Why is my water pump going on all the time?

The way to tell is to go to the pump and cut the water off. Usually it will have a valve at the tank. If it still kicks on then you have a leak at the foot valve or in the pipe coming to the pump or somewhere between the valve and the bottom of the well. If it doesn't then you have a leak somewhere else. to fix the commode to keep it from leaking you will probably need to get a new flush valve and put it in. It is a easy job and can be done for about $15 or less the instructions are on the package.

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No, I'm baffled by the pump completely. I was really hoping it was the toilet, because I can fix that (I'm the brains of the operation, I would have to understanding well enough to convince dh it can be fixed). I will turn off the valve at the pump today, though, maybe get an answer that way. The valve is after the pump and tank, does that make sense?

that's where i'd start in the pressure switch was working

Yes, you should have a shut off valve "downstream"/after the pump and tank. If you close that, and the pump continues to cycle it is either a foot valve, a pipe leak somewhere between the pump and the water source, or a pump/pressure tank issue.

If you close that valve and the pump does not continue to cycle, then you have a leak somewhere downstream from the valve, i.e. toilet, hot water tank, laundry, or supply lines that run outside but are pressurized by your tank.

With the skill level and the condition of the well system that is currently working I am going to give you some good advice this morning. "Let sleeping dogs lie". If with your knowledge of a pump system you get to tinkering with the pump you are going to loose the prime. When that happens you will pump no water. You ability to reprime the well pump is marginal at best. In the meanwhile buy a new pressure gauge and a larger tank. If the system is not plumbed with enough valves to where you can isolate the components in the well system and the house buy some ball valves. Locate someone that has some plumbing tools and experience. Get everything prearranged. Then return here and someone will "walk you through" on what and how to redo the system. You do need to address the frequent starting but at this time that is secondary. Having water is primary and you have that now but you are about to put that into jeopardy!

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

A possibility is that your tank is just waterlogged if it is a non bladder tank. There should a small tube running from a diaphragm valve on the side of the tank to the suction side of the pump. In areas with a high water table that system does not work well because at lest a 12 to 20 ft lift is needed to pull a small amount of air into the tank each time the pump runs and this is what maintains the cushion of air over the water. Also the diaphragm check valve could be bad, or the tube itself could be plugged. I would replace the tube and the tank valve anyway, and see what happens. It would take a few cycles to get enough air into the tank. Water cannot be compressed so the pump cycles more frequently. A quick solution is to pump air into the tank being careful not to put too much air in. Shut off the pump, open a tap and blow some of the water out. Close the tap, start the pump and if it takes longer to fill the tank you are on the right track. Better to do this a couple of times than to do it all at once. If it is a bladder tank put in some air the same way until it, or the bladder is replaced.

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This is the most likely culprit based on what you say.

We have a 40+ foot well and our pump went out two years ago. When we put the new pump on I also replaced the black plastic pipe into the well. We had put a new plastic foot valve on when I put our new pump on two years ago. Big mistake. The thing wore out two weeks ago so this time I pulled all that pipe out of the well and replaced the foot valve with a metal one.

Your pressure switch could also "possibly" cause this as others have said. However with it cutting on sporadically it seems to be just replacing lost pressure and then cutting off so this isn't the most likely culprit. The first time this happened to us the symptoms were it ran all the time and would cut off only on occasion. We were able to take apart the pressure switch and found that mineral deposits had built up on the rubber flap causing it to stiffen and not react to the water pressure correctly. So I cleaned all that off and it worked fine for another couple of years before I had to replace it completely.

Next thing would be your tank may be losing pressure. This is by far the most expensive culprit (almost equal to the pump in price). One thing that may be happening is your tank is waterlogged and doesn't have enough air space left to build up proper pressure. But again with it only coming on intermittently this isn't the most likely culprit.

So I would do the low hanging fruit first in this order:

1. Make sure your toilets aren't running constantly or aren't losing water. this happened to us once and we were so relieved when it was a stuck toilet valve. ($5 repair).
2. Check faucets.
3. Check pipes.
4. Check Pressure switch (cost $25.00 to replace on a jet pump).
5. Check foot valve. (Good foot valve is around $20.00 - this is cumbersome because you have to take the pipes loose and then pull them out of the well.)

A hint for loosening those black pvc pipes from the pump is to use a torch to "soften" the plastic and then they slide off easily. When you replace them cut off the plastic ends you previously heated and re-heat the fresh end using torch. Don't melt it but just soften it and it will slide so easily onto the connections. Then while it is still somewhat soft tighten with hose clamps. NOTE: TIE ROPES TO PIPES SECURELY BEFORE LOOSENING OR YOU WILL BE LASSOING YOUR PIPES OUT OF THE WELL ONCE THEY FALL IN! I HAD TO DO THIS RECENTLY. TOOK AN HOUR TO GET THEM OUT.

I'm not sure how to check the tank other than drain it and then let water refill it to see what happens.

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Agmantoo, that sounds like a good idea, I think we can manage that much. First though, I'm trying to get a hold of the plumber who saw the house when we bought it last fall. He's a friend of the family, and he saw the pump himself, so I trust what he will say.

There are very few lines to and from this beast. I have the pipe coming in, the tank actually sits on top of the pump, and the line coming out. THe only other thing is the the power line attached to the other end of the pump.

I turned off the valve to the house, pump still ran, so there are no leaks, it isn't the toilet. It just runs, periodically throughout the day, every 5 to 20 minutes for a few seconds, whether or not the water is being used.

