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Question:

water pump kicking on all the time!?

I have a old house,1920's I think it was built. My water pump kicks on all the time! The tolite upstairs is not that old but the pipes are.The tolite runs for a min. and then stops for 5 mins. When I am running a bath..the second I turn off the water in the tub,the tolite starts to run! Same with the tolite downstairs,that one is only a few years old and the pipes are the same as it is an addition to the house. When I am up late at night in my office I hear the water pump kicking on in the basement ever 10 mins or so! My electric bill is huge! How can I fix this problem? What is causing it? I have not noticed any water leaks anywhere. We turned up the pressure on the pump. That helped a little. Thank god we have our own water well. Anyone have any Idea's?

Answer:

need more info but do you have a backflow preventer installed on the pipes? this might cause it or it may be bad if you do have one
similar problems with mine a year ago..and I eventually called in the water well professionals..It ended up being the pump itself on the end of the pipe down in the well..I then replaced the toilet fluidmaster and flapper anyway!
put food coloring in toilet tanks do not flush allow to sit for a while if water in bowl becomes discolored then flapper is bad or water level is to high and going over flush valve and means fill valve is bad you should also only have 40-50 lbs of pressure if pressure is set to high you'll blow everything faucet seals toilet seals etc
The problem is your water system is not holding pressure properly. A couple of simple things to check are the *pressure switch. This switch monitors line pressure and turns pump on and off (ex: 20/40=pump on at 20PSI off at 40 PSI). Most older systems have this along with a pressure gauge screwed into top of pump. simply turn on water while someone monitors gauge. If it reads 20 and pump starts then reads 40 and pump shuts off it is not switch. If readings are way off change switch. *if you have a bladder tank, check the pressure in it (you can tell if it has a valve stem on top just like your car tires). There is us usualy a chart on top of the tank giving recomended pressure. Use a tire gauge to check pressure, if low put some air in it. If this does not work go talk to your local hardware or someone in the plumbing trade for better suggestions.

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