Pressure tank will not fill

Friday night one of our breakers for the well pump blew, I left it off for the night and we figured we would deal with it in the morning. We have had low water in the wells in the past and figured it was just pumping air. The next morning, we switched back on the well and still got no water in the holding tank. After not running water all night we should of had some in the well. We finally turned on the pump and openned the faucet to find that the water just kept flowing. There is water in the well. We have checked the air pressure in the tank and it is fine. The pressure switch is coming on. We have removed the tank and cleaned all the piping to the tank, we have cleaned all the contacts to the switch and removed the pressure guage and made sure no debris was plugged there. Any clue why the pressure tank will not fill? Thank you.

We probably need more info, I know I do...

Submersible pump, or above ground pump?

You turned on the faucet at the tank? And there was water flowing out of it? You checked the pressure in the tank, was it empty at the time? What does the pressure gauge read while the pump is running? Why do you think water is not going into the tank? When you have the pump running and you get water flowing out of the faucet at the tank, do you get water at the house if you close that faucet?

Rancher

PS, post only in one forum it's less confusing

Sorry about posting in 2 different ones, I was not sure which one to be in. I should have been more clear. We have 2 wells both 185' deep with a Submersible pump in both. They are set up on 2 different breakers, so we can shut one off or switch as needed. So this rules out any pump problem. When we switch the pump on the tank pressure guage reads 30 and will not go up. The pump continues to run, if we shut off the Submersible pump the tank still reads 30 until you open a bathroom facuet. All the water you get is what is in the lines and the tank pressure drops to 0. We have unhooked the tank and there was not a drop of water in it. If I switch back on the submersible pump and open a bathroom facuet, The water continues to run and run, but the pressure tank does not fill even when I shut off the facuet. Thank you

cheri1981 said:

So this rules out any pump problem. When we switch the pump on the tank pressure guage reads 30 and will not go up.

Click to expand...

The circuit breaker popped, so that does not rule out a pump problem. When the pressure guage on the tank reads 30, there must be water in the tank, that's the only way it goes from zero to 30. How are your pumps hooked up to the tank, do they alternate, both pump at the same time, do they both just pump up to 30 when pumping alone? This really sounds like they've been run dry, hence the circuit breaker popping, and now the impellers can't make it above 30...

The fact that you can put 30 psi in the tank indicates the tank is not blocked.

There also may be a hole in the drop pipe, with a leak... but on both pumps?

Are the pumps isolated, i.e. is there an above ground check valve between the well heads and the pressure tank?

Rancher

Both wells are are their own electrical line and breaker. We do not run both pumps at the same time. The pump that did not throw the breaker had not been run in a few months. When turned on it does the same thing. Still only 30 on the pressure tank, which is the amount of air in the tank. We put electrical testers on the pressure switch and they show 240 volts no matter what pump is on. Thank you

cheri1981 said:

Still only 30 on the pressure tank, which is the amount of air in the tank.

Click to expand...

OK a few more questions:

Pressure tank, is it a bladder tank, i.e. has the tire valve on the top of the tank? What is the pressure at that tire valve when the pump(s) are not running and you've drained the water out at the faucet at the tank. You have 1 or 2 pressure switches controlling the pumps? What is the pressure switch set to come on at?

And answer this question, because I think it's the key...
"Are the pumps isolated, i.e. is there an above ground check valve between the well heads and the pressure tank?"
In other words are the pipes from both wells tied together without check valves (check valve keeps the water from flowing back into the well if you have a leak at one of the pumps.

Rancher

It is a bladder tank, there is a tire valve on the top of the tank. The pressure is 28 psi when the tank is empty (at the tire valve). we have one pressure switch controling both of the pumps. The pressure switch is set to come on at 30. The pipes come together under the house near the presure tank and each have a check valve just before they T together. Thank you.