New to a well system, please help.

I'm new to a well system, here is the story. I currently have very low pressure. It started about 2 months ago. had a service call from the home warranty people and they said I needed to add salt to the softener system. It was low, but not empty, so I filled it. This did not work. I have an inline filter before the water enters the softener and I have been changing the filter way too often. Every month for the last 4 months. (NASTY brown/orange)

There is only air coming out of the air valve on top of the pressure tank. I replaced the pressure switch (My neighbor had a new one in his garage). It is a 30/50 switch. I filled the tank with air to 32psi and turned the power back on to the well pump/system.

There appears to be no water going into the pressure tank.

Where should I go from here?? Please help.

Thanks in advance.

chiefgunner said:

I'm new to a well system, here is the story. I currently have very low pressure. It started about 2 months ago. had a service call from the home warranty people and they said I needed to add salt to the softener system.

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Either they misunderstood your complaint or they were just trying to get you off the phone. Low salt in your softener system will not reduce your pressure.

chiefgunner said:

I have an inline filter before the water enters the softener and I have been changing the filter way too often. Every month for the last 4 months. (NASTY brown/orange)

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More than likely, the orange/brown you are seeing is the iron in the water. (Not uncommon in wells) There are several methods for reducing iron content, but I'll let the experts here adress those options.

chiefgunner said:

There is only air coming out of the air valve on top of the pressure tank. I replaced the pressure switch (My neighbor had a new one in his garage). It is a 30/50 switch. I filled the tank with air to 32psi and turned the power back on to the well pump/system. There appears to be no water going into the pressure tank.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you are presenting a concern, or just clarifying the fact that only air is coming from the valve on top of the pressure tank. This is good, air is all that should be coming out of the valve on top although 32psi seems on the high side. Then again you didn't mention how big the tank was and the recommended air presssure setting really depends on the size of the tank and your desired water pressure setting. Since your originally had good pressure and now have low pressure even after changing your filters my first thought is you have a bad pressure tank. If the bladder is busted, pieces of it can settle down and clog the outlet from the tank. In a pre-charged pressure tank the ratio of water to air in a pressure tank is mostly air by volume. If you tap on the side of the tank and listen to the sound there should be a distinct difference in tone on the bottom portion filled with water versus the top portion filled with air.

There should be a hose bib on the outlet side of the tank. Shut off the power to your pump system and open the hose bib leading from the pressure tank. This should allow you to drain the tank and verify if there is any water in it. Drain the tank of all water. "THEN" set the appropriate air pressure in the tank as specified by the manufacturer (i.e. add air to deisred pressure with no water in the tank)

The only other thing I can think of is orange/brown mudding iron can eventually lead to clogged pipes (similar to human arteries clogged with plaque)

Bypass the filter and softner to make sure that is not the problem. You only need 28 PSI air in the tank. If it is a jet pump, your jet assembly is probably clogged.