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Pressure switch settings are adjustable, and if you are unsatisfied with the pressure settings provided to you by the manufacturer, you can adjust them to better suit your household needs.
- Drain the tank of water. Before making any changes to the pressure settings, you’ll want to ensure the well tank itself has no water within it. This will make recalibrating the pressure of the well tank much easier.
- Find your pressure switch. The pressure switch is a rectangular black box, usually attached to the tank manifold found at the base of your tank. It is usually found adjacent to the circular pressure gauge, the device that indicates the pressure of the water in the waterline.
- Remove the pressure switch’s cover. The pressure switch’s cover is usually black or dark gray and is attached to the body of the switch by a nut. Using an adjustable wrench, loosen the nut and remove the cover from the switch. Many pressure switch manufacturers will include an internal diagram that shows demonstrates standard pressure switch settings, like 30/50, 40/60, or 20/40.
- Examine the pressure switch. Pressure switches will have nuts internally that can be rotated to modify the cut-on and cut-off pressure. Most commonly, pressure switches will use a single nut to raise both the cut-on and cut-off pressure simultaneously. This maintains the necessary 20 psi differential between the two pressure settings. The set relationship between the cut-on and cut-off pressure is crucial for the performance of your pump and well.
- Adjust the pressure settings with a wrench. Using a wrench, turn the nut clockwise to raise the pressure and counter-clockwise to reduce the pressure. For every complete turn of the nut, the pressure increases 2 1/2 psi. So, to raise the psi by 10, you will need to turn the nut three and a half times. If your pressure switch uses separate nuts to adjust the cut-on and cut-off pressures, consult the switch’s manual before attempting to adjust the pressures. Usually, the 1/2 nut controls the cut-on pressure and the 7/16 nut controls the cut-off pressure. You want to make sure that you adjust the two pressures to maintain the 20 psi differential.
- Reset the well tank’s pressure. Now that you have changed the pressure switch settings, you will need to change the pressure of the tank itself to support the pressure settings. Since the pressure of the tank needs to be 2 psi below the cut-on pressure, use an air compressor to raise the pressure. Periodically check the pressure with a tire pressure gauge, and add or release pressure until you’ve reached the desired threshold.
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