More water or well pump pressure control switch FAQs:

Second set of questions and answers on how to adjust the pressure control switch for a water or well pump.

This article series answers commonly-asked questions about  how to adjust a well pump or water pump pressure control switch. We provide pump pressure setting advice, procedures & questions & answers about adjusting the pump switch.

FAQs on how to set the water pump pressure switch cut-in and cut-out pressures

Watch out: SAFETY WARNING OF FATAL SHOCK HAZARD: if you remove the cover of the pump pressure control switch you can get access to the two nuts that adjust the operating pressures of the water pump.

But watch out! 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.

The individual well pump control switch repair article links below explain exactly how to set the water pump pressure switch, where the adjustments are located (the large and small nut found under the switch cover), which way to turn the nuts to increase or decrease the pump cut-in and cut-out pressures, and other pressure switch troubleshooting and repair procedures

[Click to enlarge any image]

These questions were posted originally at WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS - be sure to see that article if you need to adjust the settings on your pressure control switch for your water pump or well pump.

Common Pump Control Switch Problems & Solutions

The individual well pump control switch repair article links below explain exactly how to set the water pump pressure switch, where the adjustments are located (the large and small nut found under the switch cover), which way to turn the nuts to increase or decrease the pump cut-in and cut-out pressures, and other pressure switch troubleshooting and repair procedures

• IRRIGATION PUMP PROBLEMS
• LOW WATER PRESSURE
• PRESSURE EXCEEDS SWITCH SETTING
• PRESSURE SWITCH DIFFERENTIAL NUT ADJUSTMENT
• WATER PRESSURE TOO HIGH
• WEAK WATER PRESSURE

Question: pressure goes up higher than pressure control switch setting

After turning off the power to my well pump and pressure switch and bleed the water pressure down to 25 psi;

I returned about 10 minutes later and the pressure had gone back to 80 PSI. This is a 30/50 psi switch. Why would the pressure go back without the power to the pump and switch being on? Thanks - Steve Holloway 8/19/11

Reply:

It's embarrassing to keep guessing at the same cause for so many problems, but if the pressure gauge is accurate and working properly I suspect the pressure switch is not getting a good indication of system water pressure - check for debris clogging.

Watch out: a water pump that exceeds the pressure control switch setting can be very dangerous.

If pressures in the system exceed the pressure tank's operating pressure range the tank can burst, injuring anyone nearby. Excessive water pressure can also cause other building leaks or burst pipes, floods, and ultimately costly water or mold damage in a building.

I would shut off the system, drain pressure to a safe level, and call a professional.

Question: pump used for lawn irrigation shuts down after a minute but I can force it to run.

I use my pump for irrigation for my lawn. Lately, The pump engages and provides enough pressure for the sprinkler heads to start.

After about 1 minute, the pressure switch cuts out and turns the pump off. If I go to the switch and hold up the lever on the left side, the pump engages again and holds pressure 30-40 psi for the remainder of the cycle. Bad switch? Any help is appreciated, thanks. - Dean G 8/20/11

Additionally, no adjustments have been made since the system was installed 4 years ago. It has been working fine until recently.

Reply:

Check for an overheating water pump and check for a clogged pressure sensor

Question: irrigation system pump short cycling on and off

(Jan 24, 2014)Ron said:

Hi. After reading through all the info here, I am reasonably sure I could make whatever adjustment is necessary, assuming it is only an adjustment. I am just not sure of which adjustment to make. I do not know the size of my tank but it is 41" tall and 49" diameter.

The well runs only my irrigation system and a couple outside spigots. It is short cycling, assuming the guage is correct, in cuts in at 65 and out at 85. It does this as soon as I turn on a spigot or the sprinklers come on and keeps doing it every 3-5 seconds.

What I have done so far is: Check the cut in and cut out as mentioned above, made sure tank is not waterlogged(water level sounds as if it is about 1/3 or so up tank), checked the pressure in tank via valve on top at 37.5.

When I checked the pressure in tank, I did not drain anything, just simply checked with tire guage when pump was idle and water not running. Any advice what to do next would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Reply:

Hi Ron.

Take a look at the detailed instructions at

PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH STANDARD (PSI) SETTINGS

Basically you want the pressure tank (internal bladder type) pre-charge to be just a few psi below the cut-in pressure.

