I'm replacing a pressure tank on my home's water supply that's sourced from a deep-well submersible pump. The current old tank is a 54 gallon bladder model that I've been keeping alive by periodically adding air from my shop compressor. I'm starting to see some rust in the water, so it's finally time to buy a new one.
We're a two-person household with light water usage (no irrigation). The water quality is clean with a bit of calcium hardness and our well tests out at about 15-20 GPM.
I like the looks of the fiberglass-shell-with-poly liner tanks made by Wellmate (my tank is not exposed to the weather), but am having trouble deciding on a bladder tank vs. a larger (e.g. Wellmate HP-18 80 gallon) hydropneumatic tank with similar drawdown characteristics. The cost is about the same.
The bladder tank's warantied for five years, which tells me that I shouldn't be surprised if the bladder fails in 6 years, so I'm being tempted by the hydropneumatic setup which should, theoretically last forever (maybe replacing the AVC if it fails). While the Wellmate bladder models s do have a replaceable bladder, the cost of a new bladder is almost the same as that of a new tank--and the tank has to be removed for bladder replacement anyway.
Since my well setup doesn't have a snifter valve-with-bleeder, I was thinking about adding air with a micronizer instead. Will this work?
More importantly, am I being realistic in my beliefs of the longevity of the hydropneumatic setup?
Finally, if the consensus is that a captive-air tank is plenty reliable, is there much difference in the reliability of the the bladder-type Wellmate and the diaphragm-type Flexcon? Both have fiberglass shells with poly liners and five-year warranties.
Many thanks in advance for any practical advice in this matter.
We're a two-person household with light water usage (no irrigation). The water quality is clean with a bit of calcium hardness and our well tests out at about 15-20 GPM.
I like the looks of the fiberglass-shell-with-poly liner tanks made by Wellmate (my tank is not exposed to the weather), but am having trouble deciding on a bladder tank vs. a larger (e.g. Wellmate HP-18 80 gallon) hydropneumatic tank with similar drawdown characteristics. The cost is about the same.
The bladder tank's warantied for five years, which tells me that I shouldn't be surprised if the bladder fails in 6 years, so I'm being tempted by the hydropneumatic setup which should, theoretically last forever (maybe replacing the AVC if it fails). While the Wellmate bladder models s do have a replaceable bladder, the cost of a new bladder is almost the same as that of a new tank--and the tank has to be removed for bladder replacement anyway.
Since my well setup doesn't have a snifter valve-with-bleeder, I was thinking about adding air with a micronizer instead. Will this work?
More importantly, am I being realistic in my beliefs of the longevity of the hydropneumatic setup?
Finally, if the consensus is that a captive-air tank is plenty reliable, is there much difference in the reliability of the the bladder-type Wellmate and the diaphragm-type Flexcon? Both have fiberglass shells with poly liners and five-year warranties.
Many thanks in advance for any practical advice in this matter.