Wells, Sump Pumps and Septic Sewage Systems - HELP! Suddenly No Pressure, No Pumping
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lemmyb
09-10-09, 03:55 PM
Hi,
I have just discovered this brilliant site after searching on google for a manual for the borehole pump system that is installed in the house i am living in.
I recently moved into a house that has a well with a submersible pump and a 6ft high pressure tank. The pressure tank has a Square D 9013 FSG-2 switch and is controlled by a Tesla Guardian M 2G (single phase) control board. The setup is shown in the links/ pics below:
ImageShack - (http://img171.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=pressuretank001a.jpg)
http://img171.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank001a.jpg/
http://img22.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank002a.jpg/
http://img34.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank003a.jpg/
http://img140.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank004a.jpg/
About a month ago we started losing pressure, with pressure fluctuating slightly in tandem with the pump switching on-and-off at very short intervals (+/-30 seconds). I would switch off the power for a while and then switch back on, but there was no change. This went on for about a week before I drained the pressure tank and waited for about 6 hours before switching it on (we’d had a power cut hence the long wait). The pressure was back, in fact, it was stronger than before, rising to 4.5 bars when it had previously been averaging a low 2.5bars. For about a week the pressure would fluctuate between 2.5 and 4.5bars.
Then suddenly yesterday there was no pressure. I checked the power and the pump was on (the green “running” light on the control board was on), but there was no pumping. I switched off the system until early this morning when a little bit of water at very low pressure trickled into the house for about 15minutes, and that was it.
I have not had much experience with boreholes, and so my questions are:
1. What is happening? Having seen the pictures, does anyone know how this system works? (I have heard of pressure release valves & regulators, but I don’t see any on our system!)
2. On one of the days, the red light for “overload” was on. I switched off the pump. And switched it on after 15 minutes and it didn’t come back on. What is the meaning of this light?
3. There are a number of wells in our neighbourhood, and I am told that some are not pumping as the water table has fallen. Could this be the problem?
4. How can I tell the difference between a low water table and a malfunctioning pump?
5. We have regular powercuts, for 6 to 10hour periods. Is there any routine procedure that I need to follow when switching on the pump? (Somebody suggested that I should drain the pressure tank regularly…)
Any help I can get will be much appreciated. We dont get much municipal water, so i would really like to rectify this problem as soon as i can.
Regards
Lemmyb
I have just discovered this brilliant site after searching on google for a manual for the borehole pump system that is installed in the house i am living in.
I recently moved into a house that has a well with a submersible pump and a 6ft high pressure tank. The pressure tank has a Square D 9013 FSG-2 switch and is controlled by a Tesla Guardian M 2G (single phase) control board. The setup is shown in the links/ pics below:
ImageShack - (http://img171.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=pressuretank001a.jpg)
http://img171.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank001a.jpg/
http://img22.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank002a.jpg/
http://img34.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank003a.jpg/
http://img140.imageshack.us/i/pressuretank004a.jpg/
About a month ago we started losing pressure, with pressure fluctuating slightly in tandem with the pump switching on-and-off at very short intervals (+/-30 seconds). I would switch off the power for a while and then switch back on, but there was no change. This went on for about a week before I drained the pressure tank and waited for about 6 hours before switching it on (we’d had a power cut hence the long wait). The pressure was back, in fact, it was stronger than before, rising to 4.5 bars when it had previously been averaging a low 2.5bars. For about a week the pressure would fluctuate between 2.5 and 4.5bars.
Then suddenly yesterday there was no pressure. I checked the power and the pump was on (the green “running” light on the control board was on), but there was no pumping. I switched off the system until early this morning when a little bit of water at very low pressure trickled into the house for about 15minutes, and that was it.
I have not had much experience with boreholes, and so my questions are:
1. What is happening? Having seen the pictures, does anyone know how this system works? (I have heard of pressure release valves & regulators, but I don’t see any on our system!)
2. On one of the days, the red light for “overload” was on. I switched off the pump. And switched it on after 15 minutes and it didn’t come back on. What is the meaning of this light?
3. There are a number of wells in our neighbourhood, and I am told that some are not pumping as the water table has fallen. Could this be the problem?
4. How can I tell the difference between a low water table and a malfunctioning pump?
5. We have regular powercuts, for 6 to 10hour periods. Is there any routine procedure that I need to follow when switching on the pump? (Somebody suggested that I should drain the pressure tank regularly…)
Any help I can get will be much appreciated. We dont get much municipal water, so i would really like to rectify this problem as soon as i can.
Regards
Lemmyb