Your home's well not only provides you with fresh, clean drinking water but it's also one of the most costly parts of your property. Replacing a submerged pump can cost several thousand dollars, and more significant well failures can be even more expensive. Not every problem with your water well necessarily means that a pricey replacement is in your future, however.

If you're experiencing well pump issues, this list will offer three common problems that won't require you to install an entirely new pump.

1. Pressure Switch Failures

Have you ever wondered why your water pump doesn't run continuously? The answer is the humble pressure switch. This simple device determines when your well pump should run and when it should shut down. A faulty pressure switch can cause your pump to cycle on and off too rapidly, run continuously, or not run at all.

The pressure switch operates by monitoring the water level in your pressure tank. When water pressure in the tank reaches the cut-off, the pressure switch disengages the pump. If the water level falls below the minimum, the pump turns back on. Pressure switch failures are more common than pump failures, so this is often the first item that many contractors will check.

2. Tripped Breakers

Your pump should have a dedicated circuit in your breaker box. This extra circuit is necessary since the pump can draw a significant amount of current when starting, but it can also simplify diagnosing electrical problems. When the breaker for your pump trips, you know that the problem must be with the pump and not another appliance on the same circuit.

If the breaker trips once, then go ahead and try resetting it, but you should stop using the pump if it repeatedly trips the circuit. In this case, the problem is likely to be either a wiring fault or an overcurrent situation created by a failing pump motor. A professional plumber can typically pull your pump and replace the failed component instead of the entire pump.

3. Poor Water Pressure

Your pump system maintains water pressure by filling the pressure tank to the appropriate level. Hence, a loss of water pressure typically means that the pump cannot supply sufficient water to meet demand. If the pressure switch isn't the problem, then the pump motor may be failing or the water level in your well may be too low.

Your plumber will investigate a persistent low-pressure problem by first checking the pressure switch, pressure tank, pump wiring, and well water level. If the water level in your well falls too low, you may be able to lower the depth of the pump. Taking this approach will always be drastically cheaper than digging a new well in another location.

If you need well pump repair, reach out to a company like Action Well & Pump Repair.

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