A pump that uses a cut-in and out of 68/85 psi is higher than we normally see in a residential application - one would worry about faucet drips and toilet leaks. Factory pressure settings are typically 20/40 or 30/50 psi. But for an irrigation system of unknown specs the pressures you cite may be fine.

The fact that your pump comes on immediately when you open a faucet and that it is short cycling - that is turning on and off rapidly means that the pressure tank is not doing its job. I'm guessing that if the tank is really not waterlogged then water entry into the tank may be blocked (e.g. by a collapsed tank bladder).

I suppose it's also possible that there is large diameter water piping and an under-sized pressure tank.

Short cycling is a different problem.

see WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING : How to Diagnose "Water Pump Short Cycling" & Restore Air in a Building Water Tank" to read how to troubleshoot and fix that problem.

(Jan 24, 2014) rd36mnm said:

Thanks. What if I bump up the tank pressure to 60? Is that too much for the tank?

Reply:

Normally not. Check the specs on your tank, and be sure you have the required pressure relief valve installed too. A burst water tank can injure or even kill someone.

Pressure Control Switch Cut-in Adjustment

Comment: clarifying the differential nut adjustment range

7 March 2015 Andy said:
Near the top of this article, it says: 'Watch out! If you loosen this nut too much you can set the cut-off pressure below the cut-on pressure and the pump will turn on and run forever (or until it burns up.)'

This doesn't make sense. If you back the differential nut off 'too much', all that means is that the differential will be at its minimum which might cause short cycling. shortcycling is of course damaging too, but the pump can't fail to shut off if the main spring is set anywhere near the standard and all other things are normal. What am I not getting here?

Reply:

Thank you Andy, you're right and we're deleting the confusing text. We appreciate your careful eye and can use all the editing help we can get.

After adjusting nut #2, the smaller nut that in most of these controls adjusts the differential between cut-in and cut-out we kept this warning

Watch out: After adjusting nut#2 you may need to check the actual operating water pressures in your system and adjust nut#1 to be sure that you are not pushing the cut-out (upper pressure) so high that the water pump never turns off (dangerous).

As your comment points out, an additional caveat could be added: don't set the differential between cut-in and cut-out too close or the pump will short-cycle.

A different error would be to set the Nut #1, the larger adjustment, cut-out pressure too high. That's a common mistake that some folks make in trying to get the highest water pressure possible in their building. The result could indeed be a pump that never shuts off and that burns up.

 

Pressure Control Switch Differential Adjustment

Question: where is the differential adjustment nut

I do see the cut in big spring and nut, but i couldnt find the differential cut off nut, is this indicating that my pump is a very old one? - Old Pump 5/9/12

Reply:

Old Pump: sounds more as if you are describing a different type of pressure control switch that does not give all of the adjustments we describe - the switch may or may not be the same age as the pump itself.

Improper differential nut on pressure switch can cause short cycling of the water pump

In adjusting the pressure control switch differential nut#2, if you completely loosened the smaller nut #2 (differential adjustment) so that the pump differential between cut-in pressure and cut-out pressure is very small the water pump may short cycle on and off rapidly when water is being run in the building.

Re-adjust the pressure control switch.

SeeWATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS

Improper differential nut setting on pressure control switch might also cause water pump to fail to shut off

Question: pump runs forever if the cut-out pressure is raised above 38 & differential set too low

I have a Goulds 1/2 hp J5 deep well pump with a 20 gal pressure tank. I am operating with a differential of 14 psi (20/34 cut-in/out).

Due to well limitations, the maximum pressure generated by the pump is 38 psi (pump runs forever if the cut-out pressure is raised above 38).

At this setting, the small nut is completely loosened.

I would like to operate at 24/34, but if I increase the cut-in pressure to 24 (large nut), then the cut-out pressure is also increased, and the pump runs forever (small nut still completely loose).

It seems that I am limited by the Goulds pressure control switch (which is attached to the pump and monitors the pressure by a plastic tube from the pump housing).

Any solution to this? It is a fairly new pump, so simply replacing the Goulds pressure conrol switch does not guarantee a solution, since the specs of the Goulds switch apparently do not allow one to operate with a cut-in/out differential of 10 psi. - Antony 9/14/12

Reply:

Anthony

You're right that the "range nut" (see article above) shifts the whole water pressure cut-in/cut-out range up or down, while the "differential nut" widens or narrows the cut-in to cut-out pressure gap.

I SPECULATE that Goulds and other water pump pressure control manufacturers don't allow the range width to be less than 10 psi because you'd find that when running water in the building the pump would be cycling on and off too rapidly.

