How to fix building water pressure problems originating at a water pump, pump control switch or water tank.

This article series 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.

Water Tank & Pump & Pressure Diagnosis & Repair How-To Articles

• How to Adjust Water Pump Pressure: The detailed, step by step procedure for inspecting and adjusting the water pressure control switch is discussed in detail beginning
  at WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS.
  
  Exact procedures for adjusting the switch are
  at WATER PRESSURE CONTROL SWITCH ADJUSTMENTS.
• Diagnose & Cure Water Pump Short Cycling on and off: If your water pump is clicking on and off too often or quite rapidly
  see SHORT CYCLING.
  
  At WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD we discuss adding the right amount of air to a non-bladder steel or glass-lined well tank - a cure for short-cycling.
• Diagnose Water Pressure Drops without explanation when the pump stops,
  see WATER PRESSURE FALLS SLOWLY, ERRATIC PUMP: bad pressure control switch, building water running or leak, bad pressure gauge, bad check valve, bad foot valve.
• Diagnose & Repair Poor or Lost Water Pressure and Flow: we still have water flowing but pressure and flow quantity are reduced.
  
  See WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
• Diagnose & Repair Lost Air in the Water Tank: The problem of lost air in the water pressure tank along with how to correct that condition are discussed beginning
  at SIGNS OF AIR LOSS.
  
  Also see WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADDfollowed
  
  by WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR a
  
  nd WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
• Diagnose & Repair a Water Pressure Control or Water Pump Control Switch: We discuss diagnosing and repairing a water pressure control switch that sticks "on" or "off" or simply won't operate,
  at water pump Pressure Switch Repairs.
• Diagnose & Repair a noisy water pressure control switch: humming or clicking
  See WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH NOISES
• How to boost water pressure in a building by installing a pressure booster pump and pressure tank is discussed in detail
  at WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMP
• Water pressure switch sticks on or off: We discuss diagnosing and repairing a water pressure control switch that sticks "on" or "off" or simply won't operate,
  at water pump Pressure Switch Repairs.
• Water pump on-time: if the length of time that you can run water between pump turning on and off is short, say just a minute or less, the pump is short cycling
  (WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLE STOP VALVE) -
  or your water pressure tank is a small one that doesn't give a big draw down cycle
  (WATER TANK: USES, TROUBLESHOOTING)
• Water tank bladder pre-charge pressure:
  At WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT we discuss fine tuning the pump pressure control switch to work perfectly with the exact air pressure pre-charge in a bladder type well tank.

Check For Other Causes of Bad Water Pressure

If you have increased the water pump switch cut-in or cut-on pressure to a higher number, say 30 psi you may often find that this does not fix a building-wide water pressure problem.

Low water pressure is intermittent might in fact point to a problem with the well flow rate itself.
(WELL YIELD DEFINITION)

Once the well pump turns on and presuming you are running water continuously, especially if more than one fixture is running, you may see that your pump runs continuously until you turn the water off. If this is the case, it's not the starting water pressure setting that is at fault, it's the pump or piping or well that is limiting the water flow rate.

Often this means that the water flow rate through the system, from well through pump and pipes, elbows, valves, etc. is just not enough to meet the building water flow rate demand, and further diagnosis is in order.

Sometimes the cause of poor building water pressure is traced to an unexpected clogged supply pipe or to a valve that is partly closed. Our photo (above left) of copper supply piping (above left) was sent by reader Tom.C. who was tracking down a clog in the supply piping that meant poor water pressure from the point of the fitting you see above onwards through the plumbing fixtures served by that pipe.

...

Continue reading at WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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WATER PRESSURE PUMP & TANK REPAIR GUIDES 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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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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