Water pressure pump problem.

[Walkers]

I was out of town for a few days and my mothers pressure pump quit. A friend went up and diagnosed bad pressure switch contacts. He cleaned the contacts and it was working. It quit again last night when I got home. So I looked at it and could see the contacts arcing, so I replaced the switch with another 40-60psi switch. It appears that the problem is that the pump is not developing 60 psi, it stops developing pressure at about 55psi and just runs and runs. I turned the switch down to 50psi to make the system function until I figure out why it is not.

The pump is a Gould single stage centrifugal pump. The motor was replaced last year. The 85 gallon bladder tank is also new last year. The downstream system is not leaking. The 2000 storage tank before the pump is full, and the ball valve is on . I am having difficulty figuring out where to look for the problem. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[The Cobbler]

what is the specs for the pump? as far as I remember, 60 psi is near the upper limit for a centrifugal pump

 

[dcg9381]

what is the specs for the pump?

This. Get us the model number. Gould makes great pumps, but they are not all capable of 60psi. Short term ,turn it down to 40/50.

That's also an expensive pump. I'd HIGHLY recommend one of these: https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/dry-well-protection

 

[Walkers]

what is the specs for the pump? as far as I remember, 60 psi is near the upper limit for a centrifugal pump

I can’t seem to find specs on the single stage for psi, however, I have been running them at 60 for decades without trouble.
I suppose I need to pull the pump apart to make sure the vanes haven’t spun, check the check valve to make sure it is checking, and make sure the bladder tank has the right air pressure. I was just hoping it made some sense to anyone to increase the odds I’ll find it on the first stop.