Possible Water Leak

6 years ago

We live on 5 acres and have tank water. Our pump keeps kicking on and off for short periods of time without us using the water. We have searched the property and we have not been able to find any leaks anywhere - and made sure all taps and showers, toilets are not dripping or leaking etc. My husband and his maintenance guy have replaced some fittings that were a little old thinking that might help. It hasn't.

They also shut off the valve between the pump and the house to see if the pump kept shutting on and off - and it didn't. So they are convinced that it is something in the house we can't see or somewhere between the house and pump.

We don't want to spend a huge amount of time or money paying someone to come and do what we have already done - and we don't want someone to dig up our property trying to find something that might not be there.

So my questions are:

1. Could it be the pump - air in it or no air - as the case may be? Or is that eliminated because they shut off the valve and it didn't happen?

2. Is there new equipment or technology that can find a leak without having to dig up gardens or knock down walls etc? What would a plumber do in this situation to find the leak?

Thanks so much in advance - for any input or answers :)

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Comments (2)

armoured
6 years ago
Two suggestions to look at (although I'm not entirely clear whether what you checked would have eliminated this) - check the pressure tank air pressure and whether it is working properly. There's a bladder in there and the air can leak out (though it shouldn't) or might not have been pressurized properly - or the bladder itself could have failed. This would possibly explain it coming on and off very frequently - with too little air or bladder failed, the pressure will jump very quickly from below cut-off to above. If it's this, pressurizing the tank with air may fix it, or the tank may need replaced (usually not a difficult job).

There is also a possibility the regulator (that turns the pump on and off based on how much pressure in the system) has failed or is not properly adjusted. I don't know well how to diagnose this, but you should have a pressure gauge and hopefully on regulator shows settings on cut-off and on. I had a regulator fail and it was putting out too high pressure (not turning off when it should have), and it caused other problems.

You can find youtube videos explaining the pressure tank checks fairly easily.

If it actually is a leak somewhere and you have a water flow meter between the tank and the rest of the house, you should see flow there.

Please note, I'm not a plumber, just have had to deal with some issues with the pressure tank, so I may be diagnosing based on my limited knowledge and the stuff I happen to have seen.
Bruce in Northern Virginia
6 years ago
When you check rough-in plumbing in a new house you isolate the new piping (close off the incoming water and all fixtures), and then install a pressure gauge on one fixture or at the incoming line. Pressurize it to about 70 psi (the gauge assembly has an inflation nipple) and let it sit for several hours. There should be no pressure drop in the system over a 24 hour period.

If you can isolate sections of your piping you should be able to use the same process to figure out where you are losing pressure/water. Also make sure its not just a bad rubber bladder in the pressure system tank. I don't know a lot about well systems, but assume the pump motor just pressurizes the system, and the pressure switch keeps the pressure up.

Bruce
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