[Pumptesting] [Shtrustees] PROBLEM UPDATE - next step Aug 11 2025 - diagnostic test of fire pump tank float switch sensor

Tue Aug 19 15:47:15 EDT 2025

If you’re going to demonstrate any new processes related to the pumphouse,
I can try to join you depending on the time.

On Tue, Aug 19, 2025 at 12:35 PM Tara Halwes <tarahalwes at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you Daver!!!
>
> I will probably do a pump test tomorrow (Wednesday)
>
> On Mon, Aug 18, 2025 at 19:23 David Ritchie <daver at theworld.com> wrote:
>
>> I have jury-rigged a way to manually fill the cistern.  There's a short
>> green extension cord plugged into a power supply in the gray box.  Plug
>> that in and the cistern will start filling.  Unplug it and it will stop.
>> This does not draw much current so it could easily be plugged into a light
>> timer to run automatically for a few minutes a day.
>>
>> The cistern fill flows about 70 gallons per minute when open so it is
>> more than capable of depleting our drinking water supply if left filling
>> for too long.  If you turn it on, be sure to monitor the drinking water
>> tank level and turn it off when appropriate.  I'd suggest not going below 5
>> feet on that tank.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 10, 2025 at 8:10 PM Tara Halwes via Shtrustees <
>> shtrustees at lists.sawyerhill.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Don't worry, you can still join the fun too.
>>>
>>> The pump tank sensor or something in the box with the controller for it
>>> is messed up, causing it to always signal "refill me! I'm not up to 7 feet
>>> yet!" ... Even when it's overfilled and dumping to the swale.
>>>
>>> For now (since the water issue Saturday night) the tank sensor and
>>> controller are again disconnected from both wall and battery power, because
>>> when we reconnect them all of the fresh water dumps out of the freshwater
>>> reservoir in less than half a day and then we have no water on site.
>>>
>>> Except in the swale, that gets quite wet. Not very useful unless you're
>>> a frog.
>>>
>>> However we know that the fire pump tank level was maxed out because it
>>> overflowed, so it hit just above 8 ft.
>>>
>>> We also know no sprinklers have gone off so there is still plenty of
>>> water in there.
>>>
>>> We (or someone so may as well be pump testers plus Daver and Ryan), on
>>> behalf of the Sawyer Hill trustees (especially while Adam is in Canada),
>>> need to keep an eye on the level while the sensor is not working and the
>>> autofill is disabled.
>>>
>>> Next step will be tomorrow around ... I think we said 1:30 p.m.. DaveR
>>> and I will disconnect the sensor from the controller so that we can test it
>>> independently and see if it's totally blown or what.
>>>
>>> Hopefully it is totally blown.
>>>
>>> No really, that would be great because that would be a single specific
>>> thing that we know needs to be replaced and would explain the bad behavior.
>>>
>>> If the sensor seems fine then we have a problem in the Levcon controller
>>> or the part of the box that the power comes through from the wall outlet.
>>> Ryan tested the voltage at various points though and I don't think that
>>> side component is faulty. It's only spitting out 10.2 volts to the control
>>> panel but on closer inspection the control panel should be happy with
>>> anything above 9 volts up to 24. We don't think it's the battery because
>>> that was recently replaced and also was able to successfully take a charge
>>> on a trickle charger when removed from the control panel. So most likely
>>> the Levcon control panel itself or the float tank sensor.
>>>
>>> The battery was behaving really strangely while connected to the
>>> controller, but the leads to the terminals were loose and the connection
>>> was bad which might be part of the battery draining. Maybe it also messed
>>> up something in the controller that can get unmessed up. I'm not sure
>>> exactly, but I don't think the new battery itself is the source of the
>>> problem, I think it's just a symptom.
>>>
>>> I'm not actually sure what our next step will be after testing the
>>> sensor, but we are in the process of ruling out various possibly failed
>>> components while still protecting both the fire suppression and freshwater
>>> systems.
>>>
>>> Tara
>>> 508-361-9605
>>>
>>> On Sunday, August 10, 2025, Courtney Lewis <courtney.d.lewis at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> For some reason, all of these emails are just showing up in my email
>>>> box now?
>>>> Sorry you guys have been dealing with this all week
>>>> Sent from my phone with the “help” of my two young ones
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Aug 10, 2025, at 3:09 PM, Tara Halwes <tarahalwes at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> 
>>>> After 2 days the battery is up from around 6V to around 8.5V. Still not
>>>> 12V but I guess it's charging now? (And / or I don’t actually know how to
>>>> use a multimeter)
>>>>
>>>> tank level display is still jumping around wildly, but went from a
>>>> lower jumping range to a higher jumping range after I unplugged and then
>>>> plug back in the battery charger. Still, the highest number I’ve seen flash
>>>> on the screen is 6.7 and scrolling through the relay statuses, the auto
>>>> fill should be going (and still is not). Based on DaveR's Prior
>>>> troubleshooting guesses, I assume this could still be due to the battery
