My set-up..........and I'm clueless

This is my well set-up. I have no idea why I have both a pump in the well and in my basement......................as well as 2 wellmate tanks and a wellxtrol tank........

if anyone can please give me some insight as to how my set up could be, i would greatly appreciate it.
thanks
tony

I don't understand that set up either. Those two fiberglass tanks are retention type tanks. They can either give contact time for chlorine to work, or aerate the water to remove sulfur or rotten egg smell. I don't see a chlorine injector. The way they are plumbed, I don't even see why any water would go through those tanks. They are basically on a dead end line.

Looks like the pressure switch on the steel tank runs the well pump. Then the booster pump has a pressure switch mounted on it for control. Don't know why you would need the booster pump, if the well pump was large enough to start with. The booster pump can't even draw water from the two big tanks because they are pressurized and not atmospheric.

Does the water need treatment such as aeration or chlorination? Even if it does, I don't see how that system could be doing any treatment. I think the water in those fiberglass tanks does not flow anywhere, so the water in them is probably contaminated, or at least stale. Need to find out what they were trying to do, then we can help re-plumb everything so it will work.

thanks for all your help. I do know that at times when the water is running too long, water in those 2 tanks will start to decrease.

Also, sometimes I hear a "tick, tick, tick ,tick sound" as if some pump is running but then sometimes I can actualy hear the pump running. 2 totaly different sounds.

I can't see how those two tanks could be doing anything. Can you get a better picture of the two blue boxes on the side of the pump motor? an a closer picture of the pipe and stuff at the top of those two tanks?

The two tanks are what look like just storage tanks.

On the back wall I see a control box for a submersible pump.

It looks like to me you have