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Water pressure control adjustment nuts © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com Water Pump Pressure Control Switch Safety Warning
Manufacturer's warnings when adjusting the pump pressure switch

Water pump control switch safety:

This article describes how to adjust building water pressure by setting the water pump cut-in and cut-out pressure on the well water pump pressure control switch.

We also point to our article on how to adjust building municipal or community water pressure at a building.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

Pump Pressure Control Switch Safety Warnings & Procedures

Photograph of a water pressure tank control valve

Water Tank rupture safety hazards: can damage equipment or injure someone nearby. Every tank which is pressurized (such as by water or air) should have a pressure relief valve installed - a safety device required by building codes in many jurisdictions.

If a pressure relief valve is not installed on your water tank ask your plumber to provide one promptly.

Watch out: Fatal Electrical Shock Hazard if you remove the cover of the pump pressure control switch (discussed above at WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS) you can get access to the two nuts that adjust the operating pressures of the water pump.

But be careful! There are also live electrical contacts exposed in this area. If you touch them, especially being near water piping, there is a serious risk of death by electrocution. Watch what you touch, or have a professional plumber or electrician do this job for you.

While you're on the topic of water pumps, tanks, and controls, here are some safety tips about water pressure tank relief valves and electrical safety around this equipment. Be sure to see our full article on water pump and water tank safety, located at WATER PUMP SAFETY .

Pump Pressure Control Switch Safety Warnings from the Manufacturer

Square D also has these safety warnings printed on a label attached to new switches. We have expanded the text a bit for clarity:

Watch out: But we add that this kind of pressure could certainly explode some water tanks so be sure not to set the pump to a pressure that is higher than what your water tank or piping are intended to withstand.We know of a fatality that happened from just that problem. Absent any other guidance I would not set the water pressure in a building over 70 psi.

And we would be sure that a PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE [web article] has been installed on the water tank.

Watch out: more subtle than the dangers than the overpressure dangers we describe above, if you increase the pump-out rate on a water well that has a marginal flow rate (the rate that water flows into the well), you may pump the well dry, losing pump prime, losing all water pressure, or in the case of running the pump "dry", damaging the pump.

For these reasons it's best to not over-do the cut-out pressure. From a cut out of 40 to even an experimental cut out of 50 psi is ok if you monitor for signs of trouble. But setting the cut-out from 40 psi all the way up to 70 psi is asking for trouble.

More Water Pump Pressure Switch Safety Warnings

The following safety warnings emerged from responding to reader questions about adjusting the water pump pressure control switch:

Watch out: don't run the water pressure control with too narrow a differential between the cut-in and cut-out or the pump may just sit there short-cycling until you burn up the motor. If your pump is staying on for less than 30 seconds (I prefer longer), you may be heading for trouble.

Watch out: setting the cut-out water pressure too high can cause the pump to never turn off or at high pressures you may find leaks at fixtures. And high water pressure that exceeds the rated water tank pressure can burst the tank - a very dangerous event. Also make sure your pressure tank has a relief valve installed.

Watch out: do not try setting up the pressure on the pump pressure control switch in this case. Since your pump is tripping the circuit breaker there is a problem to find and fix first: such as a failing pump motor, wiring error, or other unsafe condition.

The pressure control switch sets the water pressure at which your pump turns on and off. Typically these switches are set to turn on at 20 and off at 40 psi or on at 30 and off at 50 psi.

If your neighbor set the pump cut-out pressure too high, your water pump may simply be unable to ever reach the "Cut off" pressure - so the pump will run until it overheats and shuts off by an internal thermal overload switch. Usually these switches reset automatically when the pump cools down.

But running the pump this way is

- DANGEROUS - too much pressure could burst a water pressure tank or other plumbing parts, even injuring someone

- and it can ruin your well pump by burning out the motor

You need help from someone with a bit more expertise, perhaps a real plumber who knows how to adjust the pump pressure control correctly.

Watch out: messing with a pump pressure control switch exposes live electrical connections - you can be killed if you touch live wires. Another catastrophe to avoid is setting the pressure too high, causing leaks or worse, a burst water tank that could injure anyone nearby.

