- Dec 9, 2009
- 1,495
Falling in the `it's always something' category, my pump decided to act up yesterday. We ran our holding tank dry last week, so this may be related--more than likely is my guess.
I have a small Goulds pump in my utility room, with no pressure tank. I assume it's original equipment in a 27 y.o. house, so may be coming the end of its natural lifespan. I am getting a new boiler (or so the plan goes) this winter, and will be having considerable work done in the utility room in support of that. I think the course of wisdom will be to bite the bullet and replace the pump and include a pressure tank this time. (Will also be getting the hot water tank moved into a more convenient spot, clean it out, see what shape its in, and replace that if its time has come as well. Gulp.) I trust the boiler repair guy as a plumber and a workman, so may as well get it all done right.
Meanwhile, my pump's current problem is that it will not turn off. Without a pressure tank, it's always come on very frequently, but turns off after a few minutes, and repeats that frequently. Yesterday or so, it just kept running, and it won't turn off by itself anymore. It's not wired in (PO did some things very well, and some things he just did strangely), so it's very easy to just plug it in and unplug it. We're just letting the pump run while we run the water for a shower, or when we need to flush, run air out of the lines to the sink, and so on, and then unplug the pump. It's a temporary measure, and will probably hasten the approaching end for this pump, but at least we have water enough to get us through the work/school week.
I'm wondering if there's a quick fix with Goulds for something like this--some kind of a reset switch or clean-out valve that might be blocked, or a pressure switch that has failed. It's possible that when we ran the tank dry, we pulled some detritus up into it that is blocking things. Any suggestions? Sure would appreciate the help.
I have a small Goulds pump in my utility room, with no pressure tank. I assume it's original equipment in a 27 y.o. house, so may be coming the end of its natural lifespan. I am getting a new boiler (or so the plan goes) this winter, and will be having considerable work done in the utility room in support of that. I think the course of wisdom will be to bite the bullet and replace the pump and include a pressure tank this time. (Will also be getting the hot water tank moved into a more convenient spot, clean it out, see what shape its in, and replace that if its time has come as well. Gulp.) I trust the boiler repair guy as a plumber and a workman, so may as well get it all done right.
Meanwhile, my pump's current problem is that it will not turn off. Without a pressure tank, it's always come on very frequently, but turns off after a few minutes, and repeats that frequently. Yesterday or so, it just kept running, and it won't turn off by itself anymore. It's not wired in (PO did some things very well, and some things he just did strangely), so it's very easy to just plug it in and unplug it. We're just letting the pump run while we run the water for a shower, or when we need to flush, run air out of the lines to the sink, and so on, and then unplug the pump. It's a temporary measure, and will probably hasten the approaching end for this pump, but at least we have water enough to get us through the work/school week.
I'm wondering if there's a quick fix with Goulds for something like this--some kind of a reset switch or clean-out valve that might be blocked, or a pressure switch that has failed. It's possible that when we ran the tank dry, we pulled some detritus up into it that is blocking things. Any suggestions? Sure would appreciate the help.