10 Second Water Pressure Delay

[LLigetfa]

Does it make sense to lower the air supply back down to 16psi...

No it does not make sense to lower it that much. Have you checked that your air and water gauges both read the same? My guess is they do not.

 

[WellNewb]

No it does not make sense to lower it that much. Have you checked that your air and water gauges both read the same? My guess is they do not.

I used 2 separate air guages which place identical results. The water guage is brand new and reconciles with where the pressure switch is supposed to kick on (40psi).

Will going from a 20 gallon to a 34 gallon pressure tank also decrease this delay?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[LLigetfa]

So then the answer is no, you did not calibrate the air and water gauges. I don't understand why you would not.
How long the delay is depends on how much water is still in the tank when the pump starts and how fast you are drawing the water. Lowering the precharge leaves more water in the tank. On a submersible pump, 2 PSI less usually leaves enough water to supply the demand until the replacement water arrives. If you air and water pressure gauges are off by 2 PSI, that little buffer is already gone. I doubt either the gauge or the switch is that accurate.

 

[Valveman]

If you are seeing a delay because the air charge in the tank is too high you should see the gauge drop to zero for those first 10 seconds?

 

[Reach4]

If you are seeing a delay because the air charge in the tank is too high you should see the gauge drop to zero for those first 10 seconds?

He sees that pressure drop for about 10 seconds.

We think he has a leaky check valve at the pump 300 ft down or another below-water leak lets out water. We don't know the magnitude of that leak. He does not notice less of a delay if the next run is 10 minutes since the previous, but he has not specifically checked for that.

We think his buried horizontal pipe from the well and the top 30 ft of drop pipe are filled with water vapor until the pump kicks on. We think his pitless seal is not leaking, because he does not observe air in the water. He has a topside checkvalve. He does not want to gut the checkvalve, because he doubts his ability to do that without causing a worse problem.

When he bought the house, he did not see this symptom, but found that the precharge was way down. The thinking is that the low precharge let the pressure tank deliver water to the house after the pump had clicked on, but the pump had not yet refilled the piping with water to the checkvalve at the pressure tank.

 

[Valveman]

I did not see where he said the gauge was dropping to zero for those 10 seconds. Then yes either the bottom check has failed as you say or the pump is not coming on for 10 seconds.

 

[Reach4]

I did not see where he said the gauge was dropping to zero for those 10 seconds. Then yes either the bottom check has failed as you say or the pump is not coming on for 10 seconds.

Dang... I had presumed that was the case, but looking back I see that it was very different; I was wrong:

2) As a result of #1, when taking a bath, the pressure drops to about 36psi by the time the pressure starts to build and then proceeds to climb at an almost non-existent rate.

Well then, forget almost everything I said on this thread. I paid too much attention to the title. Dropping to 36 is hardly even a symptom.

Not having the topside check valve would still be better.

 

[WellNewb]

Dang... I had presumed that was the case, but looking back I see that it was very different; I was wrong:


Well then, forget almost everything I said on this thread. I paid too much attention to the title. Dropping to 36 is hardly even a symptom.

Not having the topside check valve would still be better.

There is a 10 second delay between the time the pressure switch calls and the water gets to the tank. During those 10 seconds the pressure drops from 40 to 36 and pretty much stays at 36 during heavy demand like a bath.

I'm assuming it is as originally said, a bad check valve by the pump, a leak in the line, or maybe leaking pitless adapter? This would explain the delay.

I will say the 10 second delay is pretty consistent though.

I'm replacing the existing 20 gallon pressure tank with a 32 gallon tank next week so I'm wondering if maybe the additional 2 or 3 gallons of water in the tank will allow the pressure to remain at 38 or 40 until water arrives from the well.

Either way, I don't see myself paying to pull anything out of the well unless that 10 second delay starts growing or the pump fails entirely.

What do you guys think? I really appreciate all of your time and input. I know nothing about this stuff.

 

[Reach4]

There is a 10 second delay between the time the pressure switch calls and the water gets to the tank. During those 10 seconds the pressure drops from 40 to 36 and pretty much stays at 36 during heavy demand like a bath.

It could be your bath draws higher gpm than most, or your water level in the well is low, or your pump has deterioratd some. This is for one type of pump, but others will be fairly similar.

Is a drop to 36 psi as you draw bath really a problem? Would you have noticed had you not looked at the gauge? You might see how many seconds it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket from your tub spout.

 

[WellNewb]

Nope, I only noticed this all when I adjusted the pressure in my tank from 16 to 38.
I appreciate your guys' help.

 

[Davin1]

Hey guys, here is a quick backstory about what's happening. Currently installed is an 18 year old 20 gallon expansion tank (I know too small) and a 3/4hp 7gpm submersible pump set 300ft down.

I had never checked the air pressure in the tank and to my surprise, it was at 16psi (came precharged at 28psi) with the tank empty. I checked with 2 separate guages to make sure.

I found out the old homeowner changed the old 30/50 switch to a 40/60 and never adjusted the pressure. So I bumped the pressure up to 38psi where it should be.

Since then, I've noticed 2 things:

1) There is a 10 second delay between the time the pressure switch clicks on at 40psi and pressure starts to build.

2) As a result of #1, when taking a bath, the pressure drops to about 36psi by the time the pressure starts to build and then proceeds to climb at an almost non-existent rate.

Do you guys think the tank is bad/too small, there is still too much air in the tank, or is this a sign of larger problems with the well pump?

For what it's worth, I was planning on swapping out the 20 gallon tank for a 32 gallon tank (8.6 gallon drawdown at 40/60) in the near future.

Lastly, with a 7gpm pump, I was under the assumption that I would need a 26 gallon tank in order to get the 7 gallon drawdown at 40/60 (according to Amtrol). This should work out to 1 minute of runtime according to them. However, I'm getting the 1 minute of runtime with the current 20 gallon tank so I'm confused.

I didn't have any of the aforementioned pressure issues when the pressure was at 16psi. I didn't notice then at least. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Does it make sense to lower the air supply back down to 16psi to achieve this or will this inevitably result in the bladder failing? I'm not sure what the air pressure was when we moved in but we've been here for 6 years already.

Hi. New on here but was going to post anyway to existent problem. We had same issue when upsizing our pressure tank.we ended up changing our our supply hose to pressure tank to clear braided line to be able to tell visually if water is running back down hole.

 

[Valveman]

If the pressure is dropping while no water is being used, water is running back down the hole.