You'd be better off to set the range so that the cut-in is at 20 psi, and then you can set the cut-out up to 34 psi

Low Water Pressure vs Pressure Control Switch Problems

On 2017-03-18 16:25:34.800026 by (mod) - clean faucet strainers, shower heads, washer hose screens if water pressure and flow are poor

Smart tip, Queenie.

Good tip for other readers: check those clogged faucet strainers and shower heads first. Another clog point is a small strainer found in the hose connector or at the hose connector fitting on both hot and cold water at washing machines.

Indeed anything that disturbs the well or plumbing system can send a shot of fresh debris that can clog faucets and strainers.

Once you've experienced the embarrassment of calling a plumber who just unscrews the faucet strainer and shakes out the dirt to show great water flow rate after that step, you won't forget it. At least that's my case.

On 2017-03-18 16:19:47.430151 by Missqueenie71

We recently had a slight freeze which caused a lack of water from the well. After the thaw out water pressure was horrible.

I found removing any faucet or incoming water lines to check for sediment build up. This (fortunately) solved almost all of our issues? Hope this is useful?

Question: low water pressure after replacing a pressure control switch

Replaced the pressure control switch on a 30/50 unit as well as pressure gauge. Water pressure has been very low since. Turns on at 30 and shuts off at 50 so its working. Had no water pressure problem before replacing. Replaced once we found a leak that tied back to the pressure switch. Do I need to adjust pressure on/off or is it the pump? - Eric Det 10/9/12

Reply:

Eric, if the pump turns on at 30 and off at 50 psi, then your pump, control, and waterpressure are normal. I suspect that we're mixing up water pressure - something you measure with a guage when no water is running - and water flow rate - how fast and hard does water come out of the tap.

Bad water flow rate (that people may indeed loosely call call "water pressure") can be caused by lots of different problems ranging from a poor well flow rate or clogged building piping to simply clogged strainers and shower heads.

Take a look at WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS for WELLS for a procedure that should get to the bottom of this problem.

Question: Low water pressure in just some areas

(Aug 16, 2014) Greg said:

I hope this hasn't been answered already... I looked and couldn't find the answer...

The pressure in the kitchen is good (usually), but in the two bathrooms it is very low. I want it to be higher. Currently it seems the pressure cuts out around 60. Can I just increase it to 70 to help this problem, realizing it won't fix the problem entirely, or will that risk possibly doing some kind of damage to something else?

Thank you for any help!

Reply:

Greg

When pressure is good in some locations and bad at others, the best approach is to find and remove the blockage in the supply piping. Pushing the pressure to 70 psi may reduce the complaint, it won't address the cause, and it slightly increases the risk of fixture leaks.

(Aug 17, 2014) Anonymous said:

Thank you for the reply/help! I'll try to figure out the blockage, although not sure I'm going to be successful there.

Question on Finding Pressure Switch Sources & Parts

(May 21, 2014) Lyndsee said:

Where can I find a contact switch thats attached to the side of a goulds pump?

Reply:

Lyndsee,

at WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL we discuss identifying the brand and model of pressure control switch for your pump. They are available from plumbing suppliers.

Question: water pressure switch goes crazy clicking

(Nov 2, 2015) Tina said:
We had someone install and new pressure switch on the water holding tank thought it was bad turns out that was not the problem. We ended up needing a new pump in the well and now have great water pressure. Water in this area is not a problem there is plenty of it. Our issue now is everytime you run water, flush a toilet etc the holding tank/pressure switch keeps clicking and the pressure gauge goes crazy and this keeps happening until the water is not in use anymore. Does the switch just need adjusting?

Reply:

Sounds like a debris-clogged pressure sensor or a bad switch.

Question: Adjusting pressure cut off switch?

(Mar 17, 2016) Anonymous said:
Adjusting pressure cut off switch?

Reply:

SeeWATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS

Question:

(May 5, 2016) mike said:
my cut on pressure has dropped to 23psi and needs to be around 30psi, what can i do do get the cut on pressure back to where it needs to be?

Reply:

If someone changed the pressure switch settings, see WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS

Mike,

If you didn't change the switch it may be clogged and need replacement.

Question: reader recommends water tank pre-charge pressure

(May 21, 2016) Rick said:
Before charging tank with air, drain water from tank. Most charge to 28-30 psi

29 May 2016 Anon said

What pressure to set the control?

