campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

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spanish_lad
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campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby spanish_lad » Sat Jun 11, 2022 11:32 pm

ok so we have a tank with a pump, and this supplies pressure to the house.

when you turn on the shower or the tap in the kitchen, the pump comes on and stays on while you use water. it goes off after about 10 seconds of turning off the tap.

only it comes on as well when we have not opened the tap. the pressure gauge shows the pressure dropping off gradually over 10 or 15 minutes then the pump will come on for 30 seconds etc.

it points to a leak? BUT the water doesnt seems to be going down faster, and there is no sign of a visiable leak in the house at all.

anyone got any ideas ? it must be loosing pressure, but from where ? we turn off the toilet after its filled, i might have to turn off the kitchen and bathroom basin and bidet, (cant turn off the shower) to see if it has any effect, and then turn them back on one at a time ?
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby casita-bonita » Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:50 am

We've had similar issues in the past even after turning off what we can to try and figure out where the leakage is. Eventually I put a sheet of kitchen roll under each tap, shower and my water heater. Easy to see then as the paper deforms once a drip or two falls on it. Last time it turned out to be a small leak in our gas water heater..
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby Lavanda » Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:53 pm

We have had the same problem on-and-off for about the last five years. We can't find a leak so we have given up worrying about it.

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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby peteroldracer » Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:42 pm

When we had this IIRC it was a slight leak at the pump connections letting in a tiny amount of air, so the pump kicked in to get the pressure back up. Like so many things in Spain best to not worry about it!
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby dxf » Sun Jun 12, 2022 9:59 pm

Hola,

Yes you are right, it points to a leak - which can be the one way valve not working correctly in a well. The OP said they have a tank which supplies water so i have to ask, how is the tank filled?

Finding a leak can be very difficult but sometimes there are clues like the grass in a certain area remains greener all year round. The trick is to try to follow each pipe back from the tap to the tank which isn't always easy and sometimes downright impossible without demolishing the house - a bit drastic LOL

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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby spanish_lad » Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:18 pm

Lavanda wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:53 pm We have had the same problem on-and-off for about the last five years. We can't find a leak so we have given up worrying about it.
Well yeah thats an idea, but did the pump not "burn out" quicker? and didnt you loose water ?

We are on solar, so while its not a problem during the day, it does eat into the batteries over night.
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby spanish_lad » Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:19 pm

dxf wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 9:59 pm Hola,

Yes you are right, it points to a leak - which can be the one way valve not working correctly in a well. The OP said they have a tank which supplies water so i have to ask, how is the tank filled?

Finding a leak can be very difficult but sometimes there are clues like the grass in a certain area remains greener all year round. The trick is to try to follow each pipe back from the tap to the tank which isn't always easy and sometimes downright impossible without demolishing the house - a bit drastic LOL

Davexf
Hey DXF - its filled from a truck at the moment, but we want to get mains water if possible. they have it next door, so it shouldn´t be that much of an issue...
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby Lavanda » Mon Jun 13, 2022 7:05 am

No, the pump is not burning out any faster because the problem is only intermittent and not for long. I suspect the water loss is minimal but it comes from a 150m deep borehole that, so far, in 15 years, whatever the drought conditions are, gives us water. Obviously, if it was a continuous problem we would have to do something a bit less Spanish than shrug our shoulders.

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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby fincalospinos » Mon Jun 13, 2022 8:12 am

Another thing to check is the toilet cistern, you can often get a small leak if the valve doesn't close fully, especially in areas with a high cal content.
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby gerryh » Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:53 pm

spanish_lad wrote: Sat Jun 11, 2022 11:32 pm ok so we have a tank with a pump, and this supplies pressure to the house.

when you turn on the shower or the tap in the kitchen, the pump comes on and stays on while you use water. it goes off after about 10 seconds of turning off the tap.

only it comes on as well when we have not opened the tap. the pressure gauge shows the pressure dropping off gradually over 10 or 15 minutes then the pump will come on for 30 seconds etc.

Has your pump got a pressure tank attached to it?
It's the big bit on the bottom of the attached photo.
Image
The tank keeps the pressure fairly constant to stop the pump from cycling on and off when the taps are shut.
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby spanish_lad » Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:17 pm

Hi Gerry, one of those would of been better if there were space for it, the one that fits in the little dog house is the yellow / black one from bricomart, this one : https://www.bricomart.es/grupo-presion- ... 41250.html

It's good that it's only 450w, I'm unplugging it during the day when we are not in, and at night when we are asleep so that it doesn't destroy our batteries, but the right thing to do would be to find / repair the leak, I know
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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby El Cid » Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:55 am

I have one of those. It’s made by Espa. I have had your problems a number of times. It has always been a fault in the controler on top. They are only available from Espa as a complete set, pump included which is expensive. My plumber told me that he tried everywhere to get one and failed. Recently he found that they are on Amazon.es for €39. I bought one and he fitted it and the cycling stopped. 90% of the time it’s the controller that is the problems. Pumps rarely fail as they are basic mechanical devices. The controler is electronic and that makes it less reliable.

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Re: campo living - water pumps - how often should it run ?

Postby spanish_lad » Wed Jun 22, 2022 8:18 am

El Cid wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:55 am I have one of those. It’s made by Espa. I have had your problems a number of times. It has always been a fault in the controler on top. They are only available from Espa as a complete set, pump included which is expensive. My plumber told me that he tried everywhere to get one and failed. Recently he found that they are on Amazon.es for €39. I bought one and he fitted it and the cycling stopped. 90% of the time it’s the controller that is the problems. Pumps rarely fail as they are basic mechanical devices. The controler is electronic and that makes it less reliable.

Sid
now that is good to know Cid, thankyou - so it might not be a leak at all, and could be just the electronic doodah being silly. I will give that a try maybe, €39 is better than digging up the floor...

Its a brand new pump that we bought a month or two ago for €165, (now they are €200+), and indeed, it is an espa - i thought going for a named brand would be better :eh:
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