How a Well Pump Pressure Switch Works. Diagnosis and Repair. 

"I can buy a new one, but, I like fixing things and understanding how they work." That has been me my whole life, thank you for this very informative video. Now to see if this is the reason why my pump isn't working.

As a master plumber you hit it right on the nail good going keep up the good work and keeping your videos real like you do

For someone who has 10 Wells And have never had the opportunity to dismantle a pressure switch, I found this video quite helpful. Thank you

It's interesting how one can derive a great deal of satisfaction from something as simple as understanding and fixing this sort of thing.

There's nothing more satisfying than fixing your shit. Especially when the solution ends up being this simple. Beautifully done sir

”One day the zombieapocalypse might come” Love it! My usual saying is, well being a swedish person makes it more understandable, ”when the russians attack you need to know how things work so you can repair them” Love your videos!

I love how you explain how things work...in all your videos. Thank you

Thanks for the video, saved me a bunch of time. I too like to take things apart and fix but it helps to know what im getting into first. Your video confirmed my suspicions of what was wrong since i'm constantly cleaning out the sediment filters.

My first visit to the old farm, half the power is out due to the collapsed barn taking down some of the wires including the circuit that powers the house basement lights (super spooky down there without lights) and the well pump. Next visit, when I fix the wires, I will know what to look for when I power up the well. Very cool. I think that's called, "hysteresis" or "dead-band" when there is a gap between turn-off and turn-on.

Great Job, Simple fix at no cost. I at one time worked at factory that made this type switch and thousand of other types and Relays. They made all quality level from cheap to nasa grade. I had old well pump have contractor points sticking do to wear and age. The guys in shop said bring it in and they would replace it with Gold contact points. Never had another problem till I replaced pump.Years later. Thanks for all videos .

The clicking and movement is very satisfying.

Thank you! I think I am having the exact same problem and was looking for some confirmation that I had identified the problem correctly. Your video was perfect, thanks for having taken the time to make it.

I imagine you checked the other one aswell? You might want to install an electronic pressure gage that gives off an alarm when it gets too high. This way you do have some redundancy in case of failure.

Whew, glad I will now be able to fix my switch instead of eating brains! Insightful video, thanks!

I've ran into the exact same issue! Thanks so much for going into detail this 😀

Great video! It was interesting to see how the switch works. I'm having similar problems with a switch on my pressure tank and this was a great resource. Thanks for the help and the great humor!

As a retired millwright and life long DIY GUY, I think I have found my new favorite non cooking RU-vidr.

Thanks for doing this video. I also was lucky to have discovered that my pressure switch had failed and my pump was not cutting off. While I replaced mine, your video helped me figure out why exactly it was malfunctioning. Most videos about pump pressure switches involve the pump not turning on.

You did Good finding the problem and fixing it I always say a mechanic should know how to repair something broken Not just be a Parts Replacement Guy

Good Video, as usual. Im actually busy installing a new pump and switch, for the first time, and this is going to help with the settings. Thanks John!

So what was the mysterious fuzzy object that went flying when you removed the diaphragm pan?

You can use either a “pump saver” or an “mp8000” made by littelfuse, they are designed to monitor the current draw of your pump and if the current draw goes above normal (I.e. locked up motor or overpressure) or below normal (I.e. dry well or broken pipe) it will trip and save your pump/motor.

You could add a pressure relief valve and pipe it to a spray nozzle that way when it over pressures it sprays straight up and you can visually tell when the switch has failed.

I thank you for this video.........I've been looking all over youtube for this information...........my switch is malfunctioning......... it switches on and off continuously..............your video was very helpful..........

Just the vid that I needed. Excellent work!

"Schmoo" is now added to my vocabulary 😂. I absolutely love that word. Great video! I'm new to wells and this helped my old pressure switch feel less intimidating. Thanks so much!

Your presentation is as funny as it is instructional. Thanks!

Nice job on the "Well-troll" switch. I had one on my well pmp, and had to replace it a couple of times over 30 years, but my problem was spiders committing suicide across the switch points.. That arcing destroyed the points.

Thanks for the video ..this helped me understand about the diaphragm clogging problem

Excellent video, on how to.... Thanks for sharing

Excellent explanation

Good to know! And I hope you filed those contacts!

Never looked inside a pressire switch before - thanks .