Reply:

Thanks Rick. The best water tank air pre-charge pressure is 2 psi below the pressure control switch CUT-IN pressure.

See firstPUMP PRESSURE SWITCH STANDARD (PSI) SETTINGS

Then see WATER TANK AIR HOW MUCH TO ADD

Anon: in the ARTICLE INDEX link given at the end of this article you'll find more detailed articles about how to set the water pump control switch.

Question: My pump keeps recycling and the water keeps stoping.

2016/05/30 Anonymous said:
My pump keeps recycling and the water keeps stoping. I have 60# of pressure in air tank

Reply:

Anon:

set the air pre-charge to 2 psi below the pressure switch cut-in pressure. 60 psi of air is probably waaay too much.

Water Pressure Too High: unsafe pressure switch or control settings

On 2017-02-14 by (mod) - Slater Pumps in Melbourne Australia agrees on safety needs

Yilliang Peng said:

Thanks for the comments about safety at WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS

This really could have turned out ugly if it were not for those safety comments. Honestly, safety is my number one priority and if I have to call a professional in because it is too dangerous for me, that is okay.

Thanks for all the advice -- much appreciated!
- posted by Slater Pumps in Melbourne Australia

On 2016-10-10 by (mod) - warning about excessive well or water pump pressures & mis-placed control valves

David,

Watch out: if some fool installs a shutoff valve between the pump outlet and the mounting point of the pressure control switch, closing that valve can cause the pump to continue to run until it is damaged, destsroyed, or worse, until high presusre blows a water line or water tank. A plumber in New Paltz, NY was killed by just this problem many years ago.

Residential pump controls include a pump CUT OUT setting that turns off the pump at a specified pressure measured typically at the water tank. In a proper installation the tank or water piping near the tank also include a pressure relief valve designed to open at a pressure below the tank's rated or burst pressure limit.

Head pressure inside the pump is not protected in a residential water pump.

If the outlet of a water pump is closed off there can be no trouble or big trouble: it depends on where the pressure switch pressure conducting tube is connected (to the pump housing vs. on water piping or at the pressure tank or at a tank tee) and where the shutoff valve is located.

The type of pump matters too: submersible in the well vs. above ground jet pump.

A submersible pump that is turned "on" and is isoltated from its pressure control switch and whose output is blocked by a control valve will probably blow a pipe, or more dangerous, it could blow the pressure tank. I know of a fatality involving just such a situation. Plumber working on pressure tank, pump in well is left on, valve is closed, tank bursts, plumber is killed by shrapnel.

On 2016-10-10 17:25:18.005212 by David

AUTHOR:Davidb (no email)
COMMENT: Do well pumps have safeguards for excessive head pressure?

If someone turns off the water supply line which feeds the supply tank, does the pump cut off or got into a bypass mode?

Weak Water Pressure vs Pump Control Switch

On 2017-02-14 by (mod) - Water pressure takes too long to build-up or pump can't hold pressure

Steve and Lorraine, & Jody Look for:

1. Low pump voltage
2. Damaged pump motor or impeller assembly
3. Leaks in well piping
4. Low water in the well combined with a well tailpiece or other pump protection device

See TABLE 3: PUMP RUNS, NO WATER or INSUFFICIENT WATER

See WELL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS

On 2017-01-25 by Steve

My jet pump builds pressure it just takes a long time to build it up. what might cause this?

On 2016-12-19 by Lorraine

Pump runs but will not hold pressure..what can I do.

On 2016-11-11 by Jody Davis (jody.davis57@gmail.com)

I have a quick question... hopefully.

Last night I lost water pressure. Everything was fine while showering then it slowly lost pressure until it was basically just not coming out at all. However, if you go and reset the pump at the breaker box... you get the pressure back but it will happen again...

after about 3 or 4 minutes the pressure dissipates until practically gone. Any idea what could be causing this and how to fix/troubleshoot?? We can verify that the well pump has electricity running to it and we can watch the gauge go down as you use water, then watch it return after we reset the breaker.. any help would be appreciated!

Thanks you!,

Jody Davis
jody.davis57@gmail.com

...

Continue reading at WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUST FAQs2 - second set of questions & answers on adjusting the well pump control switch

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS - home for water pump pressure control switch
• WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH NUT ADJUSTMENTS
• WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH INSTALL / REPLACE
• WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH INSTALLATION MANUALS
• WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING - home
• 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

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

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