Well pump cycling question

[Tony]

Hi, have a question that hopefully someone can answer...

We had a new well pressure tank put in yesterday. Previously, we had an old (30 years) galvanized, bladderless tank, roughly 48" high and 16" diameter that I used to charge with air every 9 months or so. The tank we now have is the bladder type, but a little smaller (approx 34" by

16"). Anyway, after I would recharge our old pump, when I would flush our bathroom toilet upstairs (for example) which is the furthest water source from the tank in the house, I would lose about 8 lbs of pressure from the tank. As time went by, and the air would dissipate from the tank, after about 8 months, I would lose, maybe, 14-16 lbs. after flushing. With this tank, I'm losing about 14-16 lbs right off the bat. Now, I know it's a smaller tank, but I wondered if this was a normal pressure drop for that size tank, or if it's losing more than it should be. Mind you, the toilet is original to the house, hence not a low flow model. Pressure switch is also set at 40/60. Thanks in advance for any help.

Tony

[buffalobill]

lots of links when you search here:

[John Gilmer]

You need to ensure the "right" amount of air pressure is in the air bladder.

Basically, the air pressure in the EMPTY tank should be slightly BELOW the "cut in" pressures. You want the pump to start just before the tank runs out of water.

That will give you the smallest pressure per gallon of draw.

Believe it or not there is no real difference between the operation of an air over water tank over a air/bladder/water tank.

Most air/water systems had some kind of "air volumn" control. There might be something in the old pump/well pipe than causes it to bring up a little air.