Water Pressure Loss after ~ 20mins

[Bar_Nett87]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum but I have a feeling I'll be more regular as I continue to have various problems with the house I recently purchased. Here is my latest issue, I was hoping to get some advice?

I have a well and I lose water pressure about 20 minutes into a shower. It's fine up until then however once it drops out the first time it starts to cycle between running ok and no pressure. The longer I continue to shower the more frequently it cuts out. The pressure in the entire house is affected, i.e. when it cuts out in the shower it cuts out in all of the faucets & toilets too, then cycles accordingly. It happens with both hot and cold water.

I swapped the pressure switch, it is a 60/40 switch but this made no change.
I checked the air pressure in the tank, it was about 35 PSI and showed no signs of water at the air valve.

If I turn my shower and all the faucets off, the well achieves ~55-60psi (on the gauge coming off the tank). If I turn the shower on, the pressure then appears to cycle between 40-60 as expected however after some time of running, it begins to cycle low (0-30), which correlates with the pressure drops in the house.

If anyone could give some advice it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

*Chris

 

[Valveman]

It could be the little nipple to the pressure switch is clogged, but I doubt it. You could also replace the start cap and relay if it has one. But most likely you have let some smoke out of the motor, and you can never put it back it. LOL

What happens is the pump can only survive so many on/off cycles. It will "cycle normally" between 40 and 60 for an average life of about 7 years. Then the pump/motor has done all the cycling it was designed to survive, and you simply need a new pump.

Eliminate the cycling by using a Cycle Stop Valve and you can make that pump last 4-5 times longer than the planned obsolescence time of 7 years.

 

[speedbump]

Sounds to me like the water level in the well is dropping down to the pump which stops it from moving water until the water level slowly rises back up several feet where the pump can catch a prime and send more water to the house then it repeats. This can be a sign of a screened well getting plugged or a rock well that is just not keeping up with demand.