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Well Pressure Issues

Started by LeeB, September 15, 2021, 06:02:33 PM

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LeeB

Seems like my well pressure is getting weaker and weaker. I checked the bladder and it had 10psi so I aired it back up to 32psi. The pressure switch is 30-50psi. when there is water running the pressure falls off pretty quickly, less than a minute from 50 to 30 then pumps back up to 50 ok. The pressure hold fine when the water is off, so no leaks anywhere. We do get a lot of sediment in our water so I'm thinking maybe the tank is full of trash maybe?
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Roxie

Say when

LeeB

I don't really know. It was here when we bought the house 5 years ago.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Old Greenhorn

Sounds like you have an obstruction/restriction before the tank and it takes a while to satisfy that tank pressure and shut the switch off. Do you have any filtration, pre treatment system? If so, they usually have a bypass valve for service. Trying using that bypass and see if your pressure recovery goes back to normal. That exact thing happened to me until I figured it out, and yeah, we were about 5 years in this house when that happened. Strange, right?
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

21incher

I had that happen and it was a bad bladder in the tank. A pinhole caused water fill the air side and the pump would constantly cycle. 
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

bluthum

Did you drain the water from the pressure tank before adding air? That's necessary for some systems.

LeeB

GH, pressure recovery is not the issue and there is no filter system in front of the tank. I think it is probably as 21incher says, a pinhole in the bladder although even with 32psi on it it didn't make much difference on how quickly the pressure was falling. It did pressure up quickly when filling the bladder so it may well be waterlogged. 

BT, I did drain the water first.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

LeeB

There doesn't look to be enough room at the top to get the old bladder out or a new one in, although the got one in somehow before. The tank has a bit of rust showing and will probably not last too much longer anyway. I foresee replacement in job list.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Chuck White

Replacement is faster and easier, Lee!   ;)  ;)
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Tom King

I never had any luck getting any extra life out of a tank.  I don't even try anymore.

Pumps get tired too.

welderskelter


welderskelter

How long has the pump been in there? If it is pumping sand it may be worn out. When I pulled mine it was pumping sand. So I cut 25 ft off my well pipe and dumped in about 4 gal of sand blasting sand then about 4 gallons of oyster shells. Stopped the sand pumping. I run about 40/60 lbs. for pressure.

LeeB

'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

whiskers



Quote from: LeeB on September 15, 2021, 06:02:33 PM
Seems like my well pressure is getting weaker and weaker. I checked the bladder and it had 10psi so I aired it back up to 32psi. The pressure switch is 30-50psi. when there is water running the pressure falls off pretty quickly, less than a minute from 50 to 30 then pumps back up to 50 ok. The pressure hold fine when the water is off, so no leaks anywhere. We do get a lot of sediment in our water so I'm thinking maybe the tank is full of trash maybe?

bladder pressure should be set 2 psi lower than cut in pressure on the pressure switch.
link shows step by step trouble shooting many tank issues. 
Water tank air bladder pressure settings: How to Set or Adjust the Air Pressure in Bladder Type Water Storage & Pressure Tanks

my tank's in the basement with easy access. I cut the male plug off an extension cord, used a cable tv wire shield and ran it through the floor from tv room / office back to the contact set at the tank. there on the load side tapped 120vac 
from the 240 vac going to the pump.

when the pump cuts on the tapped circuit is also live and has a low watt lamp and an analog electric clock that remain on each time the contacts close, going off with the pump. i notice the pump cycle and if the light stays on longer than it should there's a problem somewhere. the clock will tell how long the pump runs to replenish the tank. a busted pipe will have the light going off and on or staying on continually. 

 there's more later if there's any interest.  
many irons in the fire.........

scsmith42

Lee, I think that you have a bad bladder. 

To troubleshoot, leave the pump on and remove the schrader fitting from the tank air valve. Once the air bleeds out, if you get water out of the valve your bladder is bad.

If no water comes out, shut the pump off and drain the tank and refill with air to 28 psi before closing the after valve and refilling the tank.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

LeeB

I felt sure enough that it was the bladder that I went ahead and bought a new one today. I'll install it Saturday.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

LeeB

Changed out the tank. That wasn't the problem. Plenty of flow at the tank. Pretty much leaves some kind of blockage in the lines. I blew back through them with air with some effect but not much. I doubt I had enough volume to do much good. Would be better to be able to backflush with water. For whatever reason, I get better flow on the hot side than the cold. The hot water heater is the first tee off the incoming line so I figure there must be build up further up the line. Changing the lines out is a nightmare proposition. I might be able to rig up a way to backflush but not even sure if that will work. Wish I could figure out some way to get something in the lines to eat away the sediment/blockage.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Ljohnsaw

Are your lines PVC or iron?  Is the reduced flow on the cold side just one spigot or the whole house?  After the hot water tee, is there a cutoff valve on the cold side?  Maybe that is partially closed or junk obstructed?

At my old ranch house, we would get black sand up from our surface well and it would block up the faucet screens.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

21incher

Did the tank stop the fast draw down of the pressure and pump cycling. A new tank should give many gallons before the pump cycles on. Is there a filter hidden in the system that's overdue to be changed?
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Tom King

Drain the water heater, with the drain hose going into a bucket first, before it runs over the top, and see what type of sediment comes out in the bucket.  Turn the power off to it first, or it will burn out the elements.

LeeB

Lines are pvc at the tank but change over to copper directly past the tank. Have cleaned the screens. Low flow from the bathtub too. No cutoff valve. Low flow at all spigots, more so on the cold side. Outside spigots are on tee right out of the tank so basically a different line.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Tom King

How long does it take to fill a 5 gallon bucket directly out of one of the outside faucets?

LeeB

I haven't time the outside spigots but I would say less than a minute. Outside is good. Inside is the problem now.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Tom King

Might be worth cutting a pipe somewhere, and backflushing it, to see if anything comes out.  

We had to backflush a house once.  An Electrician cut a pipe digging a trench, and the whole house got red dirt in the lines.  It was next to a house I was building, and they couldn't get anyone to do it.  It took at least a half day to get everything flushed out.

Is there any sediment in the toilet tanked?  That might give a clue.

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