No water pressure at all:

Complete loss of water supply at a building, diagnostic FAQs: this article provides answers to frequently-asked questions about how to diagnose problems with the complete or periodic-complete loss of building water pressure & flow.

These lost water pressure questions & answers help sort out the causes of water pressure problems and help determine if the problem appears to be at the water pump, pump controls, pump wiring, or the actual water source such as a private well or water storage tank.

Lost all water pressure FAQs

Questions and answers about total loss of water pressure, posted originally at NO WATER PRESSURE - topic home where we offer diagnosis and repair advice. Be sure to see that article.

[Click to enlarge any image] Photo: the main water shutoff valve at a water pressure tank (white arrow).

On 2014-07-12 by Tara

we have recently replaced our subm. pump (100' well), storage tank, limit switch and control box. While replacing the limit switch new tank blew out air pressure...replaced pressure as indicated but there is no water in any lines in the house now. any ideas..

On 2014-07-10 by (mod) -

Try rapping on the pressure switch - if the switch closes and starts the pump that is diagnostic, perhaps of a clogged sensor port on the switch base.

On 2014-07-10 by djanes

Pump will run and pressure will reach 45 psi. I will run the water and the pressure will drop to about 30 psi.

The gauge will them quickly drop to 0 psi. Wait 4 to 6 minutes then the pump will start again. I have tried to equal out the water air pressure by 2 to 3 psi. Nothing has worked. Thinking about a new pump switch, as the problem. Any suggestions? Thanks

On 2014-06-30 by (mod) -

Nery Paz

If you see good pressure at the pressure tank but pressure drops off very quickly when you open a faucet, most likely the pressure tank is water logged - has lost its air charge. Your system may also have a debris-clogged pressure control switch that is not turning on the pump when pressure falls.

On 2014-06-30 by (mod) -

Anon typically you'll see a conventional one line jet pump and standard pressure tank used with a driven point well.

On 2014-06-30 by Anonymous

what kind of pump&tank do you use for a sand point

On 2014-06-28 by Nery Paz

I have a 3/4 hp pump and its on the outside of my reservoir. My gauge reads 45psi but I only get pressure in my hour for seconds. Then, I don't have pressure for my front hose, back hose, inside sinks or showers I don't know what to do. Can anyone help plz

On 2014-03-27 by (mod) -

Estla

If the steps in the article NO WATER PRESSURE were not enough help, then in the ARTICLE INDEX links section at the end of this page try the article titled

WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE

On 2014-03-27 by Estela

I was having problems with my water coming from the well. Sometimes it took 30 minutes to come back in the shower but now it has been more than 10 hours and no water. What should I do if the water does not come back? Is there something that I need to do with the water heater to avoid any damages?

On 2014-03-15 by Adam

I have a house that was bilt in 2008 just started having poor water pressure in the house and hose faucets.replaced pressure switch and blater tank ,pump turn on at 40 and off at 60 ,seems to have great pressure for only about a minute or 2 then flow gets poor,

On 2014-03-10 by (mod) -

Stephanie

I'd have to be olfactorarily impaired not to smell a rat in this question.

It might be perfectly fine to operate an outside faucet for various purposes in freezing weather if the faucet is a frost-proof type design. Those faucets turn off water back up inside the building to avoid freeze damage; on shutting the faucet off the remaining water inside the faucet body drains out to avoid damage to the faucet itself.

The wiseness of using a more basic outside hose bibb or faucet in freezing weather is a bit more uncertain. IN that case one ought to close off water to the faucet indoors and allow the outdoor faucet component to drain so as to avoid possible freeze damage.

Worse would be leaving a garden hose connected to either type of faucet in freezing weather - inviting frost damage.

Search InspectApedia for

Winterizing guide

to read details.

On 2014-03-10 by Stephanie

During an extremely cold winter, should an outside faucet be used to conduct a GPM flow test during a home inspection?

On 2014-03-09 by Anonymous

THERE IS NO PRESSURE WHEN MOTOR STOPS ONLY WHEN WORKING, WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM?

On 2014-02-24 by (mod) -

Michelle,

I can't give a sure diagnosis with so little information, but something to ask your well driller is what was the flow rate of the new well.

It would not be a surprise if a new well drilled on the same property didn't provide more water than the old one. There's some luck involved as well as cost- like how deep the well is drilled.

You can search InspectAPedia for "How Much Water is In the Well" to read details.

On 2014-02-23 by Michelle

We just got a new 5" well and a new submersible pump and new bladder..prior to this we had water pressure problems.

We thought maybe it was the old well cause it was the original and still after a new well we have no water pressure. We have great pressure at first and the longer the water runs the more the water depletes and looses pressure.....why oh why could this be? HELP!!!!!

On 2014-02-21 by (mod) -

Hi Richard,

I am sorry that I don't quite understand the situation. Did your fixtures fill up with water because you ran water
into them or was there a drain backup or what?

Is your building served by a municipal water supply or private well?

Did you try taking a look at the diagnostic steps in the article above? What happened?

