water pump repair

[macuu222]

Anyone know a knowledgeable and reasonably price water pump repair person. My catchment pump (Flojet) is stuck in the on position. Won't cut off unless you unplug it from the wall (I have it temporarily connected to a 50 foot extension cord and an on/off switch so I can manually control the cycle upstairs until I have it repaired)

[terracore]

Is it the pressure switch? They are easy to swap out. The guy at island catchment told me how and sold me the switch. I think about $14.

[birdmove]

My water pump (not a Flojet though) does that now and then. So far, each time, I changed the adjustment for what pressure the pump cuts out, and it is still going. This is probably the original pump from when the house was built in 1996. I believe the brand is Stay Right? It's a metal pump, and they still sell these at the catchment place here in HPP near the highway, and off Makuu.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[MarkP]

I second that about the pressure switch. It is the switch that turns the pump on and off and it is pretty easy to replace if it is the type I think it is.

[macuu222]

Went to Island Catchment and he agreed it sounds like the pressure switch. Sold me one for $25.00. They don't do service repairs on pumps anymore but they do stock the parts. And he said it's a simple fix. I guess we'll see tomorrow. Sure beats buying and plumbing a new pump!

[My 2 cents]

Inside the pressure switch you will usually find a set of points, similar to what you would find in a car distributor. If the pump stays on, the points are likely fused together. If the pump doesn't come on, then they probably have some crud on them that is keeping them from making the connection. In either case, a simple filing of the points will usually fix the problem. BE SURE TO UNPLUG THE PUMP OR TURN THE POWER OFF FIRST!!!

[My 2 cents]

BTW, if the pump doesn't come on, it could be the pressure switch or the pump...or the power supply. But if the pump is staying on, it should be obvious that there is nothing wrong with the pump or power supply.

[terracore]

Agree with 2 cents. I was filing the "points" with sandpaper when I accidentally broke the flimsy board they were on. It was a procedure that had worked before but I guess I got sloppy. You should try this before installing the new pressure switch. Island Catchment will refund for the pressure switch. I wouldn't hang onto it for a "spare" in case your pump goes out and you get something new that doesn't match your switch.

An Emory board (people use them to file their nails, they are cheap) works really well for cleaning the points. They have diamond dust on each side of the board so you can just insert it between the two contacts, a few wiggles and you're done. If I wasn't working with clumsy sandpaper, I probably wouldn't have broken the switch.

Make sure the pump is unplugged first.

[mikewj]

One more thing to check. I had a water leak which caused the pump to be on most of the time. ( Toilet with stuck float valve). My new rule of thumb is to start checking the simple stuff, then move on to fixes requiring parts and/or labor. Prevents replacing stuff which doesn't fix the problem.

[macuu222]

Well it wasn't the pressure switch. It was the pressure tank. Bladder was bad. I pressed the air valve on the tank and water came out. I took the bad pressure tank out and put a plug where the tank connection was hoping I could still use it as a "on demand" water source until I buy a new tank. But the water won't cycle off. It keeps running on a closed system. Is that right? Does a pump with a pressure switch need a pressure tank to operate the pump correctly?