Well Pump Check Valve Failure

A common cause is a failed check valve.

Well pump check valve failure.

The check valve or foot valve prevents the well pressure tank from sending water back down into the well after it has built up with water pressure. If the valve fails water streams back down the well and the pressure switch turns the pump on again. Hello i ve lived in my home for about 4 5 years and have always wondered if the random cycling of my well pump could be do to me not having a check valve between the pump tank and the well pump. At some point this will reduce the pressure in the pressure switch causing the pump to cycle back on to increase the pressure.

Troubleshooting well problems is also complicated by the fact that almost all the action takes place far underground. If the pump motor starts too often that could be indicating something wrong with one of the following pieces of equipment. This is called intermittent pump cycling. Pressure switch check your se.

Symptoms of a serious problem like no water in the house can be caused by either the well or the pump and sometimes both. On a submersible well pump installation if your well water pump does not have a built in check valve many submersible pumps do have a check valve a line check valve should be installed in the discharge pipe within 25 feet of the pump and below the drawdown level of the water inside the well. The house was pre existing but i really question the ability of the pump to hold the pressure in let alone to not have any small leaks in the piping all the way up from the well in the ground. Buy a check valve.

This enables water from your pressure tank to flow back down into the well which then reduces pressure and signals to the pressure switch to turn the pump on again and pressurize the pressure tank. A leaky foot valve or check valve allows water to drain slowly down the well piping and flow back into the well. Diagnosing problems with a deep water well can be difficult. What they are how they work and why they must.