Air in lines

[gahlen]

Just recently we have been having air in our lines. I have a submersible pump and bladder type pressure tank. I have turned off the pump and drained the tank and the water pressure is 39 psi. So the tank would not appear to be the problem. I do hear a sound like the water going back down the pipe to the well. It is almost like a gulping sound. I am assuming that this means a check valve. It was replaced 2 years ago by the previous owners so is it likely it is bad already? How would I know what to purchase prior to pulling the pump :confused:

[speedbump]

Do you have a check valve up top by the tank?


bob...

[gahlen]

Yes, I installed that last fall because the pump kept cycling and I could hear the water running when there was nothing going on in the home. After the check valve was installed in the house, the pump no longer cycled and things were fine until last week. I for sure hear the water going back down into the well now. When I installed the check valve I also put a bypass with a ball valve so that in the summer I could run my sprinker since it uses the pressure tank in the home to activate the pump.

[speedbump]

The fact that you needed the check valve up top was an indication that something is wrong down the well or in the piping to the well from the tank. What you did was install a bandaid on what should have been major surgery.

Bite the bullet, have the pump pulled and the droppipe checked as well as the valve in the pump. You will probably discover you have holes in the droppipe due to electrolisis or just plain rusting out. Either way, you will be preventing bigger problems later on by doing so. If it turns out there is nothing wrong with the pipe or pump, you will need to replace the pipe from the well to the house.

bob...

[gahlen]

Thanks the pump is being pulled tomorrow. I appreciate your advice!

[gahlen]

Just thought I would follow up with the fix. My problem was the check valve. The spring had broken in it so we replaced the check valve. The pipe to the well is 1-1/4 schedule 80 pipe. What I learned was that my connection has a pitless adapter. The first I had ever heard of such a thing but very handy in the north! Thanks again..... :D

[speedbump]

Which check valve went bad, the one in the well or the one up above?

If it was the one in the well, they should have removed the one up top.

bob...

[gahlen]

It was the one in the well. The one up top has a bypass so it is out of the flow now.

[speedbump]

That's a new one. A check valve with a bypass. That's almost an oxymoron.


bob...

[gahlen]

Actually two check valves with the one in the house being bypassed. But Murphys law says that there will be 2 feet of snow on the ground and the one in the well will go out causing the pump to cycle on and off every 5 minutes so I defer to experience and leave the one in the house just in case. By the way, many of my neighbors have had the same experience and thus have chosen to keep theirs in their homes also. :rolleyes:

[speedbump]

Ok, I see the reasoning here. But I have installed thousands of submersible pumps and the check valve built into the pump is probably the very last thing to ever go bad. That's why I don't understand all the problems you are having with check valves.

If your buying the plastic variety of check valves, it would be easy to understand the problem. But with a good quality bronze check valve you shouldn't have any problems. The ones that are built into the pump ends practically never fail.

bob...