Q&A on troubleshooting well or water pumps that give weak or no water pressure or flow.

This WATER PRESSURE PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS TABLE series provides a table giving step by step checklist for diagnosing water pressure, water pump, and water well problems.

Diagnose Poor Water Pressure or Weak Flow Rates Delivered from a Water Pump & Well System

These questions and answers about weak or no water pressure that may be due to pump problems were posted originally at diagnostic TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER - be sure to check out the diagnosis given there.

On 2021-08- by (mod) - My pump is running but no water has being pumped

@James,

Watch out: Turn the water pump off immediately to avoid damaging it - as can happen if the pump runs "dry"

Then see rhe diagnosis at

TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER

https://inspectapedia.com/water/Water_Pressure_Table_3.php

On 2021-08-12 by James

Hi
My pump is running but no water has being pumped out of the outlet.I have stopped all leakages but only with the water not coming out...

On 2021-05-24 by (mod)

@ree

If your water pump is an above-ground jet pump you can hear the motor running when the pump is on. If your water pump is a submersible pump that is in the well you cannot of course hear the pump motor itself when it is running. However you may hear water running into or entering the water pressure tank in your building,

and you should see the pressure rising on the water pressure gauge that will be mounted on piping near the pressure tank or perhaps even on the pressure tank itself.

On 2021-05-24 05:21:25.484794 by (ree)

How do I check to see if the pump stops. Where do KI check the pressure?

Thanks for responding.

On 2021-05-23 by (mod)

@Ree,

It could be one of the causes listed above,
Sounds as if your well has no usable flow rate.

If you stop using water does thepump stop?

How quickly?
At what final pressure?

On 2021-05-23 by Ree

How long does it take to get a response?

Spigot T9 agh.

On 2021-05-23 by Ree

My outside Spicket will not produce enough water to fill a hose.

I’m taking a shower, after several minutes it trickles. If I turn the water off and turn it right back on it’ll be OK for at least several minutes. This goes on until the shower is done.

If I’m doing laundry I can’t use the Faucets in the other part of the house.

On 2021-03-20 by (mod)

@Gene,

I would check for a leak in well piping, maybe at a fitting that froze.

On 2021-03-20 by Gene

Let system recover then turned on water demand with gauge approx. 60psi the pressure went to 40psi in less than 1 minute and pump started. Pressure went to 50psi in 2 minutes but never went above 50psi in 7 minutes with water demand continuing.

Ran that several times today with several hours break with same results.

I hear what sounds like marbles (is that air).

When the pump is not running but irrigation is running I hear marbles sound, the loudest at a 90 degree turn in the PVC leading to the irrigation system. I’ve posted a picture with location.

When the pump is also running I hear the same sound, but not as pronounced, at the steel pipe where the pressure switch is located. When the pump shuts off the sound stops at location of pressure switch but continues at PVC location. There are no water leaks at those points. I see no air release at irrigation heads which I usually see when I open a line or replace heads.

I reduced demand by half and pump would cycle as it should, I believe. About 2 min on 2 min off. There is always the possibility to reduce sprinkler head size/gpm and run longer but that is only a temporary answer.

The flow rate, I just checked, while may not be useful, is similar to what it was when I checked it a few years ago. 40gpm and no changes in my irrigation zones for years.
In our area of Fl we had a very unusual freeze off and on for more than several days. Now lots of unusual watering happening.

Any suggestions.
Thank YOU!!

On 2021-03-20 by danjoefriedman (mod)

@Gene, super

Do let me know what you find

On 2021-03-20 by Gene

Wait I just found I hadn't checked table 3. I will update when I completed table 3.

On 2021-03-20 by Gene - Irrigation pump will not attain 60psi

Irrigation pump will not attain 60psi to automatically turn off while there is demand for water. Otherwise when there is little/no demand for water it turns on at 40psi and off at 60psi as it should.
After irrigation pump turns on automatically at 40psi, the pump will not attain shut off pressure, 60psi, while there is water demand (irrigation on). Pump continues running at 45-50psi. After 5 minutes I turn off water demand and pressure returns to 60 and shuts off.

Lawn irrigation, 140 ft deep well, Central Fl. Pump would not come on. Replaced gauge, and pressure switch set at 40-60. Pump runs and turns on / off at 40/60. When there is demand for water (a watering zone is on) the drop in pressure to 40 seems faster than usual but the pump comes on at 40psi. Pressure builds to 45-50 but will not increase to 60 and shut off until the demand is turned off. When demand, watering zone, is turned off then pressure returns to 60 and pump shuts off.

