In ground tank float switch with valve ???


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Old 03-18-14, 08:45 PM
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Exclamation In ground tank float switch with valve ???

I bought this house last year and the water set up is a submersible well pump to an in ground 1500 gallon concrete storage tank on a hill, gravity from there to a jet pump for a booster to the house. All pipes are buried and I have no clue how they are routed.

There is a pressure tank at the well and a pressure tank at the booster pump for house pressure. I am assuming the well pressure tank is for some lines that must be between the well and the in ground storage tank.

My issue;
Some pipes broke at the booster pump below ground and I couldn't get it fixed right away. I was able to isolate the gravity feed at the booster pump and run a garden hose from a hose bib at the well to a hose bib at the house.
All piping is fixed now but the well isn't pumping to fill the tank. The well pump works and will pump up to pressure and shut off charging the line from the well to the tank.

Is there some sort of float valve in the storage tank that could be stuck shut not allowing the tank to fill?
There appears to be a 3' diameter concrete plug/lid, after some digging with a rebar lifting loop is this an access hatch?

If I need to clarify something let me know.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Robert
 
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Old 03-19-14, 12:09 AM
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Welcome to the forums.

Submersible well to fill storage tank up on hill. Gravity feed to booster pump to pressure tank to house. That all makes sense.

What doesn't make sense or I don't understand is why there is a pressure tank at the well. The pump should fill the tank directly. There should be a float inside the tank that activates the submersible pump.... not a pressure switch.

I'm missing something here.

The round cement piece with the rebar sounds like an access cover..... is it over the tank ??
 
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Old 03-19-14, 07:36 AM
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I agree with PJ that I see no reason for the pressure tank at the pump. There should be float switches or a pressure transducer at the tank to regulate the water in the tank. Under no circumstances should you enter the tank with out first checking it with a gas meter. There could be a lack of oxygen or and excess of carbon dioxide! When you purchased the house was there any wiring diagram or plumbing detail given to you ?
 
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Old 03-19-14, 03:10 PM
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Good to hear I am not the only one baffled.
No diagrams what so ever. There is still one section of irrigation I haven't found out how to turn on.

There has to be a float valve in the tank because the well pressure tank gets to 40 psi and the elevation isn't high enough to get that pressure. What would something like this look like?

There is some irrigation that comes off between the well and tank so I am assuming this is why it is this way. But like I mentioned before.all piping is buried.
 
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Old 03-19-14, 08:21 PM
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Those are two independent "systems". First, the well pump, its pressure tank, and the irrigation. Yes, the well pump pressure tank is used to operate the irrigation subsystem.

Second is the booster pump and pressure tank for the house plumbing.

Have you lifted off the hatch cover and looked inside yet? I doubt if the pump system uses a pressure switch to control the flow into the storage tank because it would be difficult to keep the storage tank sealed well enough to hold pressure. So it would have to be a float switch in the storage tank

Floats, switches, etc. should be accessible from the hatch. It is not desirable to have to drain (and waste) the water in the storage tank for every repair that needs to be made inside.
.
 
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Old 03-23-14, 07:57 PM
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Great news, The well started pumping to the tank @ 7:10 pm tonight.
I was figuring that we were almost out of water in the tank so it should take a couple hours to fill it back up.

I don't get a day of till Thursday, I am in the middle of an eight day stretch, so hopefully it has fixed its self for now.

I will let you know if and when I pull the lid what I find.


Robert
 
 

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