Intermittent Water pressure?

40angst · Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:50 am

Water pressure recently has been going up and down. I was told by a friend that something called a water pressure regulator can easily be changed. however I can't find it - would it be somewhere under the trailer or is it in the ground? I have one of those little cap things and have never opened it.

Mon Aug 18, 2008 12:56 pm

Very few homes actually have a pressure regulator unless you have your own well and pump. How do you get your water? Is the pressure problems in the whole home, or just part of it? What year is your home?

Mark

40angst · Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:44 pm

The pressure problem is in the whole home, including water to the barn hydrant.

Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:05 pm

We still need to know if you have your own well, on rural water, city water or what?

Mark

40angst · Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:42 pm

whoops I was having 'net problems. this is located on private property, i have a 4" well.

oldfart · Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:30 pm

Well now 40angst since you said yer on a well the most likely problem is the "foot-valve"..also known as a "check-valve." I'll assume you have a well with a pump somewhere down yonder in it and right there at the pump is this valve. Nope..it ain't gonn'a be easy to reach. Ya have to pull the pump and all that pipe and wire to git to it. Here's what happens. The valve goes bad or gets gammahooched up with a wad of debri. The pump runs and fills the pressure tank full'a water and then the pressure drops and the pump kicks on again. Then it does it again. And again. Pressure rises and falls over and over again. The pump cycles on again and again. Sound familiar? Now, mind ye, this could also be a sign of a leak in the system. Look under the home and make sure water ain't squirtin' out somewhere. No water shootin' out? Probably the check-valve/foot-valve. The purpose of the foot-valve/check valve is to maintain the water pumped up from the well. It's a one-way valve. Once the water is pumped up the valve closes due to the weight of the water pushing down. Simple and effective..when it works! Now one other problem might be the pressure tank. That big blue tank out in the well housing. Look on the top and you'll find a valve that looks like a common "tire valve" where you put the air-hose on to pump up a tire. (a Shrader-valve) Take yer fangernail and poke at the center of the fitting just like you was letting air out of a tire. Got air? Okey-dokey. Got water squirting out? Time to replace the pressure tank. Just a few things to check my friend. Audie..the longwinded Oldfart...

shadow745 · Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:00 am

There's much more to a pressure tank than just having air in it. For example, about 1.5 years ago my M-I-L was having well problems. She didn't want to bother me and called a plumber that went over and "found" the problem to be a pump going bad. He said he couldn't say for sure it was the pump, but all the issues pointed in that direction. Well this was on a Saturday and she ended up paying $1,600. That was for a new pump, wiring and $800 for labor. Yeah she was RIPPED..... I arrived after he was well on his way to pulling the pump and it was in his hands. I asked him if he checked the pressure tank and his reply was "yeah I shook it and there was air and water in it".......... RETARDED..... Well she called us the next day and told us the water was acting up again. I crawled under her double wide and checked the pressure tank. The pressure switch was set to 26/46 and the tank should have had 24 lbs. of air in it. It only had 8. I pumped it up with a bicycle pump (very hard under that house) like it should have been and the water has been fine since. Now her pump was old and would've went out not long after it was replaced, but the pressure tank was the problem and she could've had a new pump and wiring for maybe $500 with me doing the work.

Pressure tanks are very important in keeping the pressure consistent and also keeps your pump from working too hard. What you need to do is check the pressure gauge (if there is one) to see when the pump is kicking on/off. Say yours is set to kick on at 30psi and off at 50psi. Then you should have exactly 28psi of air in the tank and no more/less. This should be checked with the tank empty of all water. If the air pressure is off by even 1/2psi it can throw things off. The pressure will be erratic.

A few more pointers...... A liquid filled gauge is really helpful as it doesn't fluctuate. Any pressure switch can be adjusted for more/less pressure. But anytime you change the switch setting you must also change the air in the tank (while it's empty) to match the kick ON pressure. It should always be 2psi less than when the switch kicks the pump on.......

Another thing I just thought of is to try taking the pressure switch off (connected by a 1/4" nipple usually) and clean this area out. The hole that the water travels through to make contact with the switch diaphragm (underside of the pressure switch) is small and can clog, causing pressure problems as well. Later!

40angst · Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:16 pm

I can't even locate the pressure tank - unless it's somewhere strange! I hear it may be underground.....yikes. I crawled under the trailer, found no tank , and did discover that the pump is turning off and on every 5 seconds or so while water is running. I still get water but I'm totally worried. I have a an appointment with a plumber to come out and "diagnose" it. Have not been able to locate a diagram, next step is to call the township or county to see if one was filed with the building permit.

40angst · Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:19 pm

Oh also the pressure switch did not register a thing while the pump was turning off and on. My F-I-L said there is some sort of bladder thingy in the pressure tank and if it goes bad then this would happen. however not finding a pressure tank has me worried. Is it SOP to bury these darn things? Or would I maybe find it IN the house trailer? The pipes go right up to the floor and split off just under the floor.

shadow745 · Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:59 am

The pressure tank should either be under the house or at the head of the well. It should never be buried, as it needs to be serviced a few times a year. It's one of those "out of sight, out of mind" things for most people and should be maintained like anything else. As long as most people have water they give it no attention.

If you found the pressure switch, then the tank should be in that area as well, as the switch should always direct connect to the bottom of the tank. It may be covered with insulation or other material.

The metal tanks have a diaphragm and once it's bad the tank must be replaced. There are alternatives, such as the fiberglass type that have a replaceable air cell so nothing has to be taken apart, except for the top of the tank to switch the air cells.

The pump/pressure switch should never be cycling that fast. The purpose of the pressure tank is to give the pump a break from cycling on/off constantly, which leads to extreme wear quickly. If the air in the tank is incorrect then the pressure will be very erratic. As I said before, even 1/2psi of air can throw it off somewhat. Let us know more as soon as you can. Later!

40angst · Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:39 am

Is it possible that the pressure tank could be inside the trailer? I will look to see if it's in with the water heater. I know it hasn't been serviced since I moved in 10 yrs ago.. you were absolutely right, "out of sight out of mind". I looked underneath the trailer again last night and still didn't find it. One would *think it should be located right near the water lines, which it certainly wasn't. Guess I'm going to pay $89 to find out tomorrow morning.

Shaharradee · Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:22 am

I had to have mine replaced and it was buried at the well. I bet yours is buried too.....Dee

oldfart · Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:19 am

Well 40 I'l still waiting to read the results of this post. Now mind ye, if the pressure gauge is visible..the pressure tank should be as well. This ain't something ya kin hide very well! A pressure tank is usually a big (usually blue in color) round thing. I mean big as a beer-keg big. (30gal. keg..not a full sized 60gal keg...) Normally the pressure gauge and pressure swich are located on a brass "T" right on the pressure tank. A waterline comes from the well into the big blue tank..then splits off the lines to hot&cold. Well, keep us informed and we'll try an help. Audie..the puzzled&perplexed Oldfart...