Water pressure loss diagnosis, first steps in troubleshooting loss of water pressure:

This article describes gently shaking the well tank to determine if it contains water as part of diagnosing lost water pressure at a building.

Gently shaking the water pressur tank may be a quick simple way to find out if there is water in the water tank. Water pressure tank test & troubleshooting: how to diagnose loss of water pressure or loss of water in a building - shaking the well tank to see if it contains water. Shaking the water tank, a simple gentle test can start the process of troubleshooting why a building has lost water pressure.

One can become easily confused by the diagnosis offered by simply "shaking" a water pressure tank. Shaking the tank can tell you that the water tank is empty but not why the water tank is empty.

There may be a trick to this but we don't see how shaking the water pressure tank diagnoses a ruptured bladder or other very specific causes of the absence of water, but as a starting point, gently shaking the well tank can, however, tell us some things about the state of the building water supply system.

How to diagnose loss of water or loss of water pressure in a building: gently shaking the water pressure tank - are we out of water?

We use this procedure often, by gently shaking or wiggling the well tank to see what's going on.

If the well tank is at its normal "full" level of water it will be heavy and chances are you won't move the water tank at all. We also know that the water pump has probably shut off at its normal "cut out" pressure recently since running water in the building will empty the well tank in just a minute or three.

If the well tank is empty or nearly so, it is quite light and can be easily moved. Recently when we were restoring water to a home that had been winterized, we tried turning on the well pump and we heard the pump motor run.

We gently wiggled the water tank and learned that it was empty, so we figured that the pump was not delivering water - in fact the pump had lost prime.

We quickly shut off the pump motor so as to avoid damaging it. Then we proceeded

to PRIME the PUMP using a GARDEN HOSE. [separate article] That was all we needed to do to get the water system working again.

Be careful: do not wildly shake the well tank nor any other plumbing component since doing so can cause a pipe to break or at least leak.

What Does it Mean if Our Well Tank is Empty?

The water tank could be empty simply because you ran all of its water out into the home and the water pump never came on to replenish the water supply. Some of the possible causes of an empty water tank and no water in the home include:

We discuss in detail how to diagnose loss of water pressure or how to diagnose and fix poor water pressure

at DIAGNOSE LOSS OF WATER PRESSURE - be sure to read that article. Some examples of what we discuss there are listed just below:

• Loss of electrical power to the pump or pump control - nothing is running the water pump. Is power turned on? Is there power at the pump control and is there power to the pump?
• A bad water pressure control switch on the water pump - perhaps the switch is not turning on the pump.
  
  This can be checked by manually closing the pump relay - DON'T TRY THIS YOURSELF - SHOCK HAZARD - unless you are qualified and trained.
  
  Pressure Control Switch problems are discussed further
  
  at CAUSES OF SHORT CYCLING
  
  Also be sure to reviewWATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS> for instructions on how to adjust the water pump pressure control switch.
• A bad water pressure regulator could be at fault (though not usually if the water pressure loss is sudden.
  
  Details are at WATER PRESSURE REDUCER / REGULATOR
• A clogged water filter cause rapid pump cycling on and off - discussed further
  
  at CAUSES OF SHORT CYCLING
• A well water supply pipe failure in the well or between the well and the building, so water is not being delivered to the home. (Or in cold climates, the line may have frozen).
• Loss of prime in an in-building pump, or an internal pump failure such as broken vanes - the pump motor runs but no water is delivered.
  
  (An in-building pump could also run and no water be delivered if the well has run dry.) A shallow well jet pump well line could have a bad foot valve (in the well) and so be losing prime. A leak in the well line can also lead to loss of prime.
  
  See WELL PUMP PRIMING PROCEDURE and
  
  see PUMP PRIME, REPEATED LOSS of for a discussion of well piping foot valves.
• A bad water tank bladder: on occasion a water tank bladder will collapse and stick to itself, failing to permit water to enter the well tank.
  
  See WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR.
• A Failed Water Pump: A failed or failing in-well submersible water pump stops delivering water at all, or periodically overheats and temporarily stops working. Such a pump is probably at end of life, unless the problem is traced to a voltage, switch, or wiring problem.
  
  See WATER TANK REPAIRS.
  
  Also see WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY.

• Bad or No water pressure? 
  
  See WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR for a step by step detailed guide to diagnosing and correcting bad water pressure or total loss of water pressure.
  
  Before changing a water pump or control, we need to know why the water pressure or water flow is poor.
  
