Sediment in riser tube to pressure switch

[RonL2]

Any good ideas on how to keep the sediment out of these tubes going to pressure switch and pressure guage ? They periodically fill up with the red sediment. (Every few years,) not a big deal, but still would be nice to not have to disassemble to keep these cleaned out. (Never see sediment anywhere else ... just in these tubes.. never could figure out why it even collects there)

 

[LLigetfa]

Either use larger diameter riser pipe and reduce it at the gauge and switch or don't use any riser pipe and mount the switch/gauge directly to the Tee. Even then, the diaphragm inside the switch will build up with sediment and need periodic cleaning. Always keep a spare on hand JIC you damage the diaphragm when taking it apart.

On my system, I have hydro-pneumatic tanks and so I mounted my switch and gauge at the top where it only sees air. That is not an option with captive air tanks as it will leak out the air over time.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[LLigetfa]

Oh, forgot to mention... if you use galvanized risers, switch to brass.

 

[Bannerman]

You said 'tubes'. There is more than one?

Perhaps if these tubes are constructed from steel, they may be corroding internally and the red sediment is actually rust. If so, replacement with brass would resolve the issue.

If the sediment is coming from the well, some photos of the surrounding plumbing may assist to identify why sediment is accumulating in that location.

 

[RonL2]

Yes switching out is smart, I did that when I switched out the tank.
But changing to a bigger tube would slow it down, but i would think it would eventually plug up too.
But that is today's chore. Remove these, make sure there cleaned out , rotate and replace. Here's a pic... of how its plumbed now.

 

[RonL2]

Water in from the bottom. Out from the top.

 

[LLigetfa]

Here's a pic... of how its plumbed now.

Yes, the pic helps. Since you use a tank Tee with 1/4" control ports, going with larger pipe is not really an option. Also since they are brass, there is no improving that.

What you likely have is iron in the water that is precipitating in the tubes. Nothing you can do about it except to add periodic cleaning to your to-do list unless you want to switch over to a hydro-pneumatic setup as what I have. Doing so would only change one small task into a much larger task removing iron buildup.

 

[Bannerman]

Because the water is arriving from the pump through the smaller diameter section of pipe at the bottom, water flow through that smaller section will flow at a higher velocity than in the tank Tee section above. The slower flow could result in a small amount of sediment accumulation in the larger diameter of the tank Tee where the pressure switch and gauge are connected to. Even a negligible amount of sediment accumulating over time can cause the openings to the pressure switch and gauge to eventually become blocked.

Suggest exchanging the short narrow diameter section of pipe below with a section of pipe equal in internal diameter to the tank Tee.

 

[RonL2]

Thanks all, I just finished the cleanup for this round. The odd thing is no sediment at all in the gauge pipes, but pressure switch pipes were almost full.
I actually had a small crack in the elbow which would drip maybe once every 10 minutes.. (that's what alerted me this time to clean it out as well as fix the elbow... as there was red sediment leaching out with it). But all is well, caught it before it contaminated the switch. Also found my pressure tank to be at 24 pounds.. I brought that back up to 36. But from dead empty until full /cutoff was 2 minutes 30 seconds.
If I knew the drawdown or capacity from empty to full. I guess I could see what my pump was delivering.
I have a water works ht86b tank.
Maybe that needs a new question/ post.

 

[RonL2]

Excuse me .. tank is a water worker

 

[RonL2]

According to lowes, its 23 gallons at 40-60. Which puts me at 9 gpm. Which sounds right for my 8gpm pump at roughly 70 foot depth. Some day I will find out exactly where it is. I have no data from the original driller.. the only thing I remember is he said hit water at 60, drilled to 80. Measured by filling up a 5gal. bucket by forcing g air down the hole. Said I had 30 gpm. But who really knows with that method. That was in 1985.

 

[Bannerman]

sounds right for my 8gpm pump at roughly 70 foot depth.

The depth of the pump is less important than the distance to the top of the water when the pump is not running (static level).

While water may have been found at 60', the water will usually rise higher in the well casing due to relief from the pressure from within the soil. Regardless of the pump depth, it will be only lifting water from where water is sitting in the casing. While the distance will typically increase as water is removed by the pump, if your well recovery is actually as high as 30 GPM, the water level may not drop much through usual water use.

 

[LLigetfa]

The odd thing is no sediment at all in the gauge pipes, but pressure switch pipes were almost full.

There is next to no flow through the gauge riser pipe since water volume inside the bourdon tube in the pressure gauge does not change. The riser tube is considered a dead leg as the water is not exchanged. Since there is no new water, there is no new source of iron.

The pressure switch on the other hand has a rubber diaphragm that moves up and down with pressure change which in turn changes the volume of water in the switch which moves water in and out of the riser pipe. This causes an exchange of water so new water brings with it new iron.

 

[RonL2]

Lligitfa, that makes sense.
Just have to keep this as a once every couple of years chore... along with checking the well tank pressure.
Thanks again everyone !

 

[Fitter30]

Guage doesn't stop up because only a few drops of water move in and out where a pressure switch has a bigger flow.
1/4" mpt x fpt mini ball valve and a union. By adding a valve and a union would make cleaning very easy and no disconnecting wiring.