temperature range expected by the pump manufacturer – this data is usually on a label affixed to the pump motor.
If the pump is in the well you can’t see these conditions directly but an electrician or plumber can do some diagnosis from the building by noting the amperage draw on the pump circuit.
The original version of this article can be found at www.Inspect-NY.com.
Tags: belmont plumbing, gastonia plumber, well pump installation, well pump reapir, well pump service, well pump water pressure
This entry was posted on 11/14/2010 at 10:07 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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