Foof Valve Leaks as Cause of Intermittent Pump Cycling

How do I find out if the foot valve in my well is leaking - as a cause of pump cycling?

What is the process for checking a foot valve for leaks? Thanks! On 2012-09-02 by Allen -

Reply by (mod) -

Allen,

To track down a leaky foot valve, turn off water into the house, then watch for a drop in water preside at the water pump/tank when the system is off.

As long as you're not seeing a leak at the water tank or pump themselves, with water into the building turned off we've eliminated the building piping or fixtures as the leak source.

So dropping water pressure will indicate a leaky check valve, leaky foot valve, or a leak in the well piping.

Details are at FOOT VALVE TROUBLESHOOTING

 

What are symptoms of a bad foot valve in the well?

If you have a well pipe leak or a bad foot valve, would you slowly loose pressure all the time? My well pump goes on with no water use but not consistantly. There are times that the pressure on the gauge appears steady and other times when it very slowly drops or it can drop quickly (all without water use) On 2011-09-10 by Doug -

by (mod) -

Doug, a check valve or foot valve may leak intermittently, perhaps depending on just how the valve seats from usage cycle to cycle,or sue to occasional dirt.

Also a sticky water pressure gauge can complicate diagnosis

If pressure is dropping and you turn off water at the main valve into the building, and if the pressure drop stops, that usually means you had water running in the building. If it does not stop falling you probbly have a bad check valve or a well piping leak.

Will a leaky foot valve cause constant water pressure drop?

If you have a well pipe leak or a bad foot valve, would you slowly loose pressure all the time?

My well pump goes on with no water use but not consistantly. There are times that the pressure on the gauge appears steady and other times when it very slowly drops or it can drop quickly (all without water use) On 2011-09-10 by Doug

Answer by (mod)

Doug, a check valve or foot valve may leak intermittently, perhaps depending on just how the valve seats from usage cycle to cycle,or sue to occasional dirt.

Also a sticky water pressure gauge can complicate diagnosis

If pressure is dropping and you turn off water at the main valve into the building, and if the pressure drop stops, that usually means you had water running in the building. If it does not stop falling you probbly have a bad check valve or a well piping leak.

Water Pressure Tank Leaks as Source of Intermittent Pump Cycling

Diagnose slow loss of pressure in the pressure tank and intermittent pump cycling

I'm having a bit of trouble tracking down a pressure tank loss of pressure and intermittent cycle problem.

The initial problem here is that my pressure tank will fill to its cut off of 50 psi and then without using any water over the course of 2 maybe 3 hours the pressure will slowly drop to the cut in of 30 psi.

I have pex water pipe running through the home and have inspected the connections and there are no leaks. The pressure tank is not leaking. Both toilets seem to be holding their water.

I know my main tub has a very slow drip leak (probably wouldnt fill a 1L) in a day..and everything else in the house that is connected to use water seems to be tight and dry. I also have a water softener and iron filter tanks and they dont appear to be leaking externally

I checked my pressure tank air level and precharged it should be 28psi but was around 20psi..so i added air up till around the 27 to 28 psi indicator.

If I allow the pressure tank to fill up to its cut off of 50psi then turn the valve off to allow water to the house the tank will hold 50 psi without decreasing.

The majority of water lines in my home are exposed in the basement and nothing appears to be leaking from behind any wall into the basement so im stuck there.

The only recent thing of lately is that I did have a plumber come and replace a faulty pressure tank control switch that was leaking.

He just brought another one to install in place of the faulty one. Could this be a source of problem? it was brand new.?

Sorry for the length of this post I'm just not sure what else to suspect and may have to call someone in to check it out.

P.S. after adding air to the pressure tank I have the unpleasant odor of iron in my cold water since i added air and refilled the tank.

Yuck On 2012-08-24 by Shaun -

by (mod) -

Shaun: if the tank pressure stays fixed when you turn off valves feeding water to the house but pressure drops when house water is turned on, I think there's either a running tolet somewhere or a water pipe leak to be found.

Conversely: if the problem isn't on the house side, I'd look for a leaky foot valve or check valve between pump/pressure tank and the well.

Why would my water tank's pressure drop so quickly?

My well shut off today and I replaced the switch after I determined it was not working.

After installing the new switch the pressure went to 50psi and the pump turned off. The pressure dropped fairly quickly to 30 at which time it came back on and filled to 50.

It then dropped back to 30 without any water being used and then did not come back on again and quickly dropped to 0. I reset again and the same thing happened.

Why would my tanks pressure drop so quickly without and water being used. I checked the bladder pressure and it was 27.2psi On 2022-05-04 by Dave Thurston

by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - leaky check valve or foot valve

@Dave Thurston,

It sounds to me as if a check valve or foot valve in the well has failed.

Relationship of Loss of Pump Prime to Intermittent Well Pump Cycling

Intermittent shallow well jet pump, but the pump is not losing prime

I have a intermittent cycling with my shallow-well jet pump, however I am not losing prime

I have been turning the pump off when I don't need water (to keep from burning the pump out) for as long as 10 hours and still haven't lost prime. The foot valve was replaced recently as I did lose prime during a power outage a couple of months ago.