On 2014-02-21 by richard

3 weeks ago i have 2 bath rooms & 2nd bathrooms tub&sink filled up with water i drained out the watr with wetdry vac had maintanance today replace presure relice pipe &still have no water pressure help

On 2014-02-14 by (mod) -

Anon, certainly submersible pumps can blow a pipe connector or line at a weak spot if the pressure control does not function as it should. I would start by opening the well casing to look and listen for a leak while the pump is running. Of course the leak could be In the course of buried piping as well.

And ... The pump is at the right depth, right?

On 2014-02-14 by Anonymous

I have a 250 foot well with a submersible pump. last week we lost water, long story short we replaced the pump, control box,and checked the water flow from the pump itself before we dropped it. Still no water to the house so I checked the pressure switch and changed it. There was a restriction in the nipple between the manifold and the switch. If there were a weak spot in the line would there be enough back pressure from the pump to blow the weak spot or possibly a bad connection?

On 2014-02-06 by (mod) -

Kim, seeing muddy water as you described could be caused by several different problems:

1. well water level has dropped - pump pulling sediment from low water in the well

2. a change in the aquifer is sending sediment-contaminated water into the well (I've seen this after nearby road blasting)

3. the well casing has cracked or has a rust performation allowing soil to enter the well

4. a well piping leak is allowing soil into the piping system

If you seem to run out of water but after waiting a few hours water pressure returns, the most likely problem cause is poor well flow rate.

If muddy water persists but the quantity is adequate you will probably want a filter.

On 2014-02-06 by Kim

A few days ago I noticed the water in my toilet was muddy looking. Then I noticed a loss of pressure at the bathroom faucet. Today my running water from the faucet became muddy. I ran it for a while to see if it cleared but it did not, then I had no water pressure at all. It came back on a few hours later, and now again I have no water pressure.

My pump was reading 0 psi and about 1/2 hour later it is now reading about 35 psi. I just bought this house in Oct. I washed three loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, the shower was run twice and of course the toilet has been flushed a few times. The toilet tank was empty now it is full again. Just checked and I have running water again.

Do I need to call a plummer or will the well recover on it's own. I don't understand why my water was muddy a few days ago before I lost all water pressure today. Do I need to call a plummer? My water is still muddy!

On 2013-01-27 by Mollie

Yesterday morning I jumped in the shower and suddenly lost water pressure. I checked the pump and it was short cycling,approx. 5 seconds on then 30 seconds off..and continued so I shut off the power. We turned the power back on a few hours later and water and pressure are fine but the pump continues to short cycle so we did shut it back down again to avoid damage to the pump. We have a bladder tank and its at about 25psi with the pump off but the tank feels empty. Any suggestions?

On 2013-01-10 by Sara

We have a 100+ y/o home and our overall water pressure has been decreasing over the past few years.

IE, can only run water in 1 room at a time. Tonight hubby came home from work and discovered the water turns on at normal, although not great as always, pressure but it drops off to just above a trickle in less than 30 secs. It does not turn off completely.

We tried to check the main water line by turning of water on the house side, opening faucets upstairs and down then listening to the pipe.

Problem is the water took a few minutes to turn off, which is a valve problem, yes (another issue)?

Anway, since we can't check the main line acurately and the dial is NOT spinning, could it still be a main line break? Or, could it just be a problem with the house internally? We do intend on pexing(?) the house soon anyway. Thanks for any help!

On 2013-01-03 by Ed

Hi there, I have a 50' well with a 2 line jet pump located in the basement of the house. We recently purchased the house about 3 months ago and when we purchased, we also had a new pump installed. Yesturday we woke up to the pump continuously running even when we didn't use any water yet.

So I switched the breaker for the pump to shut it off so it would not burn out.

When I did this I lost all pressure to the pump. So I ran a hose from the neighbor and primed/ pressurized the system, turned the pump back on, and everything was running again except for the pump not turning off. But as I looked further, the pressure tank was not taking any water in.

It just seemed to be bypassing the tank. So I shut off the pump again (so it won't burn out). Called a friend over who is a millwright and he checked out the pump and switch, found nothing to be wrong.

Now we are at a stand still without water because we do not want to burn out the pump. Any suggestions? I had called the company who installed the pump and they said it sounds like there is a crack in one lines going into the well, but I don't seem to think so because when the pump is running there is full suction. I just don't under 1.) why the tank is not taking water and 2.) why the pump is losing pressure when turned off, and 3.) why the pump isn't turning off at all when the system is running.

On 2012-11-27 by Andrew

Dan:

Reference the turning off water and freezing pipes...I think my dads intent was to turn the main water line off to prevent freezing of all the PVC piping running through the cabin...the galvanized steel pipe from the well to the ground most likely are not exposed to the feezing temps....

anyway...i like your your list of suspects...all the information i am reading online points to those same things...thanks.

