With a newer well system what would cause loss of water pressure which can be corrected by flipping the breaker switch?

Answer 1

It's possible that you need to adjust the amount of air pressure in the pressure tank.check the tank with a tire pressure gauge.The pressure should be set to the installation specifications. If you have to reset the breaker the new well pump probably draws more current than the old pump and the feed is now undersized. Check the ratings of the pump. If the pump runs, the voltage is probably correct. Check the current rating of the pump. Look for a surge current rating, if one is marked. You want your breaker to be at least 5A more than the max current draw of the motor to prevent blowing the breaker on start-up. If you find the breaker is undersized, DO NOT JUST REPLACE THE BREAKER!!! The wiring is undersized, too! This requires a complete re-wire all the way up to the pump, which has the potential to be a big job. Tips: Look at the pump. If it is a 110/220V motor operationg on 110V you can move it up to 220V. Because the pump will now be only drawing half the current as before, so the existing wiring should be large enough. I wrote a nice how-to on how to switch a motor over to 220V in the electrical section of this site. Then all you need to do is replace the 110V breaker with a 220V breaker. Make sure the well pump is on a dedicated circuit before you try this, or else you will have some nice little fires when you turn the new breaker on. Also check the ratings on your pressure switch to make sure it can handle it. My general rule of thumb for wire sizes (These should be less than or equal to, but WikiAnswers erases text with equal signs.) <15A max - 14Ga <20A max - 12Ga <30A max - 10Ga <40A max - 8 Ga <50A max - 6 Ga If you need to run 8Ga or higher to a pump, man, that's a big pump. If you didn't understand everything I said above, or if you have any doubts, hire an electrician. If you get the wire sizing wrong on high power loads, or if you change the voltage or current without checking the ratings of all the fixtures on the line, you can (very) easily start a fire.