Idle water pump turns on/off

[BOOKEMDANO]

Unlike many posts on this forum (the ones I have read) my water pump has a mind of its own.

Typically, after the morning shower, and rinsing of the breakfast items, we would seldom need to draw water from any faucet or hose line - unless of course we are in need of the toilet. However, this does not stop the pump from switching itself on/off.

The mornings seem to be its most aggravated time of the day. Turning on for 2 seconds and then nothing for approximately 2 minutes until it decides to fire-up again for that 2 second burst of life. As mentioned, nobody is using any water during these periods and there are no noticeable leaks. This could go on for hours, so I would usually disconnect the pump until late afternoon.

When it behaves, it works fine with very little cycling - if any. Sometimes an evening shower would require me to open an extra faucet to produce the necessary power to the second floor bathroom, but generally it's a decent pump. It is simply the annoyance of repetitive on/off for no obvious reason to me.

Any suggestions greatly welcomed.

[cornishcarlos]

What type of pump ?

[bazmlb]

It could be the return valve loosing pressure in the pipes, it could be air somewhere in the system

Try turning on all taps one at a time to see if there is any air at any of the outlets.

The pressure switch could also be faulty.

[BOOKEMDANO]

The pump is a Mitsubishi EP-305Q3 - constant pressure.

Not all that old and models of these can be bought today in big c stores.

[BOOKEMDANO]

With regards to some members previous posts about "cycling", the fix to this problem seemed to be to drain the tank out and Turn on the outlets allowing the tank to be filled once again. Some members reported success with this as any trapped air was quickly equalised.

In my case, as well as turning on all faucets as already mentioned, might this also be worth a shot?

It is worth stating that I have both increased and decreased the pressure switch, but to no avail.

[lopburi3]

Yes that is worth a shot - but can you turn to pump water flow off at the unit itself - to rule out any show leaking? You should have a shut off tap directly on the output of the pump for this test as it can greatly help troubleshooting. The most likely leaking is in a toliet which often require removal of top to see water getting higher than outlet pipe as may be too slight to see in bowl. But any tap could be leaking or worse there could be a pipe leak hidden from view.

Another test you can make is run pump and as soon at it stops open tap and measure how much water is available before it starts again - should be a fairly good amount if bladder has enough air and the start/stop pressure switch is operating OK (your testing did make it longer/shorter between start and stop cycles with a tap on?).

[meatboy]

we had the same problem,i found one of the upstairs toilets stop valve was not shutting the water off after flushing,only found it after the wife had put a blue tablet in the flushing tank.

[Crossy]

I concur with the above comments, it's either:-

1. A leaky toilet valve
2. A pipe leak
3. A leaky non-return valve in the pump

If you have a valve on the pump outlet you can determine where the pressure leak is.

If the non-return valve is suspect and is an internal one (not an easy replacement) just get a non-return valve and fit it external to the pump (on the inlet side).

[Beardog]

Somewhere in your system you have a leak. I would check the pump first. Our 305 w Mitsubishi developed a super minor leak in the pump input. It was so minor it took me 3 months to see water. It only needs a tiny leak to make the pump kick on. If you have a well or a borehole check your foot valve in the bottom of the well or bore that draws the water up. Next check all your inside fixtures for a very slow leak. As said a toilet trickle The bum gun leaking, even a squirt will cause the pump to cycle. Check your sinks for any leaks. If it passes all that & no leaks the answer will be from the source to the taps. A wise choice as mentioned are shuttoff valves so you can isolate problems or work on leaks without having to shut the meter down.

Good luck this problem can be an easy one or a major pain in the ass!

[meatboy]

everyone reading this and are about to buy a pump/tank,the water on our moo-ban was very slow oweing to the owner building another and connecting into the system suppling ours.so most bought a tank and pump,some bought a pump tooooo big therefore blowing some of the pipe joints,eg.we had leaks on 2 of the three showers,all three bum guns,you can guarantee that the joints on the water pipes would not have been fitted properly.we bought a hitachi p200 which was plenty big enough for a large house,yet it still found loose fittings so if your pump is coming in on its own check your toilets and shower fittings first.

[weegee]

we had the same problem,i found one of the upstairs toilets stop valve was not shutting the water off after flushing,only found it after the wife had put a blue tablet in the flushing tank.

Sounds like that to me also....Mine was from the valve being dirty in the toilet tank, and not sealing correctly....If you can, get the garden hose in the tank and clean it out under pressure, especially the valve itself....then see what happens.