Well water pump not starting

November 18, 2024 1:54 PM

My house came with a well water pump connected to outside spigot. It worked well for a few years, but now does not turn on after I use the water. However, after I use the water that does come out of the hose until it is gone and then wait about 30 minutes, the pump then kicks on until it stops by itself (when it is full?). What could be causing this? (Online research says possibly a bad switch?)
posted by roaring beast to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Response by poster: We have been experiencing dry weather for the past month. Could it be something with the water table?

Also, when the pump came on, I ran the hose for about 15 minutes with no issue, as the pump continued to run.
posted by roaring beast at 1:57 PM on November 18

It definitely sounds like the pressure switch. I would have someone out to look at it.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:13 PM on November 18 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I saw something online about tapping the pressure switch with a hammer to make it come on, but that didn't do anything in my case.
posted by roaring beast at 2:15 PM on November 18

poster: We have been experiencing dry weather for the past month. Could it be something with the water table?

You may have yield issues with your well. Using Low-Yielding Wells
.
posted by zamboni at 2:34 PM on November 18

Your well pump may have a controller on it that prevents the well pump from being destroyed if the well runs out of water. The controller (one very common brand is Pumpsaver) has configurable triggers (like when the pump uses too much power), which will turn off the well pump and prevent it from coming on for a configurable delay (often 60 or 90 minutes).

The "wait about 30 minutes" made me suspect that your well is having trouble and that you might be waiting until the configurable delay is finished before you get more pumping from the well.

The "stops by itself" makes me thing of a pressure switch on a pressure booster system, a biggish tank that holds water and compressed air to provide storage of water and water pressure for your outside spigot.

Are conditions around your well "droughtier" than they have been in a few years? You should probably call someone to check it out. Talk to your neighbors, and see who they call when their wells seem poorly.
posted by the Real Dan at 2:55 PM on November 18

We have had this. There will be a switch that detects the water pressure: it switches on the pump when the water pressure is low. The hole / tube between the switch and the water pipe is narrow (⌀ 1/10th inch = 2-3mm) and can get silted up. Turn off power and water, unscrew the pressure switch and poke out the debris with a toothpick. For a more satisfying solution you can dismantle the water-side of the pressure switch and degunge the whole thing with a toothbrush. Be sure to have PTFE tape to wrap around when you screw in your cleaned switch. Sounds daunting but if I can do it, you can do it esp. if it is only the outdoor faucet. If your fix goes pear-shaped, then call the plumber.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:21 PM on November 18

We had a well for a while and it had a pressure switch like this. There's an adjustment to control when the pump turns on and off.

If your pressure switch doesn't look like that you might try and find a model number and see if there's an adjustable set point, or if there's no model number try Google Lens or similar.
posted by gregr at 5:40 AM on November 19