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I am on a well that serves 5 houses……. the house that has
the pressure tank seems fine for pressure,(60lbs) which seems
to maintain very well… Our house, and it has only recently
started doing this, will oscillate in pressure..
I bought a gage and attached it in several places, exterior
faucet, kitchen sink, laundry room sink and main whole house
drain faucet…. At all these sites the gage rises to about
57lbs and then immediatly drops to about 37lbs before it rises
again….. as soon as it hits 57lbs it drops again..

This is wierd… our well was originally set up for
8 homes and when the 9th was added to the platt we put in a new
well to service 5 homes and the old well services 4 homes…

I have not asked any of the neighbors whether or not the pressure
in their houses act the same but it doesn’t look that way… They
seem to be able to run all the sprinklers they want and I can’t
run 2, and god forbid you turn anything on while thats running..

HELP

It appears that the pressure switch at the well is set to operate
in the 40-60 pound range. However, the fact that the pressure immediately
drops indicates that there is a large demand for water, or a
pretty good sized leak. Another possibility is that the checkvalve on the
pump is bad and water is returning to the well.
Ask your neighbors if they’re experiencing the same problems and
decide a course of action from there.

Posted under Plumbing

Hello,

I am in the process of renovating a small place with a well. Currently my service enters the home via a well pit underneath a small bathroom. The pump is submersible and is controlled via a pressure switch located in that well pit. Also in that pit is located a pressure tank that is steel.

It is very damp in this well pit, the pressure tank is still functioning but all the valving and mounting of electrical in this area is in need of attention. So I’m going to spend an enjoyable weekend in this space reworking the installation. I don’t care to do it again for a long time. I’ve read other threads about pressure tanks here and some people have a negative opinion of them. I’ve got to believe for my situation with an enclosed damp area, a composite tank is the better choice.

This is your chance to convince me otherwise or convince me that my decision is right.

BTW, I only have about four feet clearance from “floor” to “ceiling” in this space with an approx. 24″ x 24″ opening leading into it. I’m figuring I can’t get much more than a 20 gallon tank in there. The place gets only light use and only has one full bath and a half.

It doesn’t really matter where the pressure tank is located as long as it is after the switch, so you could locate it up in the house in a closet if you wanted to. Others may have more information on composite tanks, but the metal ones with bladders work quite well (no pun).

Posted under Plumbing

I installed a larger pressure tank (52 gallons) and everything seems to be working correctly. However, the water stops occasionally. When I trip the pressure switch, the tank fills, and all is well…for a while, anyway.

Hi,

I think the problem you are having may be caused by too much air in the new tank. At least that is where I would start my troubleshooting.

Shut off the pump switch and drain the water pressure by opening a faucet till it stops. Check the air pressure with a tire gauge at the top of the tank, sometimes covered with a plastic cap.The pressure should be set 2-3 lbs below your cut in pressure of your pump.

Example: if you have a 30/50 pressure switch you should have the tank pressure set at 27 lbs. You may want to note before you do this the exact cut in (start-up) pressure of your pump as some people adjust their pressure switches and will not be exactly as stated on the cover of the pressure switch.

If the air pressure is higher than the cut-in, the tank will run out of water before the pump kicks on, and if you have a LWCO (low water cut off) then you will have to manually reset it every time this happens.

Posted under Plumbing