No Pressure

[Leaksealer]

Hello,

The well line beneath my garage started leaking so I bypassed it by running new 1" black plastic pipe inside the garage. This required going up the wall across the garage and then down the wall to the crawl space.
Now I am only getting about 26 PSI of pressure on my line.
The amount of extra line that I am using is about 30', and it is going 10' up and then back down again, whereas before it was installed level under the ground with no rises on it. It is not that cold here so the pipes are not freezing.
Can someone please suggest a remedy?

Thank you,
JB

 

[phishfood]

Do you know what your water pressure was before? Is the 26 lbs static pressure with no water being used, or flowing pressure with water in use?

You mentioned black plastic pipe. Is this the flexible pipe, that possibly has kinked and is restricting the water flow?

 

[Leaksealer]

Do you know what your water pressure was before? Is the 26 lbs static pressure with no water being used, or flowing pressure with water in use?

You mentioned black plastic pipe. Is this the flexible pipe, that possibly has kinked and is restricting the water flow?

Hi phishfood,

I do not know what those pressures were. The tank is a 30-50.
The black plastic pipe is not kinked.
There are no air pockets anywhere in the line. The pump is primed. There are no leaks. I just cannot get anything greater than about 24PSI of pressure. The pumps just keeps running with no pressure buildup.

Thank You,
JB

 

[Leaksealer]

Hi phishfood,

I do not know what those pressures were. The tank is a 30-50.
The black plastic pipe is not kinked.
There are no air pockets anywhere in the line. The pump is primed. There are no leaks. I just cannot get anything greater than about 24PSI of pressure. The pumps just keeps running with no pressure buildup.

Thank You,
JB

I got the pressure built up to 30 PSI by lowering the waterline. The pump does not shut off though. The tank is a 30 - 50. Do you know what pressure the tank should be cutting off at?

Thank you,
JB

 

[speedbump]

Whatever the problem is; it has nothing to do whatsoever with that 1" plastic line. If the pump won't shut off and it's a jet pump (you said it was primed, so I have to assume it is a jet) there is either a problem with the jet pump or with the jet itself. It could also be a leak in the backpressure pipe if it's a deep well system.

The first thing I would do is get a new gauge on there since they only last a few months anyhow.

When a jet pumps jet gets a chuck of scale in the nozzle, it will usually not go past 30 psi. If your gauge is working properly and 30 is your max pressure, it's probably a plugged jet.

How about a description of your equipment and maybe a few pictures?

 

[Leaksealer]

Whatever the problem is; it has nothing to do whatsoever with that 1" plastic line. If the pump won't shut off and it's a jet pump (you said it was primed, so I have to assume it is a jet) there is either a problem with the jet pump or with the jet itself. It could also be a leak in the backpressure pipe if it's a deep well system.

The first thing I would do is get a new gauge on there since they only last a few months anyhow.

When a jet pumps jet gets a chuck of scale in the nozzle, it will usually not go past 30 psi. If your gauge is working properly and 30 is your max pressure, it's probably a plugged jet.

How about a description of your equipment and maybe a few pictures?

Hey Speedbump,

It is actually a shallow well pump in my crawlspace STA-RITE MODEL SNC-L.
Everything from the foot valve to the pump is new. The pump is about 12 years old. The pressure tank and switch are about 12 years old. It was running fine until I replaced the broken underground line by running it up in my garage which made the rise 31'. After figuring out that I was only allowed a 25' rise I lowered the line to 23'. When I had the rise at 31' my max pressure was 24PSI. Now that Ive lowered it to 23' the max PSI is 30.

Thank You,
JB

 

[speedbump]

Most shallow well jet pumps are capable of making 60 psi. When we talk about 25 feet, that is not the amount of distance the pump can push water up, but the amount of distance the pump can lift water. 60 psi is equivalent to 138 feet.

Moving the pipe down a couple of feet would make so little difference that you couldn't notice it on the gauge. Friction loss would be the only thing that would enter into that equation. If you push it up 23 feet then bring it back down 23 feet, you have negated the rise.

I think you will find that your new pipe and footvalve are where the problem exists.

I am assuming you are talking about a pressure pipe not the suction pipe from the pump to the well. Is that correct?

 

[Leaksealer]

Most shallow well jet pumps are capable of making 60 psi. When we talk about 25 feet, that is not the amount of distance the pump can push water up, but the amount of distance the pump can lift water. 60 psi is equivalent to 138 feet.

Moving the pipe down a couple of feet would make so little difference that you couldn't notice it on the gauge. Friction loss would be the only thing that would enter into that equation. If you push it up 23 feet then bring it back down 23 feet, you have negated the rise.

I think you will find that your new pipe and footvalve are where the problem exists.

I am assuming you are talking about a pressure pipe not the suction pipe from the pump to the well. Is that correct?

Hey Speedbump,

I am talking about pressure at the pressure switch where there is a pressure gauge. Thank you for the advice. I am going to inspect the piping for any problems just to be sure.

Thanks again,
JB