I am a first time owner of a home with a well. The system is relatively new, constructed in 1996. After water use, noise comes from near or at the pressure tank. The noise is a high pitched squeal and doesn't seem to cause any performance problems. Any ideas?

 

whats the pressure after the pump shuts off?...should be a pressure gauge near the tank.

 

the resting pressure of the tank is 70, it kicks on when it drops to 60. as it repressurizes, it spikes to 80, makes the squealing noise and settles back to 70.

 

dial down the pressure switch to kick off at 60 psi...extra pressure may be forcing air out of the tank.....I wouldnt think 70 would do it...80 might, but still i have my doubts....but its worth a shot.

to dial down the pressure, find the hex nut with the big spring behind it...and loosen it...trial and error your way to 60 psi shutdown...also the kick on pressure should be 30...not 60.....its been a while but i THINK the same screw will adjust that setting as you adjust the kick-out pressure.

 

The pressure switch cut-on/cut-off normally should be set 20 psi apart on a residential pump, if the switch has two adjusting nuts. It should automatically adjust to that if it has only one adjusting nut.
The pressure in the pressure tank should be two psi below the cut-on pressure, i.e. 28 psi for a switch set at 30-50 on/off. You can check the pressure in the tank with a tire gauge with the pump off and the water pressure drained down. Bleed the air pressure down if it's too high, and air it up with a bicycle pump or portable air tank or compressor if it's too low.
Sounds like things may be set too high.
Be careful with the exposed hot wires when adjusting the switch, and be prepared to jump when the switch cuts on while adjusting the nut. LOL
For excellent tutorials on wells and pumps, check out:
www.peekspump.com
www.jessstryker.com
Good luck!
Mike

 

One more thing to add to Mike's comments, which are correct, but depending on how many bends and turns you have in your system and how fast the water is pumping, you may need some sort of sound dampening measure to eliminate the frequency that the pipes / system may be vibrating at. By adding hangers to the interior plumbing or even wrapping black elecrical tape / insulation to the pipes eliminates the vibration and eliminates the noise.

Another thing to check out is that the check valve in the well / system is not causing this sound. We have seen this many times as they wear out and the sound goes away.

Let me know what you find.

 

I tried reducing the pressure and the noise stopped. I figired out why it was set so high. It was pushing water 2 stories, with the lower pressure the top floor shower wouldn't run right. This also caused frequent re-pressurizing of the tank about every 5 seconds. I pumped it back up and the noise is gone. Some info for those who replied, there is a 20 psi difference between kick on and high pressure, the noise was definately coming from the tank and not the pipes. Last question for you guys. My current setting has great pressure and no noise, is there a rule of thumb for frequency of pressurizing? It kicks on about every 15 seconds with 2 showers running, sound ok? PS, thanks for all the help.

Scott