Well Pressure Tank


  #1  
Old 05-29-11, 08:17 AM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: usa
Posts: 10
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Well Pressure Tank

Hi,

We have owned the house for a few years. House has a drilled well and a goes into the pressure tank. Couple questions for the experts out here (may be related questions):

-A few weeks ago, we had a power outage for awhile. When the power came back on, we noticed that none of our sink faucets were working at all, but the hose, shower, and toilets were all working. Noticed a lot of black grit coming out of the toilets, so we assumed that the filter screens on the individual faucets were all plugged with the grit. We cleaned them all out and they all worked again

-Had another power outage last night and noticed that all of the sinks were working fine, but neither of the two toilets would fill with water. Took apart the fill valves and flushed them out and they were working again.

-Went and looked at the pressure tank. Pressure was showing 32 pounds. I turned on the water and waited for the pump to kick in (pump is in the well). It sounded like it was filling for about 30 seconds and then it shut off. Pressure on the gauge never changed and stayed at 32 pounds. I tapped on the tank and it sounded like it was only half full (different sound about half way up the tank)

Questions: Considering the amount of grit/sediment, should I attempt to drain the tank? I know nothing about these things, but it seems as straight forward as shutting off the well pump power, closing the valve after the tank that goes to the house and then hooking a hose on to the drain valve and emptying the tank (and repeat a couple times if necessary). Any reason not to do this?

Why would the power outages affect the grit? We never had any problems before.

Would draining the tank help with the pressure not changing? Thought maybe "recharging" and getting the gunk out might put things back in order. Or am I looking at a faulty switch or something?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you !!
 
  #2  
Old 05-29-11, 01:51 PM
lawrosa's Avatar
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Galivants Ferry SC USA
Posts: 15,993
Received 84 Upvotes on 76 Posts
Hi.

If your getting sediment in your well it could be from alot of things. To protect your plumbing you should install a sediment filter after the tank. 20-30-50 micron.......

As far as you pressure not working properly, it sounds like the tube that goes to the pressure switch is clogged. Whe you cut power to drain the tank, take the tube apart and clean.

What does the grit look like????? Sand, silt????? Any water treatment?

Hope this helps
 
  #3  
Old 05-29-11, 07:06 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: usa
Posts: 10
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the reply ...

I have considered a filter and will look into them more. It gets pretty tiring taking apart the washing machine lines to clean out the filter.

So it sounds like draining the tank is a good place to start. I will have a look at the switch tube. Didn't even know that could be an issue. Hopefully it is something that comes apart easily? What about the tube the pressure gauge sets on?

The grit appears to be a black sand like stuff. Like you would find on fine sandpaper. We also get little rocks that accumulate in the water fill valve on the toilets. Layer of the black stuff on the bottom in both of the toilet tanks. We haven't noticed any grit in the water from the faucets until the latest power outages. Seems odd that they would affect the water supply like that.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: