Is your well pump cycling with no water running?
Well, in this troubleshooting article, you’ll find a basic checklist to get rid of this problem.
Well pump cycling with no water running? Try these ideas….
Here is where you could begin to narrow down on this problem and how to fix the various possible issues causing the pump to cycle for no clear reason (you are not aware of any water running).
· The water well system is leaking
One thing you should instantly check when you sadly discover you have no water is your water supply plumbing pipes and other fittings is water leakage.
We all understand that leaking water supply lines do not always drip water where we can see it.
Yet, even a small leakage in your plumbing pipes can make the pump to come on even without any other water use in the house (after all, water is going somewhere).
What you’re supposed to do is to narrow down on the point of the leak.
Could you be having leaky toilets or leaky faucets, perhaps?
Or is water seeping discreetly under the sinks?
Other places you should inspect for signs of dripping are tubs and showers.
Don’t leave out the clothes washer as it might be dripping slowly.
In fact, there are dozens of other candidates.
We explain the most notorious below:
- Well piping – Typical leak points are where the well pipes connect to the pressure tank, building water supply pipes, etc. triggering a back-flow of the valuable liquid from the building to the well. This may cause the pump to keep cycling on for no evident reason.
- Water well casings- Leaks could also be happening in the casing that lines the well.
- Check valve/foot valve- Complications could be occurring due to a troublesome check-valve in your submersible well pump installation or the well piping foot valve near the bottom of your well finally failing and leaking.
The result is water flowing backwards into the well making the pump to lose its prime and the water supply going down. That could explain why the pump is cycling unusually.
- The connectors – For the well piping, leakage could be occurring in the connectors more so on plastic pipes while for steel pipes, this is caused by rusting of aged piping, a defective connection, and more.
- O-Rings- Water may also be squirting from the casing because of damaged O-rings.
How to fix the leakage
One way you can check for leakages is to look for any wet spots in the piping and the other mentioned areas.
Luckily, you’re not short of remedies.
First, plug the leaking openings with a good quality sealant if able to.
Secondly, apply adhesive tape to block all the small leaks.
A better solution for bigger leaks is fixing clamped pieces of rubber.
Adhesive resins also effectively stop leaks in pipes.
Another common solution is to tighten any loose connections if that’s where the leak is.
You might obviously need a plumber for this if the issue doesn’t go away but the above general approach works in most instances.