low water pressure

[GurneyHalleck]

My 1/2 HP gould pump died so i went to lowes and got a 1/2HP replacement. Hooked it up and it ran fine except...water pressure only reached 27 psi, well below the 20/40 switch rating. The old pump never had pressure problems, so thinking it was a power problem, i got a 3/4HP pump and hooked it up and voila: the same 27psi reading, and the pump running constantly. As an aside, I had the pressure tank originally at 18psi, under which conditions the pump only reached 20psi. cranking up the pressure tank to 38psi got it to reach 40psi in the line and cut the pump off, but once it started running it went right back to the 27 psi reading. I know I have a miniscule leak in my kitchen faucet, but again, this never kept the gould from reaching 40psi. Should I just give up and accept 27psi (and set the pressure switch accordingly) or could this tiny drip leak actually be causing my problem?

 

[speedbump]

You didn't say whether it is a shallow well jet pump or a deep well jet. Either way, you more than likely have a plugged jet (ejector). On the shallow well pump, its on/in the pump. On a deep well it's in the well casing.

Changing tank pressure will have no effect on how much pressure the pump can make. It' all up to the pump.

By going to a big box store, you went from having a quality pump to a sub standard pump. Which will not last any where near as long as the quality pump. It will also be overrated in horsepower.

If your lucky enough to have the shallow well pump, cleaning the nozzle might put you back to 20/40 again.

 

[GurneyHalleck]

It is a shallow well pump, and the Gould, for all its reputation, was a noisy piece of crap from day one and is dead after 5 years. Not being a plumber, I have little notion of where the jet/ejector is located, but next weekend I will disassemble it and see what I can do. The problem is probably dirty water, an unavoidable situation where I am, so no doubt you are correct.

 

[speedbump]

Quite a few people will disagree with you. Goulds won themselves a very good reputation years ago. I'm not sure how they did it, because I personally don't think they were ever better than a lot of other brands out there. Maybe it's the color they painted the pumps. Anyhow, it should have lasted much longer than that. Here in Florida, out in the elements, quality pumps last seven years on average. They get noisy, we replace the bearings and they go another seven or more. Big box stores, 1.5 years is a normal lifetime for most of them.

Nasty water is what builds up minerals on the piping and lets it break off in chunks which will plug the nozzle in the jet. If your not sure how a jet works, it is a nozzle which has about a 1/4" hole that squirts water into a venturi with a larger hole (maybe 19/32s) and creates a vacuum which also boosts pressure in the process. When this nozzle plugs with a piece of scale, the pressure always drops to around 27 psi. I can't explain why, but it does. This may repeat it self many times after cleaning it out, so be patient.

One other thing is to check the impeller's eye. The circular part in the front. It may also have some junk stuck in there. That will also knock the pressure down a lot.

 

[GurneyHalleck]

My Goulds died, making a humming noise and little else. Again, its due to dirty water. I have to take the pressure switch off every couple of months and clean it to keep it working, otherwise it will shut off and never come back on. I tried installing a filter in line before the pump, but got only 10psi that way, unusable. If i put in a bypass on the filter circuit, bring the system up to pressure and then bring the filter on line, do you think it will work?

 

[speedbump]

If you pump is humming but not running, dirty water has nothing to do with that. You probably need to replace the capacitor in the motor.

If the switch is not turning on the pump when the pressure drops, you need to clean more than just the switch. Clean the line feeding the switch and the tap in the pump where it screws in.

You never put a filter in a suction line!

 

[GurneyHalleck]

Actually there was a filter, but it was held up only by 3/4" pipe and thus could NEVER be changed. The plumber who installed the Goulds removed the filter. As mentioned, I tried to put one on the intake line but it did not work - no water made it to the house.