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.

No Water Pressure: lost all water pressure, problems, solutions

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 2021-02-08 - by (mod) -

Travis:

In 8 days, if the problem was that your well was exhausted, it would have had time to recover.

So the problem is probably one of the others listed above on this page.

Start by asking if you are in a climate where piping may be frozen.

If not review our suggestions in the ARTICLE INDEX for HOW TO PRIME THE PUMP

On 2021-02-07 by Travis

So I ran out of water completely. I replaced my pressure switch my well pump and the psi gauge and pressure tank. My psi gauge reads 0. Been with out water for 8 days now.

On 2020-05-10 - by (mod) -

Ash

If pressure is weak only on cold and not hot then there is a clog or a valve partly closed or some similar blockage.

On 2020-05-10 by Ash

Hello,

The water pressure at my faucets is really low when opened on cold water. The pressure gauge indicate 50psi, and lowers when the faucets are open, but not below 35-40. So, as far as I can see everything seems to be in order. The house was inspected for a sell a couple months ago and no problem was noticed, but it has been empty since.

Thanks a lot,

Ash

On 2020-01-28 - by (mod) - don't let the pump run dry

Shannon:

1. Shut off the pump immediately.

If your pump is running "dry" it may be damaged and might lead to a need for replacement.

2. Now diagnosing the reason for no water pressure can proceed.

Our most-thorough and best organized diagnostic steps are at Continue reading at NO WATER PRESSURE - topic home,

inspectapedia.com/water/No_Water_Pressure.php

Depending on where you are and temperatures, the common causes of lost water are

- some fixture in the house was left running (a running toilet for example) that exhausted the well; the well may recover when you leave water and pump off for a few hours

- frozen water pipes

- lost prime in the pump - particularly if your system uses an above-ground 1-line or 2-line jet pump

3. While you're waiting for your plumber, if you've left water off for 2-3 hours you can try turning the pump back on. If you get water in a minute or two then you can have water while waiting for your onsite expert. If not, leave the pump off as I explained above.

Let us know what you find as that'll help other readers.

On 2020-01-28 by Shannon

Last night I noticed our kitchen sink pressure was low but I just assumed it was cause I was running the washing machine. This morning, my husband woke me up to say we have no water in the bathroom. While taking a shower, he lost all water. We went outside to check the breaker, it wasn't tripped.

So we went to the pump and the control box was making a humming sound like it's constantly running. The pressure gauge on the well showed 0 psi. I got a tire pressure gauge from my truck and checked the pressure from the top of the tank and there was no reading. What could it possibly be?

On 2019-03-28 - by (mod) -

Bryan it's possible that the bladder in the tank is stuck to itself so no water enters the tank. Sometimes we can fix that by briefly increasing the water pressure in the system - just take care not to exceed the burst pressure of the tank or it could in fact explode and injure you.

On 2019-03-28 by Bryan

I have water at pump but there no pressure at blatter tank .i take the prim bolt out on pump and there pressure there

Question: water pressure keeps declining

(July 7, 2015) Sherry said:
Hello, we have a well and for the last week the water pressure kept getting less and less, my fiance found that one of the outdoor faucets had a leak and replaced it, the next day we had water and then within an hour no water at all.

I am by myself my fiance is at work for long hours and there is no professional available for a couple of days, I need water or all of my plants are going to die. Please advise.

Reply:

Sherry if your running water has exhausted the well it may recover n 24 hours of little or no use. But if you ran the pump while dry it may be damaged and u able to deliver water.

Question: run out of water when watering plants

20 July 2015 Anonymous said:
water plants for 1 hour no water inside house turn water off and water comes back on why

Reply:

You are running your well out of water or a pump motor is overheating and shutting off on thermal reset (or something else I've not considered)

Question: how to get a longer pump on-cycle

5 Aug 2015 Josh ( Mountain Well Water) FIXED!! said:

Thanks for all the help guys!! The first pump was tested and had a mechanical malfunction. The second one had a bad injector. The power to the well house was always turned off unless a test was being ran. Furthermore I was rewarded with a full refund on first pump and the second pump I was rewarded with exchange.

After this I decided to do a shallow well attempt instead of deep well. I now have 1 pipe to the house (discharge tee placement) and a pipe from the pump( Injector On assembly) to well. After this I took off the additional pipes and have foot valve and cycle stop valve with control box installed,(3 way) 30\50 pressure switch, (on pump instead of hose line to switch) and the bladder tank at 28.5 psi.

