Submersible pumps are deemed to have greater efficiency than their traditional-style counterparts because they're installed right inside the water source as opposed to being installed a short distance away. This reduces the amount of energy that the pump uses to increase water pressure around the residential premises.

This article discusses two problems that are common with submersible pumps and the possible quick fixes for these problems for the benefit of the DIY-minded homeowner.

No Start

Several factors may be responsible for this problem, including a simple lack of power supply to the pump. A lack of adequate protection from electric current overloads and defective pressure switches are also often responsible for "no start" problems.

When a submersible pump fails to start, homeowners should use a voltmeter to test for the presence of electric current in the power lines that connect the pump to its overload protection box. If these lines are supplying current to the pump as usual, the homeowner should proceed to check for a tripped circuit breaker and/or blown fuses inside the overload protection box. Tripped circuit breakers should be reset while blown fuses should be replaced.

If the problem persists, check whether contact points within the pump's pressure switch are in good working condition. In order to do this, a voltmeter is used to determine voltage drop and line voltage (actual voltage supplied by the power line). If the line voltage and the voltage drop are equal, the pressure switch is not making contact as it should and its contact points probably need to be cleaned.

If cleaning the contact points does not work, perhaps the pressure switch has outlived its usefulness and it needs to be replaced with a new one.

No Water

Submersible pumps often deliver significantly lower quantities of water or they may fail to deliver water completely. Air-locking within the pump is among the most common causes of this problem. Other possible causes of the problem include improper installation of check valves along the pump's discharge line and leaking drop pipes.

Homeowners who suspect that the pump is air-locked should switch the pump on and off repeatedly. If the pump doesn't deliver water as it should after doing this, the problem lies elsewhere.

The homeowner should proceed to check for the correct installation of check valves in the discharge line. These valves have arrows that are used to indicate the direction of water flow within the pump. Correctly-installed valves should have these arrows pointing towards the direction to which water is flowing. Reversing the direction of an improperly-installed valve should fix this problem.

If a submersible pump fails to start or if it fails to deliver water after the discussed quick fixes have been attempted, homeowners should seek professional intervention from a pump repair specialist.