Lost Water Pressure Diagnostic FAQs

No water unless pump is running

No water pressure except when the pump is running

One and a half years ago we had a mother in law house put on our property. The well guy spliced into the water line between the main house and the well in order to provide water to the new house.

We are on a private well system. Yesterday she lost water pressure. I checked the main house water pressure and it was fine. I noticed that the only time she had pressure was during the time the pump kicked on.

Once it kicked off she no longer had pressure.

Her house does not have a tank at all. I shut off the main house water and turned on a faucet in my mother in laws house (no water flow) and watched the pressure gauge on my tank and it did not drop.

I am not for sure how the system works for her to have water. I have a check valve next to the tank but that should not allow back flow into the water lines which would in turn not provide her house with water however she has had good water pressure ever since the house was put in. I am at a loss on what to check.

Everything seems to work just fine but she doesn't have any water pressure! On 2017-02-11 by Ricky

by (mod)

Ricky, I'm puzzled too - and am thinking about the problem. There could be a leak in the well piping to the new house, but in general I'm unclear how your system works in the first place.

Usually a water pressure tank gives some water flow to a building before the pressure drops enough to turn on the well pump; that avoids well pump short cycling.

Those are explained at WATER TANKS - how to diagnose problems with water tanks, such as the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.

In a different design, WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMPS are a type that does not use a separate pressure tank; instead the pump runs, often with a variable flow rate capacity, to get good water pressure into a building when one or more fixtures are using water.

Without a pressure tank serving the new house, IF there is a check valve at the inlet to your main house water system it ought to prevent - as you say - water from flowing back out of your tank to the new house.

So if no water is running in the main house but is on in the new house, and the new house is plumbed by a tee off of the well line from well (enroute to main house) - what turns on the pump to provide water to the new house>? I'd give the installer a call to ask how the system is designed.

Found a rock in the check valve causing loss of well prime

I took the check valve out and found a small rock setting inside of it. My best guess is that the rock had been lodged in the valve preventing it from closing. It must have finally worked its way free allowing the valve to work properly hence no water to mother-in-law's home.

I gutted the check valve and replaced it and everything is working again. Disaster averted! On 2017-02-19 by Ricky

by (mod)

Thanks so much for the feedback, Ricky, that discovery of a pebble jamming the check valve open will doubtless help other readers.

Pump is Running, No Water Pressure

We have no water pressure and the pump is running. What should we do?

There is no water coming into the house. The pump is running but shows 0 PSI - (Dec 11, 2014) Margie

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Hello! First time well owner here. Have a house from the 80's, bought it ten years ago. Old style well, 30" dia., concrete casing, well pump at bottom, pressure switch and gauge are in the well, at the top of the casing.

Air tank, filters, and water NEUTRALIZER,not softener, are in the garage where the pipe comes out of my slab. this morning, the Wife and I noticed a drop in pressure.

Happens sometimes, I just go change the filters. Well, didn't have any filters, so when I got home from work, I bypassed the filters(built in feature of the GE filters)until after my shower when I was going to get more,and had a great shower.

One hour later, the Wife comes home....and NO WATER IS ISSUING FROM THE VALVES!!! All of a sudden, water started flowing, but really weak.

Went and popped the cover on the well, and shone a flashlight down there.

Somehow, my well has dropped about 20'. I can see the old water level on the side of the casing(it was still wet. Pump is running constantly, even with the feed valve from the pump to the house shut off.

I cannot tell if all the action at the bottom of the well is the pump vibrating the water, or if a relief valve is blowing off. I have no clue on the brand of pump.

So, I shut off power, and am going to get new filter cartridges.

Even if the pressure switch was bad and making my pump run constantly, why would my well be so low? the water should just be circulating back into the well, right? Any help you can give me is GREATLY appreciated. (Dec 1, 2015) Chris Gagnon

Reply: Watch out: Shut off the pump right away (If you haven't already done so)

Margie

Watch out: Shut off the pump right away to reduce the risk of ruining it. Running a water pump when no water is flowing through it can damage the pump's impeller assembly, internal bearings, or other parts.

Chris and Margie:

When you've turned off the water pump please see the step by step diagnostics at

NO WATER PRESSURE

or at

WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE

and let us know if questions remain.

Lost water pressure after water turned dirty or nasty

We have a deep well submerged pump water turned nasty lost pressure now I have no water.replaced breakers and pressure switch and still have no water their is power going to pump and switch don't what to do now ? (Dec 1, 2014) Anonymous

Reply:

Anon

An experienced well-pump plumber can perform some tests to determine if the motor is drawing normal current or not -which is a clue about whether the pump needs to be pulled and replaced.

But the "water turned nasty" suggests that the well may have been pumped dry. If so and if it recovers then we've got an idea of the problem: reduced well recovery rate.

Another possibility is that the well casing is damaged and dirt is falling down into the well bore - something that a well service company can determine by using a well bore inspection camera.

See WELL BORE CAMERA SYSTEMS

Well water smells like earth, lost water pressure, pipes are clogged with black particles

Woke up to water having a very earthy smell. Water pressure stopped working. Newer softener system and AIO tank, 1 year old.

Had service man look at and he found both pipes to be clogged with what looked like shredded black plastic with dirt around it? Said he has never seen before. He got everything working again. One day later, water pressure stopped again.

A trickle is coming out of faucets? Any suggestions on who to call to resolve problem? (May 25, 2014) Amy

Reply: identifying the source of particles depends on a bit more diagnosis

Amy:

It's possible that plastic components somewhere are being shredded, OR this is a new piping installation that left plastic debris in the supply piping.

If it's an older system I'd look for trouble inside the well pump itself - a damaged impeller.

If it's a problem on hot water only I'd look for a failing plastic dip tube in a water heater tank.

The dirt description, however, suggests a damaged well casing that's letting debris into the well. For that diagnosis you need a well company who can use a camera to inspect the well casing.