After using the blue glue I made a final check of the 2 pipes and all connections and made my electric connections secure. I primed the pump and did a operation test. i did get to 10 psi on first attempt. After 82 gallons of priming water I can now say i FIXED IT and working GREAT :-) :-)!

Now I do have a question. Can I do a longer cycle? Example: 30 psi cut in/on and 55 psi cut out/off?? Now with all my issues fixed I would like to look out for "short cycling". I wanna say thank you to everyone for the help and a special thanks to DanJoeFriedMan for sticking in there with me! Hope to hear from you soon!

Reply: how to get a longer pump on-cycle

Nice going, Josh and thanks for the follow-up.

You can get a longer pump on-cycle by

- installing a larger pressure tank

- spreading the cut-in and cut out pressures as you describe. Just don't set the cut-out higher than the pump can achieve, and when setting the cut-in down lower check that your building water pressure remains adequate on the upper floors.

30/55 is within the range of most pumps. You could even go to 20/50 or 20/55 if pressure is adequate at the low end.

Installing low flow rate plumbing fixtures will also slow your water usage rate and give the pump and well a bit of a break.

(July 27, 2015) Joshua (Well Water) said:

So I Got the water running. The Discharge Tee on top of the pump had to turned down to set flow. Also Pressure switch had sediments in line. Now as i got the water back on i had some faucet issues in kitchen and bathroom. I took the kitchen hose off and cleaned out the head of the handheld.

As for the bathroom. The toilet had some trash in it so i bought a new Korky Quiet Fill to replace. for the shower/tub. I Have a old 70s set up it has a new retractable shower head and new tub faucet but the water cut on is a round stem u could say. So Now the hot works great but the cold doesn't it runs but slow.

Clogged line? Air lock? FOR THE GRAND FINALE! As I was trying to fix this issue the water stopped!! The pump wont cut on!

All Pressue is at 0 in home. Did the step by step check and will still not come on. Could a new pump go bad this quick? burnt up? Thanks for the help in the last post and thanks for all in this one who helps

(July 27, 2015) (mod) said:
Thanks for the update Joshua.

It's no surprise that faucet strainers or toilet fill valves and shower heads would have been clogged, and usually an easy clean-up fix.

When hot pressure is good but cold flow rate is poor we can but guess that there is a clog at a pipe elbow or valve. It's not air lock as water pressure would force air through the lines and out at the nearest plumbing fixture.

Subseqent loss of all water pressure suggests further debris clogging. If your water source is silty even a new pressure swtich could become clogged rather quickly.

(July 30, 2015) Josh ( Mountain Well Water) said:

First of all I wanna say thanks for all the help. I redid a complete well pump with piping, pressure switch, pressure gauge, discharge tee with pressure indicator (Water tube from pump to tee). Replaced my 1970s shower/tub valve with a new one and all new fixtures.

After installation I did a pressure check for all faults and to check gauges for correct psi levels cut on and off with the 38 psi tank pressure and a 40/60 cut off. This was correct and works great. This morning I woke up and it was again fine.

Then I put on a load of laundry and after water cycled I was makin a bath for my children. the water pressure was giving out! I quickly ran to see the gauge in the basement near bladder tank and it was falling to 0.

The pump was VERY HOT at the pump house and it was doing the same but didn't go to 0 but stayed up about 0 due to the water pump pressure. I have several cut off valves thru the house One at pump house on line to the house. next is the one at the bladder tank.

next is at tee that goes to basement bedroom and rest of house. for the next one is at the water heater. lastly I have two on the cold and hot right under the bathroom which I installed just yesterday for further access and easier cut off for that room.

So in a nutshell i have all room with water I can cut off. I checked all of these to make sure no leak, or block was the problem.

So my question now is how come by pump is getting hot?

the pump house itself is about the size of a good size shed (Sorry don't have exact measurements) and the old pump didn't never just get hot. Now I did remove the pipe foam when installing this new pump. So the pipes are exposed but I do belive thats only for winter??? So what do i do? more air flow?

aim fan on pump? My well house has good installation in the wall I have a battery powered LED light and radio mounted in wall so its not to shabby and as for the rest is just ground and the well. So whats my options? New pump due to overheating? For adequate air flow? or ? thanks again!

(July 30, 2015) (mod) said:

Watch out: SHUT OFF THE PUMP if you have not already done so, so as to avoid burning it up.

f the well has lost prime the pump can run dry, hot, and may be damaged, thence losing the ability to pump water. I'm assuming this is a 1-line or 2-line jet pump.