  Also see our separate WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE in summary table form.
• Intermittent on and off water pump cycling at odd times is discussed
  
  at WATER PUMP INTERMITTENT CYCLING - this means that the water pump comes on for no apparent reason.
• Short cycling of a water pump means that the water pump turns on and off too rapidly or too frequently when water is being run in the building.
  
  See WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING CAUSES
  
  andWATER TANK REPAIR PROCEDURES
• Loss of water pressure means that the pressure with which water enters a plumbing fixture has become too slow, or is sometimes too slow or weak in water flow rate, or water flow may stop entirely.
  
  SeeWATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
• Details on how to repair the water pump pressure control switch are discussed
  
  at WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH REPAIRS
• How to boost water pressure in a building by installing a pressure booster pump and pressure tank is discussed in detail
  
  at WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMP

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2021-02-17 by (mod) - no cold water at some fixtures but not all

Roger

Usually when we have a problem like this it's because there is a bit of Frozen cold water line somewhere in that run.

It might be at a corner or an elbow close to an exterior wall where it's located in a draft.

It would be great if you could follow the cold water piping and perhaps blow a hair dryer on any suspicious spots to see if you can get the cold water running.

You want to try to correct this and add heat in that location before we have a burst pipe that could later turn into a building flood.

See HEAT SOURCES to AVOID FROZEN PIPES

And PIPE FREEZE-UP POINTS

And FROZEN PIPE THAW-OUT find and un-freeze frozen water supply pipes or hot water heating pipes

On 2021-02-17 by Roger Raheem

no cold water pressure at kitchen sink and two bathrooms. I do have cold water the bathroom closest to the water pump. And I have hot water at all faucets. the weather here got below zero and my pressure tank and pump is in my gargage which is very cold. in fact, the pipe leading into pressure tank froze up. so I put a utility heater ther to keep it warm. hot water started running fine no cold water at the sinks furtherest away on the opposite side of the house. I checked for froze pipes and there are none. any ideas what's preventing the cold water from running?

On 2019-12-28 - by (mod) -

Sounds as if either your well pump is not turning on or the well has no water.

On 2019-12-28 by Mike Harris

Had water in tank. Started taking shower water ran out. Checked well no water in tank .what could it be?

On 2018-01-27 - by (mod) -

The bladder may be stuck to itself. Sometimes we can un-stick the bladder by briefly pushing water pressure a bit higher, but

Watch out: DO NOT EVER exceed the rated tank pressure or the tank could burst and injure or kill someone.

On 2018-01-27 by paul

I have no water in my bladder but I still get water to the house.Why causes the water in the bladder to empty ?

On 2016-07-31 - by (mod) -

If the water pressure tank is still heavy perhaps it is not empty of water; could be a bladder is damaged, torn, stuck on itself;

On 2016-07-31 by Anonymous

having problems with pressure tank short cycling .
i have drained tank not a lot of water came out. about half gallon
tank is still heavy, also when i checked the air valve no reading on gauge.

any ideas?

On 2016-03-26 - by (mod) -

Cody,

It sounds as if your pump or water supply piping is frozen or you've got no incoming water

AND there is water being used somewhere in the building, such as a running toilet

OR there is a leaky foot valve that's losing water back into the well combined with a frozen pipe somewhere

Search InspectApedia.com for (or click these links)

• PIPE FREEZE-UP POINTS
• WATER PUMP INTERMITTENT CYCLING
• WATER PRESSURE INTERMITTENT LOSS

for help in diagnosing and fixing the problem you describe.

On 2016-03-26 by Cody

My water pump is Turning on for 10 seconds then kicking off and its not moving water

It will do this every couple of minutes

...

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

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE
• WATER TANK: USES, TROUBLESHOOTING - home
  • WATER TANK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
  • FIBERGLASS WATER TANKS, BLADDERLESS
  • STEEL WATER TANKS, BLADDERLESS
  • WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING
  • WATER TANK AIR PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
  • WATER TANK AIR VOLUME CONTROL REPAIR
  • WATER TANK BLADDERS
  • WATER TANK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
  • WATER TANK DRAIN VALVE
  • WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
  • WATER TANK PERFORATION LEAK REPAIR
  • WATER TANK RELATION to WATER PRESSURE
  • WATER TANK REPAIR PROCEDURES
  • WATER TANK LIFE & REPLACEMENT
  • WATER TANK SAFETY
• WATER TANK vs WATER PRESSURE

Suggested citation for this web page

SHAKE the WATER TANK 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 & SPRINGS

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