Reference the circles comment and your request for critiques....I think it was just me being impatient earlier...there is a lot of information on your site but you just have to take your time to read it all...this was helpful

On 2012-11-27 by (mod) -

Andrew:

I'm unclear how turning off water (without also draining water from pipes) stops pipes from freezing; if there is water in pipes that are exposed to freezing temperatures, they can still freeze.

Indeed, howver, if water is turned off and pipes do freeze, you are perhaps avoiding the flood that would occur when the frozen section (if it burst the piping) melts.

If your water pressure never increases above 10 psi, I suspect

- a piping leak between submersibel pump and the pressure tank and gauge

- a damaged pump

- low pump voltage

The pre-charge on an internal bladder type water tank has the job of smoothing the flow of delivery of water and keeping the pump from cycling on and off rapidly.

Sorry you found our list of advice on things to check running you in circules. We'd welcome specific critique or examples and I'd be glad to clarify or even edit our text as appropriate.

On 2012-11-26 by Andrew

We have a submersible pump that is approximately 80 feet below ground level.

Last year right before it got cold, we turned the main valve off to prevent the pipes from freezing (although we have since decided not to do this as we live in a relatively warm climate). When we turned the pump on and opened the main valve, we could hear the pump running but we had no water pressure.

The pressure will not increase above 10psi. The pump system also has a pre-charged water tank system that is sitting around 30 psi pre-charge.

Finally, in a laymans effort to fix this issue, we attempted to "prime" the pump by pouring water down, what appeared to be, a primer line (had a blue plastic cap on it).

During priming, we turned the pump off, when we turned it on, the pressure increased back to about 10psi but still no water...

is there an association/correlation between the psi on the pre-charge and the pump itself? My speculation right now is that while the motor is running on the pump, a drive shaft or broken veins is preventing it from actually pumping water...I have tried to follow the inspecapedia charts for trouble shooting but they seem to run in circles...if anyone can shed light on this problem, I would be much obliged.

On 2012-11-16 by Brenda

We have a shallow jet water pump ,we have an air bladder tank no water called for ,we have no idea where well is house was built in 1880 or 1910 we replaced the pressure switch because the pump will not turn off .even after new one it still won't turn off so we hit the breaker after about 10 to 15 minutes.

We do have water but it has burst of air in it , toilet as well we replaced a hot water heater and the water had either rust or orange sediment coming out of it ,the pump is about 4 years old . I live in nc. We have not had any rain in the last past few months . So is my we'll drying up please say no

On 2012-10-23 by Andy Water goes out after a couple of showers

Water goes out after a couple of showers.pressure is on 0 psi and tank is empty. 10 mins
later pressure is on 60 psi and works fine.

On 2012-09-01 by Anonymous

I have a well and lost all water pressure in the house. Replaced all the pipes and valve in the well and replace pump motor. I still don't get water in the house. Do you have any idea of what would be the cause of this.

On 2012-08-26 by barryy

I recently do no have pressure at the pump. What do i do first

On 2012-08-08 by Anonymous

we have a spring and the pump will not pressurize waht can we do

On 2012-07-29 by (mod) -

Found no pressure

After de-winterizing if you have no water pressure I suggest checking out the diagnostic procedures in the two articles titled

WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR

WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE

the live links are in the ARTICLE INDEX at the end of this page

Yes a frozen pipe outside the house could break causing the pump to send water back into the well or into the ground, but there are plenty of other possible problems starting with loss of power. Check those articles.

On 2012-07-28 by Found no pressure after de-winterizing

Thanks for your page posted information! I really learned a lot.

What could cause water system lost pressure after de-winterization of a house? Assuming the water was running before winterizing. Would it be possible that pipes frozen during the winter due to improper winterization to rule out cases of valve, clog, joint, etc issues?

What a standard type of material is for pipes in buildings after year 2000? - Frank

On 2012-03-16 by Brad

We ran the water from our well for about 90 minutes. The water ceased flowing. After 45 minutes, no water was still running. Any indications? Thank you.

On 2012-01-06 by (mod) -

Rachel, take a look at our summary table of causes of lost water pressure - see WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE (in the ARTICLE INDEX found at the end of this article).

On 2012-01-04 by Rachel

I have a deep well jet pump that has been siting for about 5 years. I have tried to prime it but it still doesn't build any pressure. We have takin the pipes all the way out and the foot valve was jammed so we cleaned it and there is still no pressure. What could cause this?

...

Continue reading at NO WATER PRESSURE - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see NO WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSTIC FAQs-5 - more-recently-posted questions and answers about total loss of water pressure

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WATER PRESSURE TABLE 1: PUMP WON'T RUN, WON'T STOP, or CYCLES
• WATER PRESSURE TABLE 2: PUMP RUNS, WEAK or NO WATER PRESSURE
• WATER PRESSURE TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER
• WATER PRESSURE REDUCER / REGULATOR
• WATER PRESSURE STOPS, RETURNS
• WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING
• WATER PUMP WON'T START
• WATER PUMP WON'T STOP RUNNING

Suggested citation for this web page

NO WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSTIC FAQs-4 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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