Hello thanx in advance for your responses. I have jet pump with a venturi attachment (so the pump has two pipes going down into the well) the pipes go down into the 5" well casing about 76' and I hit water at 65' not sure how far down until I hit the bottom of the well . The pump is a 2 year old 1hp flotec convertible jet pump and I have a 40 gallon bladder tank. My on/off pressure is 20/40.

Ok the problem is that my bladder tank won't go past 30psi even when pump has been running for 1 1/2 hours and when I cut the pressure before the tank the pump climbs to forty and shuts off no problem. So I just don't understand what could be wrong because the tank takes in water but it just won't reach cutoff pressure. Thanx again for your help. Located in south Texas

 

hi Bernard –

I’m no pro, just a newbie, but it sounds to me like there must be a leak somewhere past your pressure tank, that is, a leak on the house side of the pressure tank. Don’t you have a shutoff valve past your pressure tank on the house side?

If so I would shut that valve off and see if the pressure reaches 40 and the pump shuts off. Is there some place(s) past your tank on the house side where you could have a leak and not notice it? I would look around for wet spots.

I could be wrong, hope the pros jump in here.

p.s. I just assumed the tank is near the pump and you would spot an obvious leak between pump and tank.

 

No location so not sure what kind of plumbing you have.

Even with a bad bladder your system should get to full pressure. Sounds to me like you have a leak someplace. Perhaps under a slab?

 

Yes I have one more shut off valve after the bladder tank and I have that shut so I could fill the tank. And all the pipe from the pump to tank is exposed except for about two feet of pipe about a foot and a half under and I haven't seen any wet spots but I will continue to check.

 

Do you mean you turn off a valve after the tank..... between the tank and the house ?
If you turned a valve off before the tank you wouldn't get any increase.

A picture or two would be helpful here. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html

 

I have a 2 cut off valves one after pump but before tank and one after the tank but before the house.

 

Ok.... and you turned the valve off before the tank. The tank pressure couldn't rise with that one closed.

 

I only turn the first valve off to prime the pump, once the pump is pumping water I open it up to allow the tank to fill but I still have the valve after the tank but before the house shut to allow the tank to fill.

 

Bernard –

If you close the valve after the pressure tank (the valve on the house side) and then pressurize the tank via the pump as you have been doing if I understand correctly. Then with ALL water SHUT OFF in the house, if you then open that valve after the tank, and then see the pressure drop on the gauge, then I think that would indicate you have a leak somewhere AFTER the pressure tank.

It sounds like your system from the pump up to and including the pressure tank is working correctly but the problem is that there is a significant leak after the valve on the house side of the tank.

Is there any way some more remote spigot or something is now open and was forgotten – or something like that?

 

Well I actually havent opened the valve after the bladder tank to the house because the pressure wouldn't build past 30psi with it closed. A leak would make the most sense but I haven't seen any after the pump.

 

Bernard –

Is this correct? You have a valve between the pump and the pressure tank; call that valve 1. You also have a valve after the pressure tank, a valve that feeds the house; call that valve 2. You also have the pressure switch and the pressure gauge at the pump.

With valve 1 closed and valve 2 closed the pump pumps the pressure up to 40 on the gauge and the pump stops as expected and the pressure on the gauge stays at 40.

But with valve 1 now open and valve 2 still closed, the pressure drops and the pump runs but cannot bring the pressure above 30, hence the pump runs continuously.

That seems almost to be impossible – but I’m sure no expert. If the pump can raise the pressure to 40 with valves 1 and 2 closed, and the pressure stays at 40, then you would think there is no leak anywhere from the foot valve in the well all the way to valve 1.

Likewise if valve 2 is closed that would eliminate a leak in all the piping past valve 2 into the house.

So there must be a leak between valve 1 and valve 2. But that doesn’t make sense since you certainly would see a leak there.

Are you sure the system will just sit at 40 on the gauge with both valves closed? If not the leak could be somewhere from the foot valve up to the pump.

We need the pros here!

 

Today, 07:39 AM
Bernard46

Well I actually havent opened the valve after the bladder tank to the house because the pressure wouldn't build past 30psi with it closed. A leak would make the most sense but I haven't seen any after the pump.

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Ok, I think we are getting confused as to which valve you have opened and closed....
With valve closed after Pressure Tank (that is, it is located between PT and House), your pressure tank fails to reach 30psi?
If that is the case, your pump isn't primed, bad foot valve or line up well hole is leaking...I would ensure pump is primed...that is the easiest thing to fix.
If you close valve before Pressure tank (that is, valve between jet pump and pressure tank) at your 30psi max, does gauge hold steady with no water taps turned on?

 

It was a leaky foot valve, I thought the pressure was staying at the max but I monitored the gauge today and noticed after a while it started to drop. I should have watched it longer I just figured it stayed the same but the pump would just build the pressure back to forty before I would come back to check it. So I called in a well service and they were able to pull the pipes out and fix it right up. But thanks for the responses they sure were appreciated.

 

Thanks for letting us know the outcome.

 

Yes. Your valve between the tank and the pump was acting like a check valve and would significantly reduce the fall back of the water in the well, especially when the valve closes off the back pressure from the tank. That is why you did not see a quick drop in pressure.

When you opened that valve up the pump must have lost prime and hence your inability to build up pressure to shut off the pump.

 

Good to hear you got it going again. That's great!