About the first of the year I was at my brothers house and they commented to me that the well (4" submersible) was going on and off a lot. Well, they could hear the pressure clicking on and off a lot when the water is going. I figured their tank was low on air or they had a tear in the bladder. I turn off the well and drain down the system.. Check the tank pressure and find it is too high. So I bleed off some air and get it to 38 PSI, 2 PSI less than cut in pressure. All is right with the world.

He called me last weekend and said it is doing the same thing again. I figured now there must be a tear in the bladder. Turn off the well, drain down the system and guess what? Tank pressure is back up to 58 PSI. I check this with two different pressure gauges, both read the same. Bleed air off again to 38 PSI and all is right with the world, again.

Now this makes NO sense to me. I understand how this type well system works as I have had them for many years but I am on this one. How or why is the pressure tank gaining pressure?

I thought maybe my bro just wants to see my smiling face at his house, but there are easier ways to get me to come over so that can't be it. Plus, he doesn't even own a compressor.

 

I'm thinking there is a hole in the bladder. Water is getting past the bladder into the air space. When you pressure down the system, the bladder is pushing against the bottom of the tank sealing the leaky bladder, keeping the system pressure up top... along with a bunch of water.

I'm betting the tank is bad... I bet ya a six pack that if you took the schrader valve out, and turned on the pump, you would have a geyser out the valve hole... you on?

 

That makes sense! Never thought of the water sealing the hole. Thank you!!

 

If you do take the schrader out and turn on the pump, make sure someone has got a movie camera handy and post the vid to youtube! I think it would be pretty funny watchin' y'all scrambling for the switch when the geyser started!

Good Luck, let us know how it turns out.

 

I don't have a tool to pull the valve out so I'm thinking we might just change the tank. There really can't be any other explanation for it unless somebody is sneaking in and filling the tank with air. Wouldn't turning on the well with no air pressure damage the bladder for sure?

I also thought I could shut off the well, drain down the system and leave the bottom tap open. The water should leak out and the tank pressure should drop if there is a hole, right? It must be a very small hole to take 9 months for it to leak and cause a problem again.

 

Sounds logical. When you drain the water the bladder is collapsed and may seal the leak. You may not see a pressure drop.

There was a a post on this same thing not too long ago. Someone had the same exact issue. He changed the tank.

I will try to find the link.

Found it. I thought it was impossible but I guess it happens.

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/we...-pressure.html

Mike NJ

 

Yeah, it probably would... if it were good to start with... but it's not!

I actually had a somewhat similar problem a few years back myself. Pump was cycling... immediately suspected the tank was gone, but I shut off the pump, dropped the pressure and charged the tank. It was good for a week or two after that. Then it started cycling again.

That tank was pretty old anyway, so I just changed it out. When I unhooked it and went to move it, I couldn't! That tank was FULL (or damn near) of water! Even with it unhooked from the piping, no water was coming out. Finally I muscled it off to the side, out of the way in the corner and hooked up the new tank.

That was about 4 years ago. That old tank is STILL sitting in the corner, and STILL full of water! So I don't think you will lose the water that is above the bladder... I'm going to have to drill holes in the tank to drain it and get it out of the hole now... since that old well is now abandoned.

 

Lawrosa - Now that I reread that post it all came back to me. First thing to go is the memory, I can't remember the second thing.

Sadly this tank is only about 8-10 years old. Don't recall the name but it was installed by a pro. We'll be looking for a replacement this weekend.

Thanks for the help! I will let you know how it goes after the replacement.

 

That's not really all that bad of a lifetime for a tank... of course we all want things to last forerver!

One of the things that I believe helps greatly to add longevity to bladder tanks is to maintain the air charge. Set up the new tank in such a way that it's uber-easy to drain the tank and check / adjust the air charge. By keeping the air charge correct, flexing of the membrane will be kept to a minimum, the tank will last longer.

 

Got the tank changed. Went pretty smooth when I got all the correct parts. Yup, only got about a gallon of water out of the old tank. Tank was so heavy I could barely move it. Pressure was back up to 48psi after less than two weeks so it was a good thing we got it changed. Thanks for the help!

Sorry, no video of a geyser.