What does this domestic water booster pump quarterly checklist cover?

15 items across 4 sections, covering pressure and setpoint, sequencing, leaks and tank, suction protection and readiness. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.

Who should run this inspection?

The plumbing or building maintenance tech on the quarterly mechanical round.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

Every quarter, so a drifting setpoint or a lag pump that never comes on is caught before upper floors start losing pressure at peak draw.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

9 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 12 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.

What most often fails a domestic water booster pump quarterly inspection?

Discharge pressure read on the gauge and called good while the upper floors are actually starving, because no one opened a fixture on the top level. Set runs on the lead pump alone for months and nobody notices the lag pump never sequences in until the lead one trips. Bladder tank waterlogged, so the set hunts and short-cycles on every small draw instead of the tank absorbing it.

Can I use this checklist in RTI?

Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Free checklist

Domestic water booster pump quarterly maintenance checklist

A quarterly booster pump set round is short on purpose: it catches the wear items that fail between annual services. This checklist is sized for a tech with a phone. Every item says what to look at and the photo that proves the round happened. Work is commonly verified against IPC / UPC plumbing codes, manufacturer's published instructions. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.

Start free with this checklist Download as PDF

The checklist

Every item, and the photo evidence it needs

The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.

Pressure and setpoint

Suction and discharge pressures read against setpoint
Suction and discharge gauges compared to the target setpoint, transducer reading tracking the gauge, and a top-floor fixture opened to confirm real delivered pressure.
Set holds pressure through a draw without hunting
Pressure stays inside the control band as a fixture is opened and closed, no rapid hunting or wide swing that points at a tank or transducer problem.
Controller setpoint compared with the design discharge pressure
Setpoint on the controller display matches the design or commissioning discharge pressure, and any change since the last round traces to a work order.
Downstream PRV zones checked against the booster setpoint
Where zones are fed through pressure-reducing valves, zone gauges hold their design pressure with the set at full boost and no PRV is set above the booster.
No photo

Sequencing

Lead-lag hand-off observed
Demand raised enough to stage the lag pump in and back out, confirming the controller sequences rather than leaning on one pump.
VFD ramping smoothly where fitted
Speed ramps up and down with demand instead of snapping between stops, no fault or alarm standing on the drive display.
No photo
Drive output frequency at current demand logged where fitted
On a drive-fed set, output frequency read off each drive at the round's demand and logged against past rounds; drive service itself is on the VFD checklist.
No photo

Leaks and tank

Seals, fittings and manifold checked for leaks
No weeping at the mechanical seals, unions or the manifold, no puddle or rust trail under the skid.
Bladder tank pre-charge sound
Tank not waterlogged, no water at the air valve, set not short-cycling on small draws the way it would with a dead tank.
No photo
Tank isolation valve open and air valve capped
Tank isolation valve found fully open so the tank sees system pressure, air valve cap on, supports and connection tight. Sets with no tank noted as such.
No photo
Discharge holds as a pump stages off or the set rests
When a pump stops on low demand or stages off, the discharge gauge holds steady instead of bleeding back, which would point at a passing check valve on that pump.

Suction protection and readiness

Low-suction cutout setting read against the design
Low-suction switch or transducer cutout read on the device or controller and matching the design, so the set stops before it drags the supply main or tank down.
Controller alarm history read since the last round
Alarm log checked for low-suction trips, high-pressure alarms and pump faults since the last visit, each one explained and recorded before it's cleared.
No photo
Pump isolation valves found open on every pump
Suction and discharge isolation valves on each pump found fully open with handles aligned, so no pump sits valved off while it's counted as standby.
Set left in automatic with every pump available
Each pump's selector in auto, no pump disabled on the controller, and no alarm standing on the display when the round ends.

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

Discharge pressure read on the gauge and called good while the upper floors are actually starving, because no one opened a fixture on the top level.
Set runs on the lead pump alone for months and nobody notices the lag pump never sequences in until the lead one trips.
Bladder tank waterlogged, so the set hunts and short-cycles on every small draw instead of the tank absorbing it.

Verified against

IPC / UPC plumbing codes

Common questions

6 answers

What does this domestic water booster pump quarterly checklist cover?: 15 items across 4 sections, covering pressure and setpoint, sequencing, leaks and tank, suction protection and readiness. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
Who should run this inspection?: The plumbing or building maintenance tech on the quarterly mechanical round.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: Every quarter, so a drifting setpoint or a lag pump that never comes on is caught before upper floors start losing pressure at peak draw.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 9 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 12 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
What most often fails a domestic water booster pump quarterly inspection?: Discharge pressure read on the gauge and called good while the upper floors are actually starving, because no one opened a fixture on the top level. Set runs on the lead pump alone for months and nobody notices the lag pump never sequences in until the lead one trips. Bladder tank waterlogged, so the set hunts and short-cycles on every small draw instead of the tank absorbing it.
Can I use this checklist in RTI?: Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

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Run it with the Photo Gate

A checklist nobody can submit half-finished

Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 12 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.