This is exactly the video i needed. Thank you.

Thank you! It fixed my problem.

Curiosity is the key to intelligence! I was asking one specific question. Thank you! You answered a multitude of questions and some i didn't know i had! Subscribing!

Hahah! Loved the "....and you'll be eating brains" comment! Laughed out loud. Thanks for taking the time to do this!

Thanks man! Very informative! I'm having the same problem.

Great video! Well done!

Super lesson and explaination, Thanks

I learned to do that when I was in the 4th grade. We moved to a house with a well. My father and I did that many times through the years. It might be a good time to do it again before it screws up in the middle of the night and causes a flood. If you buy a new switch and clean out the old one you will have a spare for the future. The pump we started out with was not in the well. When it would take a long time to fill the tank we would dismantle the pump and clean out the impellors and housing when they clogged up with the same stuff. We also learned about water-tight ceramic bushings in water pumps too. I found them to be remarkable.

I am reminded of a compound bow where it takes a good amount of energy to pull back, but then less to hold it at full draw.

wow wow wow wow thank you so much. you probably saved my stuff from being destroyed.

You might have way better videos than this one, but this one was pretty darned interesting to me. You did a fine presentation of the problem, how it worked, and the solution. All in under 13 minutes.

Fixed mine today same problem thanks ,,i did it your way

I absolutely love watching your videos! Especially because when the zombie apocalypse happens and my family and I take over the nearest compound I’ll know how to keep things working! Seriously though I appreciate your knowledge and willingness to figure things out keep up the great work!

A very common problem on wells. We clean the nipples between the switch and the pipe every time we work on a well. We have had some that we took a drill bit to clean them out due to not having replacement fittings and need to get the water back on.

Thank you brother for the tip. Just hate being at the mercy of contractors who can’t get there for two days.

love your videos

Nice video thanks for the explanation. I have a well and 8ts the first home i owned with a well and of course my switch stop working last week i was getting stuck and the pressure tank was bad so i had to have both of them replaced.

Love the vids, man

Very interesting thanks I now know a little bit more about my well saw you on Kevin's channel

Very cool. It pays to stay curious. It used to be that one could buy all the little parts to a pressure switch. Diaphragms, springs and contacts. The price was negligible and a switch would last decades with a little maintenance. No more.

My well piping has a Tee at the top where it exits the casing. One leg is towards the pump, another leg towards the tank and the 3rd leg is to a 75psi relief valve to prevent the pipe from over-pressure in just such a scenario as what you had (pressure switch does not open). So you may want to consider installing a relief valve.

I have cleaned out pressure switch a few times. I keep a cleaned spare to allow a quick exchange of switches. Added a compression fitting under the switch to allow easy removal from the piping. I don't wait for a problem, just part of well maintenance.

4:25 Shmooo? LOL! Eating brains! Thanks for showing us how this works before I open up my switch!

I agree, I love repairing things and will try to repair anything first. Also, my well had an issue and burned the pump and motor up. It got so hot, the water coming our was hot and it normally is ice cold.

super appreciate this video ... now i have the feeling i can do ours.. im sure its also clogged as it seems to stick on.. thank you..

Other people "pressure switch not working time to get new one" farmcraft "pressure switch not working? THATS FREE CONTENT"

That pitted area is probably where all the clogging material came from (acts as a binder for the sand) so if you treat it and then seal it (epoxy coating) then add an inline filter you should be good to go for the foreseeable future. As it sits now its going to start corroding again immediately, the coating is gone, you could electroplate it as well to proof it back up.

Super helpful.

You could put the pressure switch in you basement after your sediment filter. Just an idea. Good content. Really enjoy it. Keep up the great work!

You DO have better videos, BUT this is a very useful for us new to pumps.

Deadband between on and off is hysteresis

Love hearing you say Shmoo 😁

Great video I suspect this is what's wrong with mine I'll have to check it out 👍

Had this exact same problem, the entire pressure tube was filled with what looked like rusty mud. At that point, I had already replaced my pressure switch with a new one, because it was only $20 or so, and I didn't want to be without water while I tried fixing it or worse, broke it. But if it happens again, I'll definitely try cleaning out the schmoo first

I like practical. Thanks.

That was great I really liked that

thx for explaining that process! A small amount of heat proof grease massaged into that rubber diaphragm, probably wouldn't hurt it kind sir. Loved the vid! THX!

