Well water pressure improvements & repairs:

Here we summarize the key steps you can take to improve the water supply or flow rate at building plumbing fixtures when the water supply is provided from a private well and pump and pressure tank system.

At the article end we provide a series of detailed diagnostic & repair articles used to figure out why well water pressure is poor, has stopped altogether, or varies unacceptably in a building at all or some of its plumbing fixtures.

How to Boost or Increase Private Pump and Well Water Pressure

Need for Poor Water Pressure (Flow) Diagnosis

Watch out: you could spend a lot of time and money fooling with the pressure control switch (or in a building with city water, with the pressure regulator) only to finally figure out that there is a clogged water pipe (illustration above) or a clogged pipe elbow or partly-closed valve or dirty water filter.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Before adjusting a well pump pressure control switch changing building piping, or considering installing a water pressure booster pump it is essential to understand what the incoming water pressure is and exactly why the building water pressure is not satisfactory.

Definition of Water Pressure vs Water Flow Rate vs Water Quantity available from a well

Watch out: don't confuse water pressure (typically measured as pressure in psi in the system when no water is being run) with water flow rate (measured as a quantity per minute such as gallons per minute - gpm or litres per minute - lpm) when water is being run at a specific plumbing fixture like a sink or tub.

Sometimes, even when residential water supply equipment is working normally, building occupants want higher water pressure.

Don't confuse water quantity (how much before we run out), water flow (how many gallons per minute we can get at a faucet) and water pressure (what is the delivery pressure or the maximum pressure that the system can provide). Water pressure is measured most accurately with the water turned off, at a hose faucet or washer hookup, using a pressure gauge. Here are articles describing each of these different water system measurements:

• WATER FLOW RATE CALCULATE or MEASURE - how fast is water delivered at fixtures or at a plumbing system - gpm or lpm
• WATER PRESSURE MEASUREMENT - how much force is water pressurized in a water system, psi static water pressure and psi dynamic water pressure
• WELL FLOW RATE - how much water is in the well, or how much water can we get out of a well

But in common language, people consider the strength of flow at the faucet as their "water pressure". Actually what is being observed is a water flow rate, determined by both the pressure from the water source and the diameter of the building piping, including the effects of any obstructions.

How a larger water tank can improve building water pressure

Really? Adding a larger water pressure tank will give a longer draw-down time - you can run a plumbing fixture longer between well pump "on" cycles, which means if your pressure normally ranges between 30 and 50, it will fall from 50 down to 30 more slowly.

It won't boost system pressure beyond the pump pressure control setting.

How setting up the pump pressure control switch improves water pressure

You can, within certain limits, improve water flow rate or "pressure" by upping the cut-out pressure on the pump control.

Watch out: If you set the control too high the pump will not reach cutoff temp and will burn up, or if you put in a more powerful pump and boost much over 70 psi you risk plumbing leaks.

If your well flow rate is poor or your well runs out of water, pump protection equipment may slow or stop the flow of water through the system until the well has recovered.

In this case, too, storing more water in a separate water tank allows your pump to fill the tank slowly, without exhausting the well, while the water in the tank can meet surges in water use demand.

How adding a booster pump can improve water pressure

Adding a booster pump can improve building water pressure where the private pump and well system can't get enough pressure or quantity or where the building height impacts water pressure on its upper floors.

Similarly, if the water pressure tank and pump are too distant from the point of water use, or if your well and pump are delivering water to multiple buildings, a booster pump may help improve local water pressure and flow at the more remote buildings.

See WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMP for details.

Install Larger Diameter Water Supply Piping to Improve Well Water Flow Rates

A common repair for poor building water flow rate where the piping is blamed for either scale clogging or too-small diameter to start with, is to install larger diameter water supply piping wherever the piping is readily accessible, such as in a basement or crawl area.

Sketch at left, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

The sketch illustrates that by installing larger diameter water supply piping in just part of the total run will indeed improve "water pressure" or flow rate at the fixtures.

Why is this so? Well as more plumbing fixtures flow, the pressure and flow drops more at each fixture.

That means that (for example) if we replace any ten-foot section of pipe with a larger pipe, the pressure drop across that section will be reduced.

Therefore replacing any section of pipe improves pressure (and flow) throughout the system.

...

Continue reading  at WELL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see WELL WATER PRESSURE IMPROVEMENT FAQs - questions & answers posted originally at this page

Or see these

Articles on Improving Water Pressure

• MUNICIPAL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS
• NO WATER PRESSURE
• WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMP
• WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS
• WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE
• WATER PRESSURE REDUCER / REGULATOR
• WATER PRESSURE TOO HIGH: DANGERS
• WATER PRESSURE TOO LOW
• WATER PRESSURE VARIATION CAUSES
• WATER PUMP CAPACITIES TYPES RATES GPM
• WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS
• WATER PUMP WON'T START
• WATER PUMP WONT STOP RUNNING
• WELL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS
• WELL WATER PRESSURE IMPROVEMENT

Suggested citation for this web page

WELL WATER PRESSURE IMPROVEMENT at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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