how much pressure

should there be in a blader type water tank..The tank is in a pump house with a 1/2 hp shallow well pump supplying the water. The house belonged to my deceased brother, and we are fixing it up a little...I don't know what size in gallons it is, but i did get the dimensions of the tank..16" high X 15" diameter..It is a blue tank, and on the side i can read Aqua- Air Water Tank, and the name "A O Smith". I can not find anything pertaining to how much the pressure should be.. I checked the pressure with the pump unplugged and and drained and its only about 5 lbs...I do not want to just start putting air in without gettig advice because i don't want to break the bladder....Also one more question,,Does the pump need to be completely level to work properly...Right now the pump is sitting on a stack of 8" cinder blocks about the hieght of the tank, and turned at about a 25 degree angle with the motor end pointing down, and the plastic pump housing pointing up...Thanks for all replies... Oren

 

The pressure in the bladder should be two pounds less than the pump turn on pressure. That means if the pump turns on when the pressure drops to 20PSI then the tank should be at 18 PSI when there is no pressure in the system. Normal pump pressures are 20/40 or 30/50.