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How to Diagnose & Repair Intermittent Lack of Water Pressure from Wells or Municipal Supply InspectAPedia®  -     How to diagnose intermittent or cycling bad water pressure in a building How to diagnose loss of water pressure or loss of water in a building

This article describes how to diagnose periodic or intermittent loss of water pressure from municipal water supply piping and how to diagnose periodic or intermittent loss of water pressure from a private well. The process of diagnosis and the costs of the repair are explained. Consumer advice on saving money on well repair costs includes a review of the parts and labor costs of a typical well pump and pressure tank replacement case.

If the building water supply stops and takes minutes to hours to recover, the municipal water system may have work going on outside of your building, or if you're supplied by a private well, you may have problem with the well flow rate. But the problem of lost water supply and pressure could be more mechanical and may be due to a problem right in your building itself.

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MUNICIPAL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS: If your water is from a municipal supply and the pressure or flow seem to vary or start and stop

• Variation in supply pressure: There could be variation in water pressure supplied by the municipality - check with your neighbors and your water department. You can install a pressure valve at your water entry main and watch for variations in its reading when you're not even running water in your building. This is a likely cause but it's unlikely to continue for days or weeks.
  
  
• Clogged piping or multiple users: There could be a problem with poor water pressure due to clogged pipes combined with other people in the building using water at the same time. This is a likely cause, it could continue for years, and it would correlate with the presence or absence of various building occupants and their water use. See Water pipe clog diagnosis for a step by step diagnostic guide to this cause of bad water pressure.
  
  
• Bad water pressure regulator: You could have a problem with your water regulator but it's unlikely that this would cause varying pressure. If you have this rare problem a plumber can change out the pressure regulator. See WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
  
  
• No municipal water pressure at all: see No Water Pressure for a step by step diagnostic guide.

WELL WATER PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS: If your water is provided by a private well and the pressure or flow seem to vary or start and stop

When you lose water pressure or lose all water supply for some time period but water pressure later returns or improves, check the possible explanations outlined just below. On the other hand, if you lose and do not recover water pressure in the building see Diagnosis of Loss of Water Pressure which Does Not Recover on its Own.

1. First Check the Basics: Has someone partially shut off the main or some other water supply valve? Is there an obvious burst pipe? Is the water pump running at all? See our detailed diagnostic list at: WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
2. The well is being pumped "dry" and you're waiting for the well itself to recover water. With age however some wells deteriorate and deliver less and less water as their flow rate from the water table into the well diminishes. This occurs as minerals clog the cracks or passages through which water is entering the well.
3. A pump is shutting down on thermal overload and you're waiting for it to cool down and automatically re-set it's overload switch. (Other electrical motors including on some pumps have a reset switch which must be re-set manually by pressing the "popped out" red button down. If the pump is visible in the building you can diagnose this condition:
4. Water pump hesitates before starting at end of water tank draw-down cycle - see How to Fine Tune the Pump Pressure Control Switch to the Water Tank.
5. If the pump keeps running and you have no water there is a problem with the well or well piping or foot valve in the well -- maybe. See contrasting cases after this list. Turn off the water pump so that you don't burn out the motor. Some water pumps depend on having water inside the pumping mechanism to avoid wear or overheating.
6. If the pump shuts itself off and is hot, it's off on thermal reset. Feel the pump motor. Read the operating temperature range expected by the pump manufacturer - this data is usually on a label affixed to the pump motor.
7. If the pump is in the well you can't see these conditions directly but an electrician or plumber can do some diagnosis from the building by noting the amperage draw on the pump circuit.
8. Problems with well casing or well flow and recovery - loss of ground water and many other causes of loss of water are discussed at our comprehensive article: WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE

Readers of this document should also see Water pressure tanks - how to diagnose the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.

These pages are chapters of our comprehensive article: WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS
  Water Pressure Intermittent
  No Water Pressure
  Well Tank relation to Water Pressure
  Shaking the Water Tank?
  Water Pressure Tank Problems
  Water Pressure Tank Diagnosis
  Water pressure Later Returns "on its own"
  Water pipe clog diagnosis
  Water pipe clog repair guide
  Making the "right" repair
WATER PUMPS & WELL TANKS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS

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