Your 5 gallon tank is so small that a minute amount of weeping back thru the foot valve will require the pump to run to maintain prime. You definitely need a large bladder tank. You will still have the small leak but it will not be a problem when it has to leak maybe 12 to 16 gallons before the pump kicks in. The pump is now kicking in when a gallon or two leaks. For a test, Let the pump run and shut off. Catch water in a bucket and let us know how much you catch till the pump kicks on again.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

Ok, I turned the pump off for about an hour this morning. Two things: the toilet tank was empty, so I do have a leaky valve *as well* , AND once I turned the pump back on, I don't have any water at all - so I assume the pump tank emptied during the time it was turned off, right? I tried the tap off the pump and got some water, so I'm assuming it will just take some time to get the pump tank refilled before I have enough pressure for the house plumbing to work.

Lets recap some of my suggestions. The food coloring would have identified the tank leak. You did not do the test.
The Run until the pump tripped off then catch water until the pump tripped on test would have verified if the tank was water logged or if the bladder had burst. You did not do the test.
You were cautioned about turning the pump off and losing the prime. You did not do that either.
Remember the let sleeping dogs lie discussion?
Now you have lost the prime to the pump and you do not have the where with all to reprime the system. You have no water and will not have any until you get the pump primed. Should have taken the advice!

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

Agmantoo is really good at dealing & explaining well problems, so I've kept quiet for the most part.

As I was beginning to suspect, you have more than one problem going on. You may have 3 problems:

Leaking toilet. (Food coloring woulda told you, but we know now.)

Leaking foot valve. (Pump loosing prime is strong indicator.)

Waterlogged tank. (You keep mentioning the pump only runs a few seconds - either the pressure switch, nipple pipes, or the tank itself has a problem or it would run much longer.)

When looking at a well problem, you have to divide things up into several tiny bits, and check out each bit. Thouroghly.

You can't just try everything at once, or hit & miss. You need to do things kinda in order, and only one thing.

Very often a single problem above is ingored or not really noticed by a homeowner unfamiliar with wells. You have likely had problems with your well system for a long time, and are now up to 3 issues.

It is only after several issues appear that 'a problem' is noticed.

It sounds like you might do well to have a plumber or a friend very familiar with wells deal with all of this. Be there, ask questions, learn what your well system is & what each part does.

Each piece of the well system is pretty simple & straight forward; however if you look at the whole thing at once, it can seem too complex and difficult. I think you are still at that stage.

Good luck with it, be interested to know how it comes out.

--->Paul

Yes, indeed, these things are true. I think the slight leak of the toilet tank may have initiated the problem with the pump weeks ago, but now I'm dealing with the pump problem. I didn't mention it, but my toilet bowl is very stained from iron, so the colouring would have been very hard to discern.

It was also suggested I turn off the pump.

I apologize for frustrating you.

Anyway, the plumber is over booked for the next while, but is very willing to talk us through the changing of the foot valve and priming the pump, which he feels is enough to get us water in the meantime. He does believe the pump should have been replaced years ago, so it's been on borrowed time the whole time we've been leaving here. Right now the issue is finding the well.

Thanks Paul,

Yep, I concur, we have at least two if not three problems. Unfortunately, this is the first time either of us have lived with a well, and as I've said, the system is very old and not working well from the beginning, so we had no basis upon which to judge what a problem is, and what is normal. I really wish I had a hand pump right now though! Our neighbours are lovely and have their water at our access, so we are "roughing it" but getting by just fine for the time being.

Our plumber is an old family friend, so even though he isn't available to come by, he is very happy to provide phone support and is fully aware that paying for his services is a last resort for us. We're lucky to have him right now.

Reread what I posted and you will see I did not state to turn the power off. I stated "For a test, Let the pump run and shut off. Catch water in a bucket and let us know how much you catch till the pump kicks on again."

Because I contributed to this confusion I am going to tell you how to get the water flowing again without a lot of fuss.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

Turn the power off to your pump
1) run a garden hose from the neighbor to your place.
2) get a hose off a washing machine
3) connect the washing machine hose to a spigot at your place and connect the other end to the garden hose.
4) remove the gauge that is defective and at 20 psi
5) turn the neighbors water on and open the spigot at your place
6) when water starts running out the gauge hole turn the spigot at your place to where the water just trickles out the gauge hole
7) while it trickles put the gauge back in, yes you will get wet but so be it.
8) turn the pump on and let it run. Your pump should run and cycle off. Turn the spigot off coming from the neighbor and open a faucet at your place. You should have water again.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

You're right, it wasn't you that suggested turning it off, but there it is anyway.

Fantastic idea! Can it be done without running a hose directly? Their house is across the (v. busy) road, so that's a problem. Can I use a funnel and bucket the water into the hose attached to the washer spigot?

Thank you!

You need the pressure of the pumped water from the neighbors system to overcome the leakage of the foot valve and to evacuate the air that is in you system. An experienced well person could possibly get yours system primed but I am afraid that you may have problems otherwise. It is hard to flood the lines by manually attempting to prime a problem system. Sometimes it can be trying on a well that has everything working. You have little to risk at this point, open the line at the gauge and try to fill the line lipping full, then rapidly replace the gauge and turn the power on. If you have a valve serving the house at the pump turn the valve closed and have nothing in the circuit but the well and tank. If it is going to work the tank will fill and the pump will cycle off. You can try this several times. The key to success is to get all the air our of the piping. Good Luck

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

I have used a sump pump in 10 gallons of water to prime my well pump.
Neighbor + garden hose works easier.

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