Bladder pressure ok at 38. No water comes out air valve. Tank is not top heavy when drained.
What next?
Thank YOU so much

On 2018-07-09 by Shelley

I have low outside pressure for my lawn and trees it starts out good then after about 15 minutes the pressure starts to go down. My pump is working getting pressure.

On 2018-06-17 by Darlene

My water pump is looking pressure

On 2018-01-22 by Karin

I had pipes freeze this year to well, approximately 60 ft from house towards well.

Called company and it was thawed out quickly. Now, sometimes when pump cuts in at just below 20 psi it has trouble regaining pressure and needle will jiggle between 17-20 psi, pump will run constantly at that pressure. If I turn off power to pump for a few seconds and then back on, the pump will build up pressure to normal 40 psi before reaching its cut off pressure.

What is the cause of intermittent re-pressurization at the 20 psi mark? I'm afraid pump will burn out if running constantly at 20 psi or less, especially if I am not home monitoring it.

On 2017-10-30 by David

We bought a home with a dug well that hasn't been used for 2 years. It looks like little water in the well now, but it had lots of water before. Any suggestions on what to do? Is it possible that the seams have sealed over? Would adding a load of water do anything to help restore water level? Thank you!

On 2017-10-21 by Don Pratt

I am note getting any water at all. Pressure reading is zero and the tank is not getting any water. No bloxkage is found and pump is running. Help me please.

On 2017-09-12 by sam

My pump goes to 4 bar but does not kick in again until under 1 bar. In other words I have either great pressure or a trickle depending of how long since the pump kicked in. I recently added water manually to the pump via funnel and bottled distilled water as I was pumping air at a certain time.

On 2017-05-09 by (mod) -

Assuming the pump is not defective, and you have looked through the list of possible explanations in the table above please see this companion article on low water pressure: TABLE 2: PUMP RUNS, WEAK or NO WATER PRESSURE at https://inspectapedia.com/water/Water_Pressure_Table_2.php

On 2017-05-09 by Elizabeth green

Just installed a new pump in my back yard but the water pressure is low what can we do ?

On 2017-05-06 by (mod) -

When a water pump is running and no water is being delivered it would be best to turn the pump off mediately. I worry that the pump may become damaged if is running dry..

At WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIr


For which a LifeLink is given above at the end of this article, you will see a list of causes and cures for the problem you described.

On 2017-05-04 by Ellen williams

Shallow well pump pump is working but no water

On 2017-03-25 by (mod) -

Sorry Renee I don't know what you mean by pressure foot.

On 2017-03-25 by renee

Show me how a pressure foot can be damaged

On 2016-11-05 by Jason

Our well went out and we lost water pressure. Our well is now repaired and we cannot get water pressure back. We have tried all of the air lock techniques we saw on the internet. We also ran water in through an outside spigot and everything worked while we had that flowing in.

Once we turned the water off from the outside, the water goes back to a trickle or nothing.

We even unhooked the main water line from the inlet and flushed backward. That worked fine as well. We did not see any obstructions around the filter.

Could you give us any other options to try in order for the pressure to come back? Thank you for your time.

On 2016-09-07 by (mod) -

Dave

Not all home water pumps are multi-stage. I usually see such pumps installed as booster pumps or where high water pressure is needed.

A conventional home well pump is normally capable of over 65 psi, though I don't recommend such high settings as when you start getting close to 70 psi you're asking for plumbing leaks, while still higher pressures are downright dangerous, risking blowing up a water tank or pipe and injuring anyone nearby.

Low water in the well (a poor well flow rate), leaks in well piping, low voltage, damaged pump impeller and similar problems could be the fault. I wouldn't keep changing the switch before getting a more accurate diagnosis of the root problem.

Search InspectApedia for WATER PUMP WONT STOP RUNNING for more diagnostic suggestions.

On 2016-09-07 by Dave Gudim

My country home has an 80 ft. well. In July we began having periodic low water pressure.

The well was new in '04. When this would happen, the gauge pressure would stay low and constant, but the pump was running. I could fix it by turning off the breaker and then back on.

Then the pump would come on and the gauge would build to 65 psi and the pump would shut off. I had it fixed in July (solenoid switch replaced, $238), but now I'm having the same problem.

Could it be the pump? I saw an article on the internet that said pumps have several stages, and when one goes out it might give these symptoms.

