pressure guage question

bnk26

bnk26

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I just put in a new pressure tank, and when I was putting it in, I noticed my pressure guage when not hooked up to anything, was registering 20 psi. Is this normal? should I get a new guage or add 20psi to the settings?
 
Are you talking tank precharge, or pressure on the line itself.

You should read zero there, with everything bled off.

If so I would return the gauge...
 
Most gauges are very cheap and don't last very long. You can spend close to a hundred dollars on a nice liquid filled gauge, but nobody does. I sell gauges for under three dollars.

Just get yourself a new one and use it to get things set up correctly then expect it to go bad in a few months.

bob...
 
ok 2 more questions, first I know the cut in pressure should be 2 under the empty tanks pressure, in my case the tank is 35 so cut in at 33psi. what should the cut off be?
I have the pump at 33 cut in it goes up to about 55 before cutting off, then the pressure just immediately starts dropping, I can here water going thru the pipes, but no faucets are open. so it goes back to the cut in pressure in about 10 seconds, what could be causing this?
 
I can here water going thru the pipes, but no faucets are open. so it goes back to the cut in pressure in about 10 seconds, what could be causing this?
Click to expand...

Is this when you just set it up? If so did it stop once the pipes were filled. If not I would check your toilet(s) to make sure they are not running.
 
yeah, just set up and perhaps the toilets were running, but I let it cycle several times, and checked to make sure nothing was running anywhere in the house, even turned off the water in the kitchen where there is a very slow leak
 
You have your settings backwards. The cut in pressure should be two pounds HIGHER than the tanks setting and the differential should be between 20 and 35 lbs.

bob...
 
thanks speedbump, I still need to know what can be causing the pressure to drop so quickly, I'll keep reading I guess
 
If it's a new tank, set up properly you must have a leak. I think you said you turned off the valve to the house and it still acts the same. You must have a leak down the well somewhere or in the pipe leading to the house.

bob...
 
well first off I am not much of a plummer, I am learning as I go and truly appreciate all the help I have gotten from this site. there certainly could be a leak somewhere underground. Is there a way to determine this? and also, I am not running on a well, I am on city water, but my house is very high up on a hill so without a pump and pressure tank my water just trickles out. As I said I am a complete novice to this, but I am curious, why would a leak before the pump cause a pressure loss? just trying to learn and get my water pressure back, and trying to learn as much as possible for any future problems
 
That puts a whole different light on things. If you install a tank and try to set it's pressure while city water pressure is present, you probably are not getting the true readings you want. You must set the tanks air pressure before putting any system pressure to it at all. If you know what the pressure switch settings are or what you want them to be, simply set the tanks air pressure at 2 lbs less than the pressure switches on pressure.

bob...
 
the tank came with a pressure charge already, 35psi and I checked it prior to any water going into the tank
 
they are wrong from what you said, guess I'm dyslexic, I had the switch set at 33 2 under the tanks psi, instead of 37, the cut off is about 55, not sure how to adjust the settings well, but that is where they are now. there are 2 adjustments on my switch, not sure how to use them. when I adjust the one, it seems to adjust both cut in and cut out
 
If you have a Square D Switch, just use the tall spring to adjust. Turn it clockwise to increase the on pressure to 37.

Now that you said you have city water, do you have a check valve in this system anywhere?

bob...
 
That makes it real simple. There is your leak. You must have a check valve in front of the pump on the suction side so that when you pressure up the tank, it stays there. All your doing is making your pump and tank act like a yo-yo.

bob...
 
thanks speedbump so I need a check valve? so just got to a hardware store and they should know what I am talking about? So I assume the check valve will hold the pressure, so it doesn't just flow backwards and as you put it yo-yo
 
The hardware should know what a check valve is. Be sure to buy a good brass one, not a plastic valve. You will be glad you spent the extra few bucks to get quality.

bob...
 
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