How does this tank work? This was hooked up to a water well. What am I looking at here? There is a pressure switch down low with a 1/4" bung and the pressure gauge on top is also in a 1/4" bung. I need to get this into action for a well (it's currently just got back-fed city water in it) but I'm not sure how in the world it works considering there is no way to get air in it and yet it is not a bladder tank. There 4 total 1.25" bungs spaced along the bottom like the one here where the hose bib is. There is a shrader valve on the 1/4" nipple that the pressure switch is plumbed.

??

 

That is a non-bladder pressure tank.
It either needs an air volume valve which doesn't really work that well and/or needs to be periodically drained and charged with air.
Many of these have a floating foam disk that floats on top of the water to slow down the water from absorbing oxygen.

The shrader valve does not need to be connected directly to the tank to work and as long as the tank is fully drained can be anywhere on the cold water side of the system.
To charge it with air shut off the water supply, fully drain the tank and then pressurize it to 2 psi less than the pump cut in water pressure.

 

That is an older style tank without a bladder. I used to have one that looked just like it when I lived in fla. I had to drain some of the water out and re-pressurize it about once a year.

 

A non-bladder pressure tank is connected to the water system in the same manner as a modern bladder tank, using a port at the bottom of the tank. It works the same way, holding a cushion of air inside that maintains the water system pressure.

Some form of air inlet (typically a Schrader valve) must be on the tank (anywhere except the port to the main water system) or on a different pipe or bung entering the tank. A gizmo fabricated out of various fittings and gender benders and attached to the hose bibb at the bottom of the tank will work.

A non-bladder tank is usually larger than the recommended bladder tank size so it can go longer before more air has to be added.

To pre-pressurize a non-bladder tank, do this:

1. Turn off the well pump and open an upstairs cold faucet.

2. Drain the tank(s). If there is no drain valve then skip to the next step.

3. Keep adding air to the Shrader valve until you get only air coming out of the faucet.
3a. If you have a second non-bladder tank, move the air hose to it and add air the same way.
3b. If you also have a bladder tank, pre-pressurize it now using an air gauge on the compressor or at the Schrader valve to observe the needed pressure.

4. Turn off the upstairs faucet.

5. Now, pressurize the (non-bladder) tank to the usual 2 PSI below pump turn on PSI.

6. Turn the well pump back on.

Additional components such as a Snifter valve with some other pipes under the tank may or may not be present to add air to the tank periodically so as to hopefully eliminate the need to periodically repressurize the system. The tank can work quite well without this auxiliary or separate subsystem, subject to the next paragraph below.

You should periodically, say, monthly, add some air to the pressure tank. Enough air was added if you got a few spurts of air from a faucet shortly thereafter. You do not have to turn off the pump or drain any water.

But if you overdrew the well or there was a power failure and you got lots of air out the faucet and then lost water pressure then you will need to do all of the steps above to re-prepressurize.

(If you succeed in draining the tank but skip the steps above with the air compressor then the system will work although the well pump will cycle on more frequently than is best for the pump's life.)

 

Awesome. Thanks folks!

Rather than having to drain this thing when I want to charge it, is it possible to charge it while it's full occasionally?

 

I doubt you could charge it with it full but it doesn't have to be bone dry. Just turn the well breaker off, use some water and then charge it up.

 

When you try to recharge the pressure tank (either bladder or non-bladder) without depressurizing the system or draining the tank you cannot get an accurate 2 PSI less than pump start pressure in one sitting.

You could come close to optimum pressure by adding a little air at a time, checking pump cycle length (the longer the better). Do not exceed the well pump turn off pressure or the tank maximum pressure..

If you put too much air into a non-bladder tank, the system will correct itself to near optimum pressure by lettng some air spit through faucets.

If you put too much air into a bladder tank, then every once in a while you will get a momentary total loss of pressure at the faucet. To fix this, bleed a little air out of the Schrader valve.