Why Is There So Much Air In My Plumbing??


  #1  
Old 09-13-13, 04:44 PM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 3
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Why Is There So Much Air In My Plumbing??

Hello. I am writing in to hopefully diagnose and fix a problem that I am having with excessive air in my plumbing. I'm afraid it may be an issue with my well casing or foot valve (if I have one).

For many years now, I have had a problem with air in my lines. I've always just kind of dealt with it, but now I'm growing sick and tired of it and I'd like to correct it. Basically whenever I turn on a faucet, flush a toilet or fill the washing machine, I'm greeted with some water and a lot of air. This happens year round, except one year it seemed to go away during the winter months. Also, sometimes if I turn on a fixture that uses a lot of water quickly (bathtub, washing machine), I'll get air and water for a minute or less until the pump seems to lose prime and nothing is coming out until it regains prime again after about 30 seconds or more. That happens on occasion, but not all the time.

I have a 10 year old shallow well that is 45' deep with a Goulds Jet pump under the house. There is only one line going to the well. I can't find any leaks from the pump into the house plumbing, and there are no leaky fixtures. My pump is set at 30/50 and the bladder tank is not leaking and properly set at 28psi when empty. There is a check valve installed right at the pump in between the pump and black tubing coming through the foundation. I do not know if there is a foot valve. Here are the details of my well from the well completion report that I got from state records:

It was constructed on 11-20-2003 and is a mud rotary drilled 45' well. The Casing Top reads either 0' or 6' (I'm assuming 0' since the pipe sticks out of the ground) and Casing Bottom reads 35'. Casing diameter is 2" and Casing Material is PVC. Screen Top is 35'. Screen Bottom is 45'. Screen diameter is 2" and screen material is PVC. Gravel pack is 32' to 45'. Grout type is bentonite clay and is from 0' to 32'. The static water level was 4' on the date of completion and the pumping water level was 20' after 1 hour and pumping at 50GMP. It says well head completion was a standard "T" type and completed 12" (I'm assuming below grade since that is where is connects to the black tubing to the house, but it isn't noted on the report). I'm not exactly sure how to interpret all of that info. It does not state whether or not I have a foot valve at the bottom of the well pipe.

How can I go about starting to diagnose this issue? Also, it's important to note that after the water has been running for about 5 minutes or so (in the shower for instance) there is no more air and the water pressure, etc. is fine. And there have also been a couple times that I've woken up in the morning to hear the pump running and it won't shut off. I'll crawl under the house to find it extremely hot, so I turn it off, let it cool and it will always reprime itself. This has only happened two or three times in the tens years I've lived in the house, though.
 
  #2  
Old 09-13-13, 05:10 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
Welcome to the forums.

If you had any leaks between the pump and the house..... you would have water since that line is under pressure. So you couldn't get any air in that way.

A foot valve is located at the bottom of the well. It's supposed to seal off the end of the line to keep water from draining back into the well. It's usually not a DIY job to pick up the well point to check the foot valve or replace it so a check valve is installed at the pump.

If your lines were perfectly sealed that idea would work ok. Since you are getting air into your system but the system is still able to pick up the prime quickly..... I'd say the problem is between the top of the well head and the check valve at the pump.

It may be right at the check valve. Do you have that thick black plastic attached to the check valve with an adapter fitting and a silver hose clamp ?

If yes.....sometimes tightening the clamp will help. Possibly the adapter fitting wasn't sealed where it screws into the check valve. An air leak is not always readily visible.
 
  #3  
Old 09-13-13, 07:17 PM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 3
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Here is a photo of the check valve connection at the pump. I have read that the black plastic tubing needs to be heated to properly seal with the fitting? Is this true? Also, would it be a good idea to reseal all of these connections and replace the check valve? Is Teflon tape the best option to seal them?

If I still get air after resealing, tightening the clamps, etc., would the next step be to dig up the length of the black line in the yard to check for breaks/leaks? I don't have any soggy/especially green areas in the yard.
 
Attached Images  
  #4  
Old 09-13-13, 08:11 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
I see two clamps on the poly line which tells me that there may have been a leak there that was tough to stop.

I would certainly try changing the check valve first. The black pipe can be heated so it slides on to the adapter easier plus it will fit better as you tighten down the clamp. Go gentle on the heat.... don't melt the pipe.

I like using joint compound on the connections. You could do both. Try to keep the joint compound out of the inside of the fittings so it doesn't get into the water.

Use logic..... remember I said above that you won't get any air into the system between the pump and the house since the water line is pressurized. The opposite holds true between the pump and the well. That part of the system is under vacuum. Any leak will draw air in..... no water will come out.
 
  #5  
Old 09-14-13, 05:45 AM
O
Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 631
Upvotes: 0
Received 11 Upvotes on 10 Posts
As PJmax indicated above, usually these systems are set up with just a foot valve at the end of the pipe in the well. Many times a check valve means that at some point in the life of this thing a leak was sprouted and determined to be in the line somewhere between the pump and the foot valve. May be the foot valve itself. Since it is a lot more complicated to pull up the line and find the leak and fix it, many people will do the bandaid fix of adding a check valve at the end of the pump. This works very well for the most part depending on the time between pump cycles and the nasty consequences of a 2nd leak showing up in the line. Those issues can cause problems like what you are experiencing, but at least you are getting water. Without the check valve, the leak, if it is there, would have caused your pump to lose prime and that would result in no water.

Anyway, that could be the issue here.
 
 

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