We have very intermittently been losing water for just a few seconds. Yesterday it happened several times in a row.
There had been a lot of water use, several toilet flushes, 2 showers all back to back and we lost pressure. One other time I had been watering the garden for about 20 minutes straight and the washing machine had started.
So yesterday I was able to observe what is happening at the control box/pressure tank while we were having issues. There was a rapid clicking noise at the control box. After just a second it quit and we got water back. Tank would fill just fine when it started filling, but every time the pump needed to cycle it would do this.
I checked the amperage while it was running, 6A. Seems fine. I checked my energy graph from my in panel monitor and that's what it normally runs at. Cap in the box looks fine. No visible damage to the relay. Pressure tank isn't water logged. The pressure switch is relatively new (3 years) and all contacts appear clean. Pump is about 10 years old, sitting 80 feet down a 105 foot well. It's a Gould 1/2HP. It has a Gould control box, there's just 1 big cap and a relay. 3 wires going to pump.
After the water hadn't been used in a while the pump seems to cycle normally. I've watched it do a few cycles... Click on, fill tank, click off.
I'm thinking the coil in the relay is having issues once it heats up from repeated cycles? So a new control box should fix this?
Is there anything else I should consider? Do I need an exact (that is, Gould box for the Gould pump) replacement for this? Lowe's has zoeller control boxes. My understanding is that as long as I get the same voltage and HP rating, it should be ok. Is that correct?
Thanks!
