Okay, so the other day I noticed my water pressure was kinda wonky. It would be fine, then suddenly drop, then kick back up again. Naturally, I suspected the well pump. More specifically, I started wondering if it was running long enough to properly fill the pressure tank. So, I decided to get my hands dirty and figure this thing out.
Figuring Out My Baseline
First things first, I needed to know what “normal” looked like for my system. I grabbed a trusty stopwatch (okay, my phone’s stopwatch) and headed down to the basement where my pressure tank lives.
- I turned on a faucet upstairs to get the water flowing and make the pump kick in.
- As soon as I heard that familiar hum of the pump starting, I hit the start button on my stopwatch.
- Then, I just waited until the pump shut itself off and stopped the timer.
My first run clocked in at about 1 minute and 45 seconds. I did this a couple more times, just to be sure, and got pretty consistent results. So, that was my baseline – roughly 1 minute 45 seconds for my pump to fill the tank.
Checking the Pressure Switch Settings
Next up, I needed to check the pressure switch. This little guy is what tells the pump when to turn on and off, based on the water pressure in the tank. It usually has two settings: a “cut-in” pressure (when the pump starts) and a “cut-out” pressure (when it stops).
- I carefully located Pressure Switch.
- I noted down the cut-in and cut-out pressures. Mine were set at 30 PSI (cut-in) and 50 PSI (cut-out).
If My well pump runs between 1 to 3 minutes, I will consider it normal, but according to the run time I got and pressure switch I have, It runs about 1 minutes 45 which is not a bad at all.
Putting It All Together
Armed with my pump’s run time and the pressure switch settings, I did a little more digging online (lots of helpful folks in well pump forums, let me tell you!). The general consensus seems to be that a typical pump run time is anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes.
Given my 1 minute 45-second run time and the 30/50 PSI switch, everything seemed to be within the normal range. Turns out, my wonky water pressure was probably just a slightly clogged faucet aerator – easy fix! So After all of that, the pump wasn’t the issue.
It might be good to test it a few times, and if you are super worried. Calling a pro is never a bad idea. Better safe than sorry when it comes to your water supply!
