The last 24 hours have been troublesome. The water pressure pump in the basement wouldn't stop running. I'd noticed that its running time had gotten longer so I knew something was up but until it broke down completely all I could do was stare down at it. From the picture it's obvious that there could be a failure at any of several points so I started at the cistern to see if it was empty due to my failure to run the well pump. It was lower than I had ever seen it as we'd been using more than the usual amount of water in the last few days. I turned on the well pump to replenish the water level but the system had gotten air into it so the trouble was compounded.

So where to start with the troubleshooting? I checked the pressure level of the pressure tank with a tire guage. At 35 lbs it was a little low but not empty of pressure. The water pressure guage was erratic and not registering a consistent pressure when the pump was on. The pressure switch didn't turn the pump off no matter how long it ran or what the guage was reading. I called a friend, Jim. He suggested the pump had air in it and needed to be primed with water. He also advised that it could take a lot of water. My daughter melted ice cubes, scooped water out of the toilet tank and we finally went to my sister's to fill containers. By the end of the night it still wasn't running but my brother-in-law had heard the tale and said he'd be over in the morning. He has lots of pump and priming experience so I had faith that the problem would be resolved.

In the morning we made coffee and waited for Mike. He removed both plugs off the top of the pump, added water and returned both plugs. I went into the bath and ran the tub water while he turned on the pump manually. As the air was expelled and there was a good supply of water flowing the pressure came up on the guage but the switch still failed to turn off the pump. We decided to try adjusting the switch as we discovered that it would turn off with a sharp rap to the side of it.

We adjusted the switch to turn on the pump at a drop to 35 lbs and to charge up and quit pumping at 45 lbs. It worked. The switch may need to be replaced in the future but for now it's good.

Mike was good enough to help me set the timer on the well pump so it will go on and off each day to fill the cistern. A big thank you!!