Well was dug -pounded to 230 ft about 13 years ago. Had to be hydro fracked, the guy maxed out his length of pipe and didn't hit water. My neighbors are 300 ft plus and have all the bad colors and methane in their water. I just have some of the bad colors. Other people have dug wells in my area over time too.
So I had a Culligan system installed 2 years ago. Water well usage in the house has gone up over the past couple of years as well.

2 problems -
The Culligan guy turned the nut on the switch on the well pump up for more pressure. Now the well pump seems to be working every time a toilet is flushed. Do I back off the nut and how much?

The bigger problem is the well water running out. Recovery takes a couple hours maybe more.
Some suggestions have been- dig another well of course, a holding tank, lower the pump down a little more,hydro frack again.
I'm trying to avoid, like everyone else paying to have another well dug.
I'm I missing something?
Any Suggestions? Thanks for any help.

 

"Now the well pump seems to be working every time a toilet is flushed."

The tank could be water logged or shot, so before you do anything else, read and do this:
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/we...ml#post1453545

and then scroll down to the post of a normal cycle and what it looks and sounds like.

I think you are going to have to learn more about your system. I can make a list of things you will need to know, but number one on the list is what is the pressure? And how big is the tank? Those tanks they sell at the bigbox stores are usually not big enough.

Here is how pressure works in the tank:
The tank contains air and water. The higher the pressure is, the more air is in the tank. In your case, you want more water in the tank, so setting it at 30/50 psi. would probably be best.

We will start there. When you know exactly what is going on, let us know.

 

Excellent. Let me get that info. Lots to read. thanks.

 

The air in the tank reads about 54 lbs.
Observing the pressure gauge on the water line, the pump starts at around 40 and works up to about 61-62 and stops.

 

hi never -

Not a pro. Just a newbie myself. But I have a well with pressure tank etc.
If you notice in the material Vey referenced, the pressure in the tank should be about 2-3 psi below your switch cut-in.

Sounds like your switch is a 40-60. So your tank pressure, with the tank drained of water, should be about 38 psi - not 54. Seems like that is definitely a problem?

I check mine with 2 different tire gauges and use a bicycle pump to make adjustments.

Hope the more knowledgeable folks jump in.

Good luck!

 

Ok, thanks for your help.
I'll drop the tank pressure down to 38.
Wondering how you tell if the tank is empty? Seems to be a little water in the tank still.

 

hi never -

I always thought mine was empty by opening the drain on the piping near the bottom of the tank, then watching the water pressure gauge go down to zero as the water empties.

Maybe there still is a little water in the bottom of the tank when the gauge reads zero, but I don't think that would matter as long as the water pressure is off the diaphragm in the pressure tank. You would then be reading the true air pressure inside (or I guess on the air pocket side of the diaphragm) in the tank.

I think the pros will jump in if this is wrong.

 

Excellent info.
Got the tank down to 38 lbs. What exactly will this air pressure reduction do?
What next?

 

Hi never –

I start to get a little dizzy each time I think about the tanks and pressures. You can see a whole lot of divergent understanding if you sniff around the web, so obviously there must be a lot of misunderstanding out there.I am positive however that everyone agrees the setting (pre-charge) for the bladder(diaphragm) should be about 2 psi below the cut-in of the pressure switch.

Seems like people say if the pre-charge in the tank is too much below the switch cut-in, you can overstretch the bladder with excess water filling the tank.

Another explanation I’ve heard is that the 2 lb cushion ensures you won’t completely run out of water before the pump comes on. An annoyance!

I believe it’s also the case if the pre-charge is not correct your pump can short cycle. In other words the pump can start and stop too often. The pros can correct this but I’m pretty sure pump manufacturers say the absolute minimum for the pump to run when it comes on is one minute. It’s the starts and stops that kill the pump, not the length of time the pump runs.

So if after adjustments of any kind your pump runs much less than a minute when it runs – then that setup is bad and needs adjusting. If your pre-charge was 56 and your cut-in 40, then maybe your pump was short cycling. Those numbers sound like a bad situation.

If the Culligan guy messed with your pressure switch setting seems like he should have checked and adjusted your tank pre-charge at the same time? I think you certainly should make sure your pump is not short-cycling, that’s expensive to have the pump pulled and replaced if it fails.

So if your pre-charge is 38 you should be able to fill your system back with water and then observe that your pump does not start stop too often as you use water.

Hope the more knowledgeable folks help.

 

Great explanation, thanks very much.
My Culligan filtration system has a chlorine pump which runs every time the well pump runs, (I assume) It has a pretty loud clicking sound and this is how I will know it will hopefully run less.
As I type this I hear the clicking and the water faucets have not been opened for 20-30 mins. prior.
Is the system not holding pressure? The pressure gauge red 60 looking at it just now but the pump stopped working as well. Short cycling?

 

Ok I see, I guess you have a chemical injection system that is wired to run when the pump runs. I was looking into one of those for my low ph problem. But if I understand what you are saying, that chemical pump is telling you your well pump is running when there is no demand for water in the house.

I don’t see how that can be correct at all. It would seem there is a leak somewhere. I think that is correct for the pressure switch to shut the pump off at 60. But it should stay at 60 until you start to use water.

Maybe you could figure out what is going on by observing the pressure gauge and using your watch at the same time. If you see the pressure gauge going down when you are not using water then there is a leak.

(I guess the gauge could be bad, but a bad gauge wouldn’t cause your chemical pump to run also.)

 

I kinda like the culligan system. Easy to maintain so far.
After adjusting the bladder tank from 52 psi to 38 and keeping an eye on the water pressure gauge I don't see anything wrong. What I do see is the pressure gauge goes from 60 to 38" too quick" though.
What can I do to slow the gauge down? Add a holding tank?

 

"What I do see is the pressure gauge goes from 60 to 38" too quick" though."

How much time is "too quick"? And what is happening to make the pressure go down?

Have you read what a normal system cycle look like? That is in the sticky, too.
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/we...well-info.html

 

Ok, I killed the power, drained the water out of the tank, checked the air pressure, it Reads about 23PSI. I added air total of 37-38 psi to the tank. Refilling the tank with air the pressure gauge reads 40 psi or so, I opened the water valve and it went to zero. Is that air in the line that I let out?
Power is on tank is refilled.
What am I looking for? The needle on the pressure gauge to move slower and kick on at around 40PSI?


Thanks for your help you guys.

 

"Refilling the tank with air the pressure gauge reads 40 psi or so, I opened the water valve and it went to zero."

Without putting water in first? Uh, is that what the directions said to do? Might want to try again.

Look at that sticky again. Further down there is a comment in there about what a normal cycle looks like. Follow the directions by having someone open and close a faucet inside the house and you watching what happens.