Watch out: If the clicking pressure switch is switching the pump on and off very rapidly, say every second, TURN THE PUMP CIRCUIT OFF immediately to avoid damaging the equipment. Then check for a clogged water filter, a water valve that should be open is closed, or a waterlogged preside tank

Watch out: I wouldn't keep pressing on the relay. There's live 120V or 240V in that switch - touching exposed wires or connectors is asking for a potentially fatal shock. Keep me posted, what we learn will help other readers.

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: My water pump makes horrible noise when pressure drops - what's wrong?

My pump pressure starts at 55 psi. I turn my irrigation on and the pressure starts to drop till about 30 psi. Then the well pump kicks in and the pressure starts to go up and a few minutes later it starts to go down until 10 psi. The pump is still running. When the pump kicks in, it sounds nice and smooth and when the pressure start to drop to 10 psi, it sounds pretty bad. But when I turn the irrigation off the pump sound goes from bad to good until pressure start to build up. Is the pump cavitating or one of my valve is going bad? - Phil.

Reply:

The horrible noise you describe is often caused by air cavitation in a water pump that has either lost its prime or is attempting to pull water from a well whose water supply has been exhausted.

At WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR and

at WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE we include a diagnosis of how to figure out what's the root cause of bad water pressure.

Question: my water pressure is too low, pump gets hot, trips breaker. Can I increase the pressure setting?

I have very low water pressure, so a neighbor turned it up for me. I couldn't even get Dawn to suds up in my sink! But now the pump runs until it gets hot & throws the breaker switch. Sometimes it keeps clicking on & off.
What can I do to get good pressure, but not burn the pump up? I don't quite get this cut-in & cut-out thing. - Gwen 5/7/11

Reply:

Gwen,

Watch out: do not try setting up the pressure on the pump pressure control switch in this case. Since your pump is tripping the circuit breaker there is a problem to find and fix first: such as a failing pump motor, wiring error, or other unsafe condition.

The pressure control switch sets the water pressure at which your pump turns on and off. Typically these switches are set to turn on at 20 and off at 40 psi or on at 30 and off at 50 psi.

If your neighbor set the pump cut-out pressure too high, your water pump may simply be unable to ever reach the "Cut off" pressure - so the pump will run until it overheats and shuts off by an internal thermal overload switch. Usually these switches reset automatically when the pump cools down.

But running the pump this way is

- DANGEROUS - too much pressure could burst a water pressure tank or other plumbing parts, even injuring someone

- and it can ruin your well pump by burning out the motor

You need help from someone with a bit more expertise, perhaps a real plumber who knows how to adjust the pump pressure control correctly.

Question: My pressure control switch melted

my pump runs 30 to 55 psi and when irragation kicks on drops and to 30 then runs up to 40 and pump runs continious and I had to replace pressure switch old one melted - Joe Faino 5/19/11

Reply:

Joe Faino: regarding "I had to replace pressure switch old one melted" - it sounds as if when your irrigation system is running the pump runs continuously because you are drawing out water at a rate that keeps the pump running all the time that the irrigation system is running.

But it's common for a pump to run continuously under those conditions. If the pressure control switch melted, most likely there is a different problem, perhaps burned contacts or a voltage or even an installation or wiring issue.

If your well pump is a submersible unit (it is in the well) and a higher amperage motor is used, it could be that the current draw exceeds the rating of the pump pressure control switch. This is a common problem where higher horsepower well pumps are used.

If that is the case, your plumber or well installer might want to change the wiring and controls for your well pump to use the pressure control switch to in turn switch a separate, high-capacity well pump relay switch that in turn sends power to the pump. The pressure control switch turns on the pump relay switch and the pump relay switch turns on and off the pump itself.

More about the separate well pump relay switch are found in the article whose link you will see at the ARTICLE INDEX the bottom of this article , titled WATER PUMP RELAY SWITCH

 


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Continue reading at WATER TANK PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE - what are water tank pressure relief valves, where are they installed, why are they needed? or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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