sabre
New Member
Pretty new to all of this, but here is where I am at.
Had a new well pump put in last year. At the time, the guy increased my pressure since it was pretty low. Since then, have noticed that the pump seems to go on every few minutes when water is running. I can tell as the lights flicker when it clicks on. Also, pressure will increase (such as in shower) likely when the tank is filling up from the pump, and then go back to normal. Bought house just before then, so I do not have a good idea what was going on before that, but something burned out the prior pump, so maybe it was the tank.
Finally, I got around to checking out the pressure tank. It is WX-203. Following instructions in sticky, drained all the water out and checked the pre-charge pressure from the valve on top with a tire guage. It read 20. As it should be 2 below cut-in pressure, clearly this is too low. But I did not know the cut-in/out pressure. [I added air to get pre-charge to 29-see below] So I turned power to pump back on, and left the tire guage on top as it filled. I could see pressure go up, and it stopped at about 60 -- so I assume this is my cut-off, and based on 60 - 20, assume 40 is my cut in. Thus I should have 38 pre-charge...
First off, is this a legitimate way to check the cut-in/off pressure? (the tank pressure guage seems stuck and does not work)
Using hand pump, got pre-charge up to 29 (before I turned the pump back on). After filling, tested pressure from faucet, and it was a LOT better. I then turned down the pressure a bit at D-square (?correct term?), but will have to again check the cut-in/off pressure, and then finalize what the pre-charge should be--assuming the above method is ok, or maybe better do it when tank is low and see where kicks on?.
Question -- with a reading of 20, was that low enough to make the pump cycle on as it did (just spoke to my pump man and he said that 20 is high enough, and he thinks tank is bad and wants to replace). He gave a price of $1400 for a larger tank installed. That is a lot and not what I want to spend now. I will see how it works with the higher pre-charge pressure, but am afraid that still may not be enough to cut down on pump cycles (I did not see any water come out from tank valve, so dont think bag has a hole).
Another question, how hard is it to put in a pressure tank on my own (T-connector)? It seems pretty straightforward, but should I replace other parts as well?
Thanks all
Had a new well pump put in last year. At the time, the guy increased my pressure since it was pretty low. Since then, have noticed that the pump seems to go on every few minutes when water is running. I can tell as the lights flicker when it clicks on. Also, pressure will increase (such as in shower) likely when the tank is filling up from the pump, and then go back to normal. Bought house just before then, so I do not have a good idea what was going on before that, but something burned out the prior pump, so maybe it was the tank.
Finally, I got around to checking out the pressure tank. It is WX-203. Following instructions in sticky, drained all the water out and checked the pre-charge pressure from the valve on top with a tire guage. It read 20. As it should be 2 below cut-in pressure, clearly this is too low. But I did not know the cut-in/out pressure. [I added air to get pre-charge to 29-see below] So I turned power to pump back on, and left the tire guage on top as it filled. I could see pressure go up, and it stopped at about 60 -- so I assume this is my cut-off, and based on 60 - 20, assume 40 is my cut in. Thus I should have 38 pre-charge...
First off, is this a legitimate way to check the cut-in/off pressure? (the tank pressure guage seems stuck and does not work)
Using hand pump, got pre-charge up to 29 (before I turned the pump back on). After filling, tested pressure from faucet, and it was a LOT better. I then turned down the pressure a bit at D-square (?correct term?), but will have to again check the cut-in/off pressure, and then finalize what the pre-charge should be--assuming the above method is ok, or maybe better do it when tank is low and see where kicks on?.
Question -- with a reading of 20, was that low enough to make the pump cycle on as it did (just spoke to my pump man and he said that 20 is high enough, and he thinks tank is bad and wants to replace). He gave a price of $1400 for a larger tank installed. That is a lot and not what I want to spend now. I will see how it works with the higher pre-charge pressure, but am afraid that still may not be enough to cut down on pump cycles (I did not see any water come out from tank valve, so dont think bag has a hole).
Another question, how hard is it to put in a pressure tank on my own (T-connector)? It seems pretty straightforward, but should I replace other parts as well?
Thanks all