Hi All,
Put in a new well but the tank is getting waterlogged once a month. A
plumbing supple pro tells me that I need to drill a 3/16" hole in the
drop pipe (below ground) so that a slug of air will be delivered to the
tank every time the pump turns on. A check valve was installed directly
above the submersible pump and a second check value was installed between
the well cap and the tank.
Does drilling a hole in the drop pipe make sense to you?
But is the water contained within a bladder within the galvanized
tank? Does the tank have a air valve on top of it? (looks like a valve
on a tire or inner-tube)
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Then the plumbing/well guy is probably correct about the tank
water-logging. However I would be very nervous about his suggestion
to drill a small hole in the pipe a few feet below the well head. I
would first try to install a schrader valve at the top of the
galvanized tank. Of course that would require you to periodically
check and recharge the tank air. If that is required too often then
you probably need a new tank.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
any tank with air and no bladder will eventually get "water logged" because the air will dissolve into the water over time.
I don't know how long this normally takes but I thought those type of tanks do need to be refilled with air periodically and therefore should have a valve of some kind.
If your tank water logs faster than normal, it may have a tiny leak that allows the air to escape but too small to let much water through.
m
On 6/13/2017 8:13 AM, snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:
Not sure to whom you're directing the question but the OP has stated
that it's not a bladder tank, it's a galvanized tank, it has no Schrader
valve on top.
That works for me since I've never seen a bladder tank without a
Schrader valve on top, nor have I seen one that is galvanized. Plus
they typically have a very prominent label indicating they are bladder
tanks, charging instructions, etc.
On 6/13/2017 9:31 AM, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:
Mayhaps mine was the exception to the rule, however the bladder tank I
installed was only marginally smaller than the galvanized tank I had.
Then again my galvanized tank was not as huge as some I'd seen and,
again, the bladder tank I purchased was the largest I could justify for
my home.
Side note: Even the bladder tanks will crap out after awhile. I think
that I got about 25 years on the Well-X-trol tank that I installed.
When we had to replace the well line, the well driller also replaced the
tank as it too had failed and was waterlogged (which I knew as the pump
started short cycling and the cure, as always, was to let it empty a bit
and hook up the compressor :-().
On Tue, 13 Jun 2017 17:21:57 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
I have 2 in my system and I think of them as a 10-15 year thing.
OTOH they are pretty easy to replace if you have them plumbed in
right. I use a threaded connection on the "house" side and put a glued
in coupler on the tank side so I can just cut it out, unscrew the
nipple from the house side connection and start over with a fresh
nipple on the tank.
On Monday, June 12, 2017 at 1:09:39 PM UTC-4, MarkK wrote:
You don't tell us about the tank, is it new too?
If so, that tank should have a bladder that holds a charge of air
that is set based on the operating pressure range. Once the air
is in, unless the air valve or bladder is leaking, the tank won't
get water logged. The older style tanks from decades ago didn't
have an air bladder. Instead they relied on keeping an appropriate
volume of air in the tank by a valve gizmo that was installed in
the tank near the middle and had a line running back to the suction
side of the pump. If the air level got low, the mechanism would
allow the pump to suck some ambient air, thereby replenishing the
air in the tank. That was with a pump at the tank and the simpler
system.
In the case of submersibles with old tanks, they used a bleeder
orifice located on the suction pipe inside the well, below grade.
This was another check valve type device that let's water out,
but not in. There was a check valve at the tank which also
had a schrader air valve on the well side. When the pump shuts
off, there is no pressure in the pipe, so the orifice opens and
air enters via the schrader valve at the tank check valve.
The section of pipe between tank and orifice winds up filled
with air. Next time the pump starts, that air goes into the tank.
Next problem is that it's always putting air in, which would lead
to too much air. So there was some other contraption installed
about half way up the tank that had a float and if there was too
much air, it would allow it to escape. All that of course was
replaced by the bladder type tank for obvious reasons. So, if
you have the older no bladder type, you need to install one of
those bleeder orifices in the line inside the well. And make
sure you have the rest of the system.
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