Any ideas of the source of the problem? I can't see how the problem could be due to a faulty foot valve or leak in the piping when I don't lose prime. On 2011-12-22 by Phil

by (mod) - Leaks cause pump cycling; pump prime isn't lost until the power is left off long enough.

Phil, the causes of intermittent well pump cycling we discuss here do NOT require that the system loses prime.

More likely the slow leak back into the well from a bad foot valve, or from a well piping leak, or from water running in the building resulting in a pressure drop cause the pump to turn on often enough that in fact it never loses prime - except when there is a power outage.

If you're sure it's a good foot valve I'd look for another leak. Turn off water into the house and watch for a pressure drop. If it occurs, the problem is in well piping or at the water tank. If not, there may be a running toilet in the house or something like that.

Watch out: so what's happening is the foot valve or well pipe leak lowers pressure until the pump comes on and, still primed, draws water from the well and repressurizes the system. But if you have a power loss and the power is out long enough. For a slow leak that could be a day or so.

In that case the leak back into the well or out of the well pipe continues until the pump does lose prime. Then you'll have no water when power is restored.

Leaks In the Building as Cause of Intermittent Pump Cycling On & Off

Pump cycles every few minutes if house water supply is not shut off

When our house water is shut off after the pressure tank everything seems fine

As soon as you turn on the water going to the house the pump will cycle about every five minutes.

We can't find leaks at the toilet or anyplace else we have checked everything? On 2022-02-18 by D. Case

by Inspectapedia Com Moderator (mod) - look for a well piping leak or a foot valve leak

@D. Case,

Did you turn off the water supply on the building side of your water pressure tank and pump and then turn on the pump and it continues to cycle a reasonable guess ithere's a leaky check valve or foot valve, or it's also possible that there is that there's a leak in the well piping or at the water tank itself.

If that doesn't happen but the pump cycles repeatedly when you turn on the water into the house then you have water running somewhere in the building, such as a running toilet Or a hidden leak in water piping.

Is the problem of pump running every 30 seconds in the well or in the house?

It appears as if I have intermittent water pump cycling. It's turning on about every 30 seconds, running for about 10 seconds and turning off. I don't appear to have any water leaks in the house at all and I checked all the piping in the crawl space today and found nothing.

I turned the power off to the pump/tank and all the water drained backward to "somewhere". Do I have a well problem perhaps or a problem in a line between well and house?

I forgot to mention that I have good water pressure. No obvious issues other than the pump cycling on and off for no apparent reason. On 2011-10-01 by Tom Wilson -

by (mod) -

Tom, sounds as if the answer to your question is yes. If water is draining back from the pressure tank into the well piping there is a well piping leak or a bad check valve or foot valve.

More obscure: if the well pump is submersible (in the well) and your pressure tank is a steel non-bladder type, there could also be a leak not in the well piping itself but in an air vent valve installed on well piping inside the well.

Such air vents were used on older systems with bladderless pressure tanks as a means of adding air to the pressure tank at each pump cycle.

What would cause a fluctuating water psi loss with no pressure loss in the house?

The last week I have been losing a varying degree of psi when water is not being used, resulting in intermittent pump cycling. The loss is sometimes 1 psi an hour and sometimes 10 psi an hour.

I discovered the house shutoff only shuts off some of the fixture, so I cannot completely isolate the house from the well. I do not see any leaks inside. Outside everything is about 4 ft down.

Any suggestions of what would cause a fluctuating psi loss with no pressure loss in the house? On 2023-03-30 by Nancy

by InspectApedia Editor -

@Nancy,

Thanks for the question. Here are some tips for tracking down the cause of intermittent pump cycling when you don't have a main water shut-off valve

1. If there is indeed no single main water shut-off, you can still determine if you have a subtle leak at one of your plumbing fixtures by turning off water at each of those fixtures at its individual shut-off valve.

2. Check each toilet carefully to be sure it's not running. A toilet flush valve that's leaky can be a subtle problem as the leak can be slow and even intermittent.

Details are at https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Toilet_Runs.php TOILET RUNS CONTINUOUSLY

3. It's unlikely but possible that there is another water leak on the house side of your pump and pressure tank, such as a leak in a crawl space or even in a building cavity: usually we can detect those by looking for wet areas (in the crawlspace or in ceilings or walls near the route of water piping).

4. When you're reasonably confident that there is no leak in house water supply piping and no running toilet, the finger of blame points to either a leak in well piping or a leaky check valve or foot valve.

Take a look at the additional diagnostic suggestions above on this page and please let us know what success you have or what further questions you have.

Also:

For a home that does not have a single water shut-off valve that turns off ALL water to the house, ultimately you're going to want a plumber to install such a valve. Almost always that's pretty easy: a main house water shutoff valve would be installed right at the pump/water pressure tank at the outlet from the water pressure tank that feeds the building.