>>>> not being sufficiently charged for that relay to successfully signal the
>>>> solenoid it's supposed to talk to. we had hoped it would have come on by
>>>> now, but we were also assuming that the battery would be back up to 12 V by
>>>> now, so I believe the next step is either too immediately replace this
>>>> battery or two continue letting it charge and check back to see if the tank
>>>> fill line has been triggered by tomorrow or Sunday.
>>>>
>>>> I’m hoping to have provided enough detail here that any regular tester
>>>> on this list could check on that if you're available this Sunday but if
>>>> it’s not clear enough what I’m talking about please let me know.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Aug 6, 2025 at 17:18 Tara Halwes <tarahalwes at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The tank level was still reading low, fluctuating rapidly between
>>>>> around 4.7 and 5.1 feet.DaveR came out and did a visual inspection, and we
>>>>> measured it at approximately 6 feet, which means the sensor reading is
>>>>> incorrect, but also the level is still low enough that the auto fill
>>>>> solenoid should have triggered, and it very obviously was not running. So a
>>>>> couple things need to happen in the next day or two.
>>>>>
>>>>> First is we need to give the battery on on the sensor panel time to
>>>>> recharge. The battery was down to something like 6 V and should be at 12.
>>>>> It’s fairly new. One of the terminal leads was extremely loose so that was
>>>>> tightened and it is possible That will be enough to get it to charge
>>>>> correctly. It is also possible that when it charges correctly, The other
>>>>> issues will resolve, but in case they don’t:
>>>>>
>>>>> - Make sure the battery charged back up to 12 V
>>>>> - Verify the auto fill triggered and the tank is back up to 8 feet, or
>>>>> at least above 6.9.
>>>>> - if it sounds like it’s filling, but the panel still reads low,
>>>>> visually inspect the tank level. Also check for running water sounds in the
>>>>> great behind unit number 80 as that would indicate it kept filling past 8
>>>>> feet which it should not do if the sensor is working correctly.
>>>>> - Recalibrate the tank level sensor if it’s still reading incorrectly,
>>>>> but the tank has filled back up. This procedure should be covered in the
>>>>> manual above the control panel, but if not, DaveR can help.
>>>>>
>>>>> Default plan is Tara will do these things, but various medical
>>>>> appointments might necessitate someone else stepping in to check on the
>>>>> battery, etc.
>>>>>
>>>>> The rest of the test went fine and does not need to be redone until
>>>>> next week. The system will come off of TEST in four minutes at 5:21 PM. I
>>>>> will be unavailable for further troubleshooting this evening, but the
>>>>> battery needs to charge anyway.
>>>>>
>>>>> Tara
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Aug 6, 2025 at 14:51 Mike Gaisford <mgaisford at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I’m not been able to get back there to test. If you’re able to do it
>>>>>> that would be great. Otherwise, I will try to do it tonight.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Aug 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM Tara Halwes <tarahalwes at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hey Julius or Mike,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Did you re-test? If you did, let me know soon? Otherwise I’ll
>>>>>>> attempt it sometime in the next 2 hours and report back.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I’m reachable by phone or SMS text to:
>>>>>>> 508-361-9605
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Cheers!
>>>>>>> Tara
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 12:37 Phéna Proxima <adam at phenaproxima.net>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Mike asked if we should re-test. Per Daver:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Yes, re-test as normal. If it keeps happening, try only opening the
>>>>>>>> test valve enough to get a consistent drop in pressure.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Any further questions, let me know. I will also document this
>>>>>>>> conversation and its findings in the SH trustee manual.
>>>>>>>> On Tuesday, August 5th, 2025 at 12:20 PM, Mike Gaisford <
>>>>>>>> mgaisford at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> So is the direction to retest?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 12:12 PM Phéna Proxima <
>>>>>>>> adam at phenaproxima.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Update from Daver on the sensor issue:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> No need for Encore. What happened is that the waterflow sensor for
>>>>>>>>> the building's own sprinkler system tripped. The waterflow sensor is near
>>>>>>>>> the test valve. If there's a lot of turbulence in the pipes, that can fool
>>>>>>>>> the sensor into thinking there's water flowing. Opening the test valve wide
>>>>>>>>> open can make this more likely.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> It doesn't mean there's anything wrong. Just keep lowering the
>>>>>>>>> pressure until it gets to 80 PSI and the main pump turns on.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>>> Pumptesting at lists.sawyerhill.org
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>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>
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