Also, the spring breaks the circuit fast to minimize arcing the contacts

This type of operation is one example of hysteresis, and a Schmitt trigger would be an electrical circuit that would do the same thing as the mechanism in the video

Thank you so much! You saved me from eating brains! And from buying a pressure switch.

I'd replace with new and have that as your backup.

Enjoy all your videos & as a DIY'r myself on a horse ranch in Colorado, yeah you better be self-sufficient, or you will be calling someone every month. I completely understand your interest in "knowing how something works," I really do. However, the pressure switch on the well pump should have been replaced - JMHO - after you completely cleaned and serviced it of course. I too have tried to reuse old plumbing fixtures/unions/you name it, only to have a leak or other issue crop up shortly thereafter. My pressure switch controls and saves my pump from overheating and failure. My well is 895ft deep and I have no way to service/replace the large 3hp 10 gal per-min pump myself. I jsimply cannot risk a $3k pump (plus the labor) even on a rebuild as well done as your two-decade old pressure switch. When a new pressure switch runs $21. The risk to save $21 is too much for me. But of course, after the rebuild I would save it in my pump supply box as a backup or for a neighbor. One last consideration, here in CO - stuff goes bad at the most inopportune times, like during a blizzard when there is 2ft of snow on the ground. One final comment - the digging of the large pine tree tap-root with a small excavator so you can mow. I have hundreds of ponderosa pines on my property, I take them down frequently - pines all have tap-roots. If the stumps bother me, (99% do not) I rent a stump-grinder. Hey what a cool project idea! Find an old stump grinder and rebuild it. Be safe & keep fighting the perversity o inanimate objects!

Do like my do-it-yourself neighbor and fit the pvc together with out glue, just primer. Built in pressure relief valve.

great thanks

Very interesting. Glad you found and fixed the problem. How is the other well?

Oh you had me at Zombie Appocalypse!

Swimming pool pump motors have a similar mechanism to disengage the start windings and go to the run windings. There is a video that explains it, I will look for a link and add it after I finish watching this.

Good stuff, thanks. That seesaw action looks very familiar with some light switches we have in Aus/NZ, may be for the smooth action?. (Hopefully more frequent on the maintenance - but I know what you meant!) Cheers, David

Nice

Sounds like you should invest into an overpressure valve as well. It might not fix your issue but at least it would protect your pump :)

if the diafram is too sloppy and weak, then it will mess up the nut settings too, so that it wont even cut off the motor

one switch less in the landfill 👍🍁🙋‍♂️😊👏

Great and informative video! My less than a year old Drummond shallow well pump and tank pressure switch turns on and off like you mentioned. Any idea what I can look at?

An important detail is missing in the installation. Compared to my I have in (Sweden) An overpressure valve that trips when the pressure becomes higher than the preset pressure in the pressure switch. How to note it? 🤔 It sprays water from just hell and then the pressure switch gets wet and the fuse goes😂😬😬

Praise God for this video

Love your attitude towards fixing vs. replacing. Do you think a well pump would just sit deadheaded and burn itself up? I would think it would have a bypass bleed port like a sump pump does, but I don’t really know.

"Eatin' Brains". That made me laugh.

I would like to see you buy a ultrasonic cleaner! I've only been watching your videos for 2 days and you encounter a problem where you need one multiple times in all videos I've seen until now :-)

Hi there---I subscribed to you for something else you helped with that I was trying to understand. So thanks for that. Added question to this type of clean out----do you have a check valve on that system that would need cleaning out as well? I get some kind of black flecks in my ice maker or dishwasher sometimes and don't know where it is coming from except the well. Have tried adding bleach to the holding tank but not really wanting to have bleach in my water. Thanks for your help if you have time. Jesus bless.

how bad was the one on the other well?

3:12 it's a toggle mechanism :)

In the south you get ants and other bugs that get between the points preventing them to close.

Now we are ready for the Zombie apocalypse to come...i really love your videos!!!

👍

👍👍👍

I wonder if the pitting was from casting?

I have one of this pressure switch 20/40psi, but I use a 180w 12v solar water pump (non submersible), and it only pushes up to 20psi. What modification do I have to use for a very little differential? say 3 or no more than 10 psi (differential)? Thanks in advance. I have both screws all backed off