disappearing water pressure


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Old 09-10-07, 06:51 PM
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disappearing water pressure

Hi, for the last couple of weeks, our water pressure has been dropping off and on. Our water comes from the well, feeds to the pressure tank (I think), a ph neutralizer, and water softener. From the water softener, it goes to the rest of the house. The water pressure from our kitchen faucet has always been inconsistent. But, the water pressure in the rest of the house has been good. However, lately, the water pressure seems to drop and then a little while later, the pressure comes back. We had tried bypassing the ph neutralizer and the water softener when the water pressure dropped. But, that didn't affect the pressure either way. We have not done any plumbing work. What can be wrong? How can we fix this?
 
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Old 09-10-07, 07:26 PM
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It sounds as if you may have a pressure tank that is waterlogged, or the rubber diaphragm is leaking, allowing water to infiltrate where air should be. How old is the pressure tank, and after a visual inspection, is there an inordinate amount of rust on it? You can try recharging the top of the tank with air pressure, but we will need to know how big the tank is in volume to give the proper pressure.
 
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Old 09-11-07, 01:40 PM
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The water tank is almost 9 years old. I don't know if this is considered a lot of rust (please see pictures).

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Watertank1.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Watertank2.jpg

The tank a Well-x-trol model WX-251, factory set psi is 38, max is 125. I don't see where it tells how big the tank is.
 
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Old 09-11-07, 06:43 PM
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Try this. Shut the incoming and outgoing water from the tank, and drain it. See how much gook comes out of it. You have the classic symptoms. Once all the water has exited, shut off the drain and let the water back in. I feel due to its age and the rust I see, the tank bladder has ruptured.
 
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Old 09-11-07, 07:03 PM
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we can give it a try but
1) if we drain the water from the tank, does that mean we are draining out all of our water or will the tank refill back to its current pressure of about 19 lbs?
2) should we shut off the pump? I think the pressure should be between 40 and 60. Will it burn out the pump if we leave it running?
3) is this something we can fix ourselves or should we just call someone?
 
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Old 09-12-07, 04:11 AM
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Also, if I have to call someone, who do I call? A well guy or a plumber?
 
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Old 09-12-07, 07:09 AM
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I tried the following: shut off the power to the well, shut off valve that feeds ph neutralizer and softener, drain water from tank, pump in air from the air gauge on top of tank (I think I did this right, I used a tire gauge to measure the pressure to 38psi), turn on the pump, and turn on the valve that feeds the ph neutralizer and softener. However, the gauge on the bottom of the tank is still reading 18 to 19. Water from tank looks clear. Can it be the water pump that is bad?
 
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Old 09-13-07, 08:15 PM
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Your gauge at the bottom may be defective. Is your switch cutting out when pressure is achieved? You should be seeing as much as 60 psi on that gauge at fill. I know it is one more thing to replace, but it could be bad. Has the water pressure corrected since you did all this work?
 
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Old 09-14-07, 06:24 AM
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Hi, here is an update. After trying to recharge the water tank, the problem continued. So, we finally called in a plumber. After my husband explained the situation, the plumber told us to call a well guy. He thinks our well pump is going. The well guy came yesterday. He said our well pump is going. They are here today to replace it. The pump is only about 9 years old. I am surprised that it will go so fast. How long does a well pump last?
 
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Old 09-14-07, 04:33 PM
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Another question, after installing a new pump, shouldn't the installer put cloride into the well water to kill possible bacteria introduced into the system? I am pretty sure this was not done when they replaced our pump. I know this because there is no smell in the water. How can I make sure the water is potable?
 
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Old 09-14-07, 06:07 PM
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Google something like "treating well water". This is a safety issue and you don't want uneducated opinions.
 
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Old 09-17-07, 12:51 PM
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I guess I am going to have my water retested. Just did this earlier in the year...GRRRRRRRRRRR...there goes another few hundred dollars on top of expensive well pump replacement cost!
 
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Old 09-18-07, 05:04 PM
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A few hundred dollars? That must be for a complete chemical analysis. Not just for bacterial count.
 
 

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