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?
Is this a bladder tank
No, it's a galvanized tank.
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.
On Mon, 12 Jun 2017 17:18:22 +0000 (UTC), MarkK
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)
It's just a galvanized tank. It contains no bladder and it has no schraider valve on top.
On Mon, 12 Jun 2017 21:13:34 +0000 (UTC), MarkK wrote in
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.
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
btw, how do you know that the tank has no bladder?
m
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.
You get your drinking water from the city sewer???
Those old galvanized tanks are huge compared top a bladder tank (the point of the bladder). I would chuck the big tank and buy a bladder tank.
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 :-().
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 Tue, 13 Jun 2017 10:31:48 -0400, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote in
+1 on that.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.