I can't quite guess if the problem is the well running out of water (poor flow rate) or a piping leak, bad foot valve, loss of prime. I'd start by checking the pump to see if the pump housing is full of water or empty.

I'd also check the voltage being delivered to the pump (low voltage can cause trouble for some motors)

The fact that you've had previous debris problems could indicate

- low water in the well, poor flow rate, or a damaged, leaky well casing

- clogs at controls and switches

(July 30, 2015) Anonymous said:

Thanks for all the help guys. Pump housing is full. Voltage is good. checked the new well seal and no leaks there or on pipe. discharge tee has what looks like leak but may be sweat from heat. its 90 where I am now and the building is probably about 100+.

the pump and water heater is turned off until i get i narrow it down more.

so with water in housing and voltage good where does that leave me? As before all the components from pump to well is new. Can i upload pics or videos? It might help.

(July 31, 2015) (mod) said:
Josh use the CONTACT link at page bottom to send us some photos. My email is there.

An electrician would at this point check the current draw of the pump for a clue about a motor problem causing high current causing overheating.

(Aug 3, 2015) Josh said:

To begin with I wanna say this becoming a nuisance!! The old pump burned up, now my new pump died!

I got a new 1/2 hp this time. After the install it gave 20 psi to the house. so I checked the all the lines again under the well seal. Making sure to replace a already new but 3 month old foot valve. Making sure all connections was correct and leak proof.

After this put it all back together and did a re test. Now it's below 20 and the pressure is jumping The pressure switch isnt jumping but almost like not enough to get to pressure switch.

After cutting it off u can hear the water going back and forth. So Im back to no to VERY little pressure/water help? I did a measure depth test also. My well is 40 Ft with 33 foot of water leaving 7 foot from seal to top of water.

(Aug 4, 2015) (mod) said:
Josh,

Certainly it's worse thatn a nuisance.

STOP just replacing pumps. It sounds as if there is either a control problem or the well is running out of water. You cannot allow a pump to keep running dry or it will be destroyed.

There are several approaches to protecting a pump from burn-up: a tailpiece in the well that recirculates water through the system for submersible pumps, or a pump protection switch that operates at the pump above ground.

A 33 foot static head in the well is about 150 gallons of water that can be pumped. After that quantity you are running on the flow-rate of water into the well. You may need to do a well flow test.

See

inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Pump_Protection_Switches.php

and see

inspectapedia.com/water/Well_Flow_Test.php

(Aug 5, 2015) Josh( Mountain Well Water) FIXED!! said:

Thanks for all the help guys!! The first pump was tested and had a mechanical malfunction.

The second one had a bad injector. The power to the well house was always turned off unless a test was being ran. Furthermore I was rewarded with a full refund on first pump and the second pump I was rewarded with exchange.

After this I decided to do a shallow well attempt instead of deep well. I now have 1 pipe to the house (discharge tee placement) and a pipe from the pump( Injector On assembly) to well. After this I took off the additional pipes and have foot valve and cycle stop valve with control box installed,(3 way) 30\50 pressure switch, (on pump instead of hose line to switch) and the bladder tank at 28.5 psi.

After using the blue glue I made a final check of the 2 pipes and all connections and made my electric connections secure. I primed the pump and did a operation test. i did get to 10 psi on first attempt. After 82 gallons of priming water I can now say i FIXED IT and working GREAT :-) :-)!

Now I do have a question. Can I do a longer cycle? Example: 30 psi cut in/on and 55 psi cut out/off?? Now with all my issues fixed I would like to look out for "short cycling". I wanna say thank you to everyone for the help and a special thanks to DanJoeFriedMan for sticking in there with me! Hope to hear from you soon!

(Aug 6, 2015) (mod) said:
Nice going, Josh and thanks for the follow-up.

You can get a longer pump on-cycle by

- installing a larger pressure tank

- spreading the cut-in and cut out pressures as you describe. Just don't set the cut-out higher than the pump can achieve, and when setting the cut-in down lower check that your building water pressure remains adequate on the upper floors.

30/55 is within the range of most pumps. You could even go to 20/50 or 20/55 if pressure is adequate at the low end.

Question: Private well has completely quit in the house and low water pressure outside

(May 6, 2015) Donna said:
My private well has completely quit in the house when I am filling water tanks outside for my livestock and the pressure is very low outside when filling the livestock tanks.

When I turn off the outside water and go back in the house and turn water on, it spits and is weak for a few seconds then goes back to where it always has been in the house. I used to be able to fill livestock tanks and have running water in the house so what has happened?

