Pump symptoms
When the pumpis the cause.
A pump complains before it stops, and its symptoms are distinctive.
01
It cycles on and off fast
The pump starts, stops, and starts again while a single tap is open. That means the pressure vessel has lost the air cushion inside it, so the pump has no margin to rest between starts.
02
The noise changed suddenly
A different hum, a rattle, or a new whine. Fresh noise is usually air pulled into the suction side or a tired bearing, and both get worse if the pump is left running as it is.
03
It runs but nothing comes
The motor turns normally but the taps give nothing. The pump has lost its prime, or the tank is empty, or the suction valve is closed. Leaving it spinning dry burns the seal inside it.
04
It heats up and cuts out
The pump stops after a spell of running, then restarts once it cools. That is a thermal cut out doing its job, caused either by constant running from a leak on the line, or by a pump smaller than the house needs.
In short
The pump work.
Service
Water pump installation and repair
Types
Surface booster pumps, and submersible pumps inside a ground tank
The work includes
Pressure vessel, pressure switch, non return valve, float
Where it applies
Houses, flats, blocks, complexes and chalets
Electrical side
The electrical connection is an electrician's work, not ours
Hours
Daily, 6:00 in the morning to 12:00 midnight
The method
From suctionto delivery.
A pump is read from both sides: what goes into it and what leaves it.
We check the tank first
The water level, the float and the outlet valve. A healthy pump on an empty tank gives exactly the same symptoms as a failed one.
We check the suction side
Any air drawn in through a joint on the suction side stops a pump pulling, even if not one drop of water leaks out of it. Joints are tightened and the non return valve is checked.
We check the vessel
The vessel holds air behind a rubber diaphragm, and that air is what stops the constant cycling. We check it, recharge it, and replace it if the diaphragm has split.
We run it and test at a tap
The pump runs and we open the furthest and highest tap in the house, because the result is measured there and not at the pump itself.
The detail
Why a pumpwears out.
A domestic booster pump is not just a motor. It is a set: the motor and its impeller, a pressure switch deciding when it starts and stops, and a small pressure vessel holding air behind a diaphragm. That vessel is what lets a tap give water for a moment before the motor runs, and without it the pump starts on every drop.
The most common failure is not in the motor, it is in that vessel. The air inside it drops over time or escapes through a tired diaphragm, so the motor starts and stops dozens of times a minute on one open tap. Every start takes from the motor's life, which is how a good pump dies because of a cheap part beside it.
The suction side matters more than the delivery side. A pump can push water a long way, but it can only lift it a limited height, and any air entering a joint on the suction side breaks the column and the pump loses its prime. So a weeping joint on the suction side is a bigger problem than one on the delivery side, even though it never drips.
In Kuwait, heat is added on top. A pump sitting on a roof or beside an exposed tank already works in hot air, and its margin shrinks as running time grows. A pump running almost constantly because of a leak somewhere on the line heats up and trips its thermal cut out, so sometimes the call is about the pump while the real fault is a leak elsewhere in the house.
External links for referenceMinistry of Electricity and Water (the public water network in Kuwait)
Questions
Asked aboutpumps.
Usually the pressure vessel has lost its air, so nothing holds pressure between starts. Sometimes it is a pressure switch set wrong, or a small leak on the line letting the pressure fall continuously.
Check the tank first, because an empty tank gives the same symptom. If there is water in it, the pump has lost its prime, usually from air entering a joint on the suction side or a non return valve that no longer holds. Do not leave it spinning dry.
Not always. If the weakness comes from narrow pipework, a half closed valve or blocked filters, a stronger pump simply works harder and tires faster with no real gain. We find the cause of the weakness first, and only then decide whether a bigger pump is the answer.
New noise is an early signal worth acting on. It is usually air on the suction side, a bearing starting to go, or a loosened mounting. Dealing with it while it is still a noise is easier than dealing with it after the pump stops altogether.
Both. The existing pump is repaired when the fault is a part such as the pressure switch, the vessel or the seal. If the pump itself is finished, or it was never the right size for the house, we fit a replacement onto the same line.