Or do I need another solenoid switch? I know the pressure gauge is fine and I have no leaks. When the pump shuts off the pressure holds until a faucet is opened.

On 2016-09-07 by Dave Gudim

My well pump sometimes doesn't supply enough pressure. When this happens I can tell the pump is running, but the pressure is not increasing. But it will operate correctly if I turn off the well circuit breaker, then turn it back on. Then the pump comes on and the pressure gauge builds to 60 psi and shuts off. Usually, the system works normally, but the above happens sporadically, lately, I think more often.

On 2016-06-19 by (mod) -

I can only guess from the tantalizing smidgen of information we have by e-text, Sharon, but the red/orange colour in the water combined with the observation that the pump keeps running but no water is being delivered hint that the well or water source has run dry.

Turn off the pump right away to reduce chances of ruining (by running it dry).
Wait a few hours or longer before turning the pump back on.

If water is restored, the suggestion is that the problem is lack of water or flow-rate into the well.

keep me posted; what you report will help others.

On 2016-06-19 by Sharon Yetman

HELP !!!
My water pump works for about 2 minutes and than magically shuts off. (the water) not the pump. I believe the pump keeps working, while no water coming through. Than 10 minutes later, I try again, and water works for about 1 minutes at first shotting out red/orange colour. What does this all mean and how do I fix it.

On 2016-05-08 by (mod) -

Brian, the Flint and Walling well pump model CPJ10 is a convertible jet pump that can be changed from 1-line to 2-line jet pump operation. But the installation instructions I saw didn't discuss external valves. Perhaps if you use our page top or bottom CONTACT link to send me some sharp photos I can help figure out what's happening.

Here is what the company says, -note that there is a HELP telephone number you might try.

Flint and Walling pump company makes convertible jet pumps that are used to pump water from a shallow well with a shallow well ejector, or from a deep well with a deep well 2 pipe ejector down in the well. Shallow well jet pumps are suction pumps that suck water from the water source down to approximately 25' deep, however in most parts of the country, the deepest you can suck water from is 20' to 21' deep. After 20' depth, your jet pump should have a deep well ejector package installed onto it, using 2 pipes going from the pump down to the ejector package in the well.

A deep well regulator is used to divert some water back down the well through the smaller 1" pipe, to lift water through the larger 1-1/4" pipe. The ejector package has a nozzle and a venturi installed. that is what jets the water to lift from deeper depths. Dean Bennett Supply helps do it yourselfers select the proper pump and equipment to pump water from a well for house or farm use. Call us at 800-621-4291 for help with selecting a new Flint and Walling jet pump for your well. We also have deep well packers that will lift water from a 2 inch well.

On 2016-05-05 by Brian

I have a Flint and Walling well pump model CPJ10. What does the control valve mounted to the pump body actually do? Could this part cause my pump not to prime? If you look at the parts list it would be item 13.

On 2015-07-24 by Anonymous

Thanks Dan. I am fairly confident in the accuracy of the pressure measurements. It is a new gauge on a new tank cross, but I had not considered the possibility of debris clogging.
I'll check tonight when I get home.

On 2015-07-24 by (mod) -

Michael it sounds to me as if the pressure gauge sensor port may be debris clogged. Try making an independent measurement of water pressure by attaching a new gauge to a hose bibb or laundry hookup.

Debris clogging can also foul up the response of a pressure control switch to actual changes in water presssure.

On 2015-07-23 by Michael Johnson

The symptoms I have do not quite match anything I've been able to find here.
Configuration:
Shallow well jet pump
30/50 pressure switch with a low pressure (10 #) safety shutoff
36 gallon tank charged to 28 #

Symptoms:
Pump starts normally (after manually overriding low pressure shutoff until it can be reset to automatic)
On reaching cutoff pressure, pump switches off as expected
Open faucet and pressure begins to drop - also as expected
Pressure gauge (on outlet side of pump) holds briefly at about 30# then immediately drops to zero.

Speculation:
Pressure drops too quickly for the pressure switch to be able to respond - by the time it "hears" that pressure has reached cut on pressure, the pressure has dropped below the low pressure threshold.

Question:
Could this be caused by sensing water pressure at the wrong location? Currently, the pressure switch measures pressure on the discharge side of the pump, but upstream of the check valve.

...

Continue reading at TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• TABLE 1: PUMP WON'T RUN, WON'T STOP, or CYCLES
• TABLE 2: PUMP RUNS, WEAK or NO WATER PRESSURE
• TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER
• WATER PUMP WON'T STOP RUNNING

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TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

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