Reply:

Donna

It may be that the well flow rate has deteriorated. But there could also be a leak in well piping anywhere in the system or a damaged pump or even low voltage to the pump.

Start by determining that there is electrical power to the pump.

Question: no water unless I run two taps

(Sept 16, 2015) dave said:
Having problems with pressure pump. No water coming out of tap unless I turn on two taps at once. Once flowing it will turn pump on and off.

Reply:

Check for a pressure control switch that needs replacement - perhaps it's not turning on the pump.

Question: no water for our pets and I don't hear the pump

(Nov 3, 2015) Mary said:
This morning I went to give water to the pets and no water came out of the tap. I checked circuit breakers all was fine.

Went to the crawl space and found pressure gage near bladder tank read 10#. I don't know where to start looking for the problem. I do not hear pump.the pump is most likely age of the house which puts it at 24 yrs. the pump is submersible. Can you give me an idea of cost to replace and install new pump.

My location is central NJ. The bladder tank and switch were replaced about ten years ago. Could the gage be wrong, I ask as there is some rust forming, it's damp in the crawl space.

Reply:

You need some diagnosis before replacing anything: the problem could be lost power, an open switch, a broken wire, a bad pressure sensor, bad switch, bad pump, or loss of well water.

An on-site experienced well plumber can help sort that out, or you can look at common causes of the problem you describe by searching InspectApedia.com (search box at page top or bottom) for LOST WATER PRESSURE or NO WATER PRESSURE and you'll see an organized list of things to check.

Question: new pressure switch but no water pressure

(Nov 18, 2015) Alvin said:
if the tank pressure was checked and found to be less than 2psi. If the pressure control switch and pressure gage is changed and power is re-established but nothing happens could that be because the tank has to have higher pressure to activate the contacts on the pressure switch?

Reply:

If the water system pressure is below the cut-in pressure set at the switch then the switch should turn on the pump. But your pump may have lost prime. See WATER PUMP PRIMING PROCEDURE

Question: no water pressure after changing the water heater elements

(Jan 31, 2016) Anonymous said:
had to change hot water elements, turned water back on and filled up hot water tank, now neither cold of hot water have pressure, when turned on faucets at first alot of air came out and like i said no pressure

Reply:

Check for a pump that has lost prime or is not turning on at the switch.

Question: Mitzie has no water

(Aug 22, 2015) No water said:
Hello! I need help! We had a storm 3 days ago where we lost power. Our water was working fine but we didn't use much because we were at work all day long. But yesturday I went to fill a kiddy pool and do dishes and noticed I was losing water pressure.

Now I have no water at all plus my gauge says zero pressure. I first went to the breaker box and it was fine. I did flip the breaker just to reset it but still nothing. I do have a well and everything should be around 10 years old. Can you please help me? I am hoping it is something we can fix and it's not the well. Can it be the pressure tank or the pressure switch?? Thanks in advance! Mitzie

Reply:

No water after a storm often means that a lightning strike hit a well or power line or that an other electrical disturbance damaged a pump switch or controller. Rarely a lighing strike hits a well casing and causes it to split leading to loss of water (pump runs but no water is delivered in that case)

But a common problem that is easy to fix is loss of prime.

A bad foot valve in the well or check valve in the piping system leaks water back into the well. When you have power the pump cycles on and re-primes the system periodically even though this leak has been ongoing. But during a power loss the re-priming never occurs and you totally lose prime.

Search InspectAPedia.com for "HOW TO PRIME THE WELL" to try fixing this problem using one of several pump priming methods.

(Aug 22, 2015) Anonymous said:
Thanks for responding. Do you have to prime a well if the pump is submerged?

Reply:

No. In that case most common is damge to electrical parts though there cn also be a problem can be leaks in well piping or damage to a well casing caused by a lightning strikes.

Question: water pressure drops below 10 psi

(Sept 12, 2015) Lauren said:
I have been having well issues for about 5 days.

The trouble is that increasingly over the past 5 days, water pressure has been going lower than 10 psi, no water comes into the house at that point. THis is happening in the daytime starting about 7 am and continuing through about 530 to 8 pm.

The well tank is also empty at that point. We had a switch installed that will now shut down the pump at 30 psi. Today I shut off the water to the house for about 9 hours because of this problem,I noticed pressure at around 20 psi.

NO water came into the tank all day! We thought the well must be dry. Suddenly at 830 pm it started rapidly filling the tank and pump came on, by 9 pm tank was full and we had 60 psi. Now we have had nice water flow and pressure for about 4 hours.

