Water well loses pressure a lot
#1
Water well loses pressure a lot
In this scenario I have my water well outside. I've noticed that every since we replaced the rubbers at the bottom of the pipe I've had pressure problems. I have a galvanized holding tank which is fed via the above ground pump. Its reading normal pressure right now but will fall and refill pretty rapidly. I've bled the tank a few times relieving as much air as possible and then turning on the pump so it will fill up the tank and it eventually does. However it's not long before I need to do that again. We also had replaced the switch mechanism since the other one was rather old. I'm not sure if I got the correct one or if I need to adjust it. Too many times I've gone outside to see the indicator reading 0 and I'll have to manually start the pump to fill it. What in the world is happening?
#2
Group Moderator
You can start by telling us what type pump your system has. Since you mentioned replacing the rubbers down the well I assume your pump is above ground. Does it connect to the well with one or two pipes?
#3
The symptoms you describe lead me to believe your pneumatic tank is either waterlogged.or the check valve is leaking.
Presumably the "rubbers at the bottom of the pipe" are for the check valve and maybe the valve should be replaced rather than repaired.
A way to tell what is going on is to allow the pump to run to pressurize the tank then shut off.
Making sure no water is drawn watch to see if the pressure goes down.
If it does then the check valve is leaking causing your problem.
If the pressure holds steady for a long time and you draw water so the pump starts you should get several gallons of water before the pump starts and then run for a short while after turning off the tap to refill the tank.
If the pump starts after very little water is drawn then your tank is water logged.
Galvanized tanks without a working air valve need to be bled quite often.
You would unplug the pump then open a tap to reduce the pressure to zero.
while the water valve is open add air to the tank to force out all the water until air comes out of the open tap.
Then, close the tap and pressurize the tank to 2 psi below the cut in pressure of the pump.
If this works for you that is ok but a bladder tank is far superior to what you have and once charged never need to be refilled.
Possibly the reason you have to manually start the pump when the pressure reads zero is that you may have installed a "pump protector" pressure switch.
That type of pressure switch manually turns off the pump if the pressure goes below a certain value and needs to be rest each time.
This prevents the pump from being damaged when the pump stops pumping water.
Presumably the "rubbers at the bottom of the pipe" are for the check valve and maybe the valve should be replaced rather than repaired.
A way to tell what is going on is to allow the pump to run to pressurize the tank then shut off.
Making sure no water is drawn watch to see if the pressure goes down.
If it does then the check valve is leaking causing your problem.
If the pressure holds steady for a long time and you draw water so the pump starts you should get several gallons of water before the pump starts and then run for a short while after turning off the tap to refill the tank.
If the pump starts after very little water is drawn then your tank is water logged.
Galvanized tanks without a working air valve need to be bled quite often.
You would unplug the pump then open a tap to reduce the pressure to zero.
while the water valve is open add air to the tank to force out all the water until air comes out of the open tap.
Then, close the tap and pressurize the tank to 2 psi below the cut in pressure of the pump.
If this works for you that is ok but a bladder tank is far superior to what you have and once charged never need to be refilled.
Possibly the reason you have to manually start the pump when the pressure reads zero is that you may have installed a "pump protector" pressure switch.
That type of pressure switch manually turns off the pump if the pressure goes below a certain value and needs to be rest each time.
This prevents the pump from being damaged when the pump stops pumping water.
#4
This is the only one I have right now. It doesnt lose pressure sitting idle. But I can't remember having to bleed the tank as much as I'm heading to do now. When I was growing up we didn't bleed this tank very often and still it retained pressure all the time.
Last edited by PJmax; 01-08-20 at 04:56 PM. Reason: resized picture
#5
I was in a shop/office for over 20 years ago and I had a large galvanized pressure tank. Originally I had no problems but with age..... the tanks get tiny pinholes in them that allow the air to leak out. They start out so small that at first just the air leaks and out. Then you'll start to see tiny orange rust dots.
The other problems with non bladder tanks is depending on how they are plumbed...... if the system pressure gets down low enough the air charge gets pushed out with the water. My tank had a Schrader valve on the top and I'd just give it a shot of air every week. Never bothered to measure it.
The other problems with non bladder tanks is depending on how they are plumbed...... if the system pressure gets down low enough the air charge gets pushed out with the water. My tank had a Schrader valve on the top and I'd just give it a shot of air every week. Never bothered to measure it.
#6
Sorry for the long delay, I'm uploading several pictures to my Dropbox so you all can see what I have. I watched the well today turn on and then almost instantly lose pressure and the pump kicked back on. The Vicious Cycle continues until whatever is using water stops. For a long time I didn't have this problem and now it's just constantly occurring. If I drain my tank it does not help within a few days I'm back to the same problem. And as a side note on a mobile device like a phone I can't upload photos directly. So I have to send you to my Dropbox which I am sharing with this link. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/66ze3p11o...yJ3ObfMoa?dl=0