If some of your plumbing fixtures have no individual shutoff valves then when you're having plumbing work done, have those installed.

by Nancy

@InspectApedia Editor , I inspected the house thoroughly and found no evidence of water leaks. I turned off the partial main shut off along with every fixture valve, including the toilets which did not show evidence of leaking.

The gauge dropped 1 psi an hour for the first 3 hours, then 5 psi during the 4th hour. I have observed previous, fluctuating losses, varying from 1 psi an hour 10+ in an hour. Would that point more to a specific cause?

by InspectApedia Editor

@Nancy,

Sure.

So if we are certain that everything in the house is turned off then we don't think there's a running toilet or a leak in a water supply pipe: because you saw the water pressure continue to fall.

There could be an air leak at the pump itself but the most common cause of the problem you describe is a leaky foot valve - at the bottom of your well piping.

The other possibility is a leak anywhere in the well piping between house and well.

But since we don't want to start by digging up the pipes, most well and plumbing experts would at this point replace the foot valve.

On the page above please take a look at the diagnostic steps starting at step #4.

Keep me posted

Df

by Nancy

@InspectApedia Editor , thank you. I spoke to my well guy who also believed it could be a check valve or leak at the top well connection. We have to get the 10 ft of snow off the the wellhead before he can look at it. It may be awhile, but I will share an update.

by InspectApedia Editor

@Nancy,

Thanks for the follow-up. Let us know what you find, as that will also help other readers facing the same intermittent pump-on problem.

by Nancy - Why is there a loop of pipe at my water pressure tank?

@InspectApedia Editor , still clearing snow and awaiting a well guy.

Do you know why the pipe would be looped prior to entering the pressure tank?

Also, it was recommended to me that once the well guy comes out, the pressure on the well outlet should be tested BEFORE the pump is pulled, in order to protect a true pressure reading.

The concern was stated that if you pull the pump and change the check valve, debris could affect the pressure reading at the outlet. I am not sure I am understanding this correctly. Thoughts?

by InspectApedia Editor - why the pipe would be looped prior to entering the pressure tank?

@Nancy,

About? What. You are calling pressure testing? I think you really mean water flow rate period pressure which is only measured when no water is running is not going to be affected by a clock or debris.

Is pressure will of course fall in the System when there is a leak.

About that remarkable inverted "U" in the water line, there is no functional reason for that loop in that location. I suspect that someone was having trouble finding and installing an elbow, or better, a couple of 45 degree bends to connect the incoming water line which is angled towards the wall back across the floor to your water equpment.

Bottom line: Unless there is something I can't see, like a "Tee" connection that's also feeding another water line somewhere, the piping in your photo looks as if someone thought they couldn't raise up the light-coloured water line to make an easy connection to the in-house piping.

Ask your plumber if she can simplify that connection as doing so will remove some unnecessary elbows and may slightly improve water flow.

Pressure drops and well pump runs - I can't find the leak

I have my well hooked up to the outside faucets only and when all faucets are shut off the tank continues to slowly lose pressure. I have inspected all of the piping and connections and found no evidence of a leak.

Sometimes the presuure loss is quick(5-10 miutes) and other times it may take an hour.

I have the old steel tank not a bladder tank. I have checked for air leaks on the tank and found none. Am I looking at going out side and into the well for a fix?$$$$$ On 2011-11-21 by Rich Swaim

by (mod) -

Rich, if the water pressure is dropping there is almost certainly a leak somewhere.

Turn off water into the building at the water pressure tank. If pressure still drops the problem is between the pressure tank and the well piping down at the bottom of the well. If pressure does not drop, then the problem is a leak or slow running toilet etc inside the building.

...

Pump runs intermittently, the well guy says we need a new well

The well guy just told me our water tank is a sealed tank so does not have a bladder and that most likely it is a leak in the well or piping and suggested we get a new well. Think we should get a second opinion.

My water pump will cycle every 6-8 minutes when the pressure gauge drops bellow 48 psi. It will take 6-8 seconds the pressure up to 62 psi, this then starts all over again.

I checked to see how much air was in the bladder with a tire gauge and water came out. The well guy I talked to said the bladder tank is shot and needs to be replaces but there might be something else going on because the pressure drops then pump turns on. What is our next step to take? On 2011-09-11 by Laura -

by (mod) - instead of getting a new well, find and fix the leak in well piping - call someone else

Laura

your pump sounds as if it's short cycling - that's a water tank problem. But the pressure drop may be a piping or foot valve leak

I suppose it's true that if you drill a new well, all of the well piping would be replaced as part of that job. And so if the actual problem is a leak oin the present well piping, as a byproduct of the new well the leak would get fixed too.

I'd ask what other concerns s/he saw led to the new well recommendation

Consider that if you installed a whole new well and well piping, that may indeed stop the intermittent pump cycling on and off but the original problem could simply have been a leak in the original well piping or foot valve.

So it would be crazy to go to that huge expense ( of a whole new well system) when the problem wasn't the well but rather a pipe.