Living in a rural area without access to community utilities brings some additional plumbing requirements for your home. If your property has a low-producing water well, then a holding tank and pressure tank are two such requirements. Installed between the holding and pressure tank is a check valve. The check valve is necessary to hold the water in the plumbing at the pressure tank without it running back into the holding tank.
If your pressure tank's pump is repeatedly cycling on and off, then you should suspect the check valve. Check valves are constantly under pressure and are prone to failure. Thankfully, replacing a failed check valve on PVC pipe is a fairly simple procedure that anyone can complete.
Follow this process to replace the check valve on your water system:
Step 1: Turn off the circuit breaker that services your well's pump and pressure tank. This step is essential to ensure that you do not suffer an electrical shock or electrocution when working on your well's plumbing.
Step 2: Using a small hacksaw or a PVC cutting tool if you have one, cut the PVC pipe at each end of the check valve. Remove the valve and dispose of it in your household trash.
Step 3: Using a piece of sandpaper, rough up the outside surfaces of the pipes that you are connecting to the valve. You also need to sand the inside of the fittings on each end of the new check valve. Remove the PVC dust with a tacky cloth.
Step 4: Using PVC primer, prime each surface that you have sanded. Let the primer dry completely before you use any PVC glue.
Step 5: Using a liberal amount of PVC glue, paint each surface that you primed and then press all of the pieces together. Since the pipes will have a tendency to push outward, you need to hold both ends of the pipes into the new check valve for a couple of minutes while the glue sets.
Step 6: Turn back on the power to your well and pressure pumps and verify that the pump is no longer cycling. The cycling stops because the check valve is once again doing its job holding the water within the plumbing that leads into the pressure tank's pump.
If this procedure does not solve the problem of your pump cycling, then there may be a mechanical problem with the pump and you should have it professionally serviced. Contact a company like Monumental Supply Company for more information.