We even did laundry and took shower etc. My question is, what could cause this? What should we do about it? Thank you!

I also meant to say, this is a continuing pattern over the last 5 days that got increasingly worse each day. I am just so perplexed because if the well were dry how could it possibly fill from NOTHING to full and 60 PSI in 1/2 hour after being empty and no pressure all day?

Also we notice that the tank when full but shut off to house, will continue to lose tank pressure How can this be if water to house is shut off? Does this mean there is a leak somewhere or ? THanks

Reply:

Lauren:

If the pump switch is not turning on the well pump then the problem is probably the switch itself, or the tube or pipe that conducts water pressure to the switch: one of those may be debris clogged.

Indeed it sounds as if the switch is clogged or sticking.

Question:

(Oct 4, 2015) satomi said:
Hi, We changed the water sensor and it seemed to work fine for a week but now it still shuts off when the water pressure is reduced. what could be another problem that is causing this to happen.

(Nov 3, 2015) Nind said:
To replace a hot water boiler, I shut off the water main empty all the water from the pipes and replace the water boiler now I have no water pressure in the entire house after replacing the boiler what could it posably be?

Reply:

Just a guess, but if you lose water pressure after turning water off in a building, and if you are on a private well system, then I suspect your pump may have lost prime due to a bad foot valve or check valve.

Question: no water in some building areas

(Feb 15, 2016) Richard M. said:
I have no cold running water but the rest of my building does.

Reply:

Sounds like a valve closed or a pipe clogged.

Question: trouble filling a large walk-in bath tub

(Mar 16, 2016) Sealevel said:
I just installed a walk-in tub. Turned faucet on. Our deep well water pump runs for awhile, and then shuts off. Pressure dial reads 0.

I push the pressure switch closed a few times and eventually it starts up and runs normally, 30 to 50 PSI.
The tub has a very large fill rate. Is my pump just too small?

Reply:

I don't know, sea level, but I suspect that's your tub fill rate exceeds the flow rate of your well. That's not a pump problem, it's a well and water flow rate problem.

Question: pump kept losing prime, now pump won't run

(Mar 17, 2016) Jason said:
The well pump was running constantly because it lost prime due to a power outage (I guess). Someone unplugged the pump to shut it off. Now we have plugged it back in, primed it, and pump wont come on at all. Tried shutting off and on breaker. still nothing.

Reply:

Jason

Please search InspectApdeia.com for WELL PUMP WON'T STOP RUNNING and also for WELL PUMP WON'T RUN to read detailed diagnosis and repair suggestions.

I suspect a burned-up pump motor or control relay.

Question:

(Mar 28, 2016) Anonymous said:
Pump runs but no water pressure...What is the problem?

Reply:

Perhaps a damaged impeller or burst, badly-leakng well piping.

Question: How to start well pump again after it stops

2016/07/12 Anonymous said:
How to start well pump again after it stops.

Reply:

Anonymous: if your well pump has stopped and won't run on its own there are two articles here that will help you out; please take a look at the following and let me know if questions remain - these articles were located by searching InspectApedia for "PUMP WON'T RUN"

DIAGNOSTIC TABLE for WATER PUMPS at inspectapedia.com/water/Water_Pump_Table.php

and

WATER PUMP WON'T START FAQs at inspectapedia.com/water/Well_Pump_Wont_Run_FAQs.php#FAQ

Chances are there is a pump protection switch that needs to be manually reset, perhaps at the pressure control switch.

Or a thermal overload switch built into the pump is shutting it off - and will re-set itself after the pump cools down.

Question: cleaned well switch points with sandpaper but still no water

2016/07/14 Melissa said:
My well has pressure gauge 40 psi and points are not in gauged. I have cleaned the points with sandpaper. But still no water in the house. What could be my issue?

Reply:

Melissa, if the pump control switch is closing and turning on the pump then the switch isn't the problem. However, sandpapering the pump pressure control switch relay contacts isn't a durable repair.

Question: every time we turn on the water hose outside we lose water in the house

2016/07/15 Michelle said:
Our well is 14 years old and we have always had great water pressure but this summer (past 2 maths or so) every time we turn on the water hose outside we lose water in the house. Any idea So?

Reply:

I suspect either reduced pump output - e.g. a damaged impeller or a leak in well piping - or less likely unless this has been a longer-standing issue, clogged piping. A leak in well piping can also produce this problem as can low voltage at the pump.

...

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-2 - 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

Suggested citation for this web page

NO WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSTIC FAQs 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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