Pump running constantly

steinbock123

I totally renovated my house about eight years ago. It was a single storey bungalow, but I used the attic space and now have a dormer with bedroom and bathroom upstairs. A pressurised system was installed to get the water to the new upstairs. The problem I have now is that recently the pump is coming on constantly. It will run for maybe five seconds then switch off for ten seconds. It’s buried in a hot press in a utility room out the back, so I don’t know how long it’s doing this. I only noticed it when I got up in the middle of the night and heard it running in the silence. I now switch off the power at the plug every time I go to bed or leave the house. I have checked every cistern, tap and shower in the house, and there’s none either leaking, dripping, or left slightly on. There are times it seems ok and stays off, but it’s only for a couple of hours and then it’s back to on off on off on off.

It’s the unit with the red and blue markings at the bottom of the pic. The gauge beside it never gets much above where it is in the photo, but when I turn off the pump at night, it registers zero when I get up in the morning .

Any suggestions, or is it a job for a plumber. ??

zg3409

Can you check your water meter on the street last thing at night and first thing on the morning to see if you have a leak?

These pumps are relatively expensive to replace but it might be worth replacing if you don't have a leak.

Sigma101

I know you said you checked the cisterns, but I'd suggest checking them again. A slow leak can be hard to spot. Put some food colouring into each cistern and leave for a couple of hours. Then check to see if there's any colour in the toilet bowl water.

10-10-20

The cistern trick is good as a leak there features as a common issue with these pumps in past posts.

Also you can review this as part of troubleshooting it:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055843034/hot-water-pump-constantly-stop-starting

Wearb

Your expansion vessel diaphragm might be ruptured or just need recharging. Maybe a faulty one way valve.

steinbock123

Thanks lads - it was a cistern. I have three jax in the house, but always use only one. The food dye showed it up. You won’t believe the cause. I buy those BlooLoo pods you put into the cistern that colour the water and smell “nice”. They come in a blister pack, but when you take them out of the pack, they are wrapped in a waxy looking paper of some sort that dissolve’s along with the tablet/pod itself. I hadn’t had one in the cistern for a while, so the water was clear. When I examined the gubbins in the cistern, there was a tiny sliver of this wrapping that hadn’t dissolved at all trapped in the cistern outlet to the pan, causing a very very slight leakage. Once i removed it, all is fine with the pump again.

Needless to say, I won’t be using these yokes again.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120361047#Comment_120361047

Good update!