Pipe movement between well pipe and pressure tank?

Hello, I've read these forums quite a bit in the past and finally wanted to pose a question to all the experts out there...

I recently had my pressure tank replaced in addition to the pipe that runs from where the well pipe comes into my house to it (around $1400 of work). The plumber that installed it came straight off the wall where the well pipe comes in for 30" and then straight down to the inlet which is around 5' down via pvc. I had copper pipes before that were configured a bit different (only came off wall 6" tops), and now when the well pump kicks off there is a pretty good jarring and they move around quite a bit.

I wasn't concerned about this, but over the weekend the connection to the well pipe burst causing a heck of mess in my basement. The plumber previously installed a threaded female pvc connection onto the pipe where it comes into my house (connected to backflow preventer) and this pvc part burst. He said that these pvc connections are junk and replaced it with a bigger brass unit that now has a male pvc connection where the rest of the pipe hooks in.

Are either of these issues described above things to worry about? I'm pretty scared after busted pipe and want to do everything I can to prevent another mishap.

The jarring is the back flow preventer slamming shut after the pump cuts off.
You can have the plumber put a surge chamber in line or move the back flow preventer as close to the tank as possible. If it will make you feel better, have copper put back instead of the PVC.

Just a thought.


Travis

Thanks for the response, a few more questions:

1. I was thinking about installing a few split ring hangers with 3/8" threaded rod to shore up the run that's about 30" away from my wall. Do you see any issues with doing this and would you imagine it would help? When it kicks off, you can see everything move from the wall run to the tank.

2. As mentioned, the plumber put the brass coupling onto where the pipe split that had a female pvc threaded onto it before. Could this be from the jarring or was it likely just a bad idea to put the pvc on it in the first place?

The attached quick sketch shows a before and after on how it was done. Note that there is nothing supporting the pipe coming off the wall going into the tank. I'm likely just being paranoid but I don't want to have a flooded basement again.

sorry, forgot my attachment last time, here it is

That check valve (backflow preventer) should be removed, especially if you have a submersible pump (in the well) because there is one in/on a submersible pump's outlet; and if you have a jet pump, there's one on the drop pipe's inlet in the well and it's called a foot valve.

If you have a leak, especially with a submersible pump, you really need to find and fix it before you lose all water or the pump falls off the drop pipe and down the well.

That extra check valve hides any/all leaks and I suspect that's why it's there. It's easier to add another than find and fix the leak. A leak and this extra check valve is probably causing the line to move. The movement caused the female adapter to break. And if the new tank and that line replacement was all you got, you paid way too much in my opinion.

there are actually two backflows, one really old one near the wall in my sketch and one coming off the t for the pressure tank.

all i got was new pipe as in my picture and a new larger tank for the price. it was an emergency weekend repair which caused it to be a little higher but i feel like it was a high price too.

sorry, forgot to pose again do you think the split clamps will help with the movement or should I try another tactic in the interim?

Moving Pipe

jakkwylde said:

sorry, forgot to pose again do you think the split clamps will help with the movement or should I try another tactic in the interim?

Click to expand...

Its a good idea to support the pipe, that distance off the wall is bound to cause problems. Good practice is to secure it when its put in! Luck.

The female PVC adaptors are junk and do quite often fail. Installing that was asking for trouble. In my area, it is standard procedure to have a check valve at the "cross" on the pressure tank (in addition to the one near the submersible pump). I would not remove the second check valve, however, it sounds like there are three ... if that is the case, have the old one removed by the wall.

99K, thanks for your input. I can rest better now knowing that I have a better setup. Out of curiousity, does it hurt anything having the additional check valve at the wall?

You can get (a lot) more pipe banging with multiple check valves if either any one leaks, or as a result of them closing at different rates. If there is any leak, the pipe coming out of the well could end up emptying somewhat. Then when the pump comes on, the air and water will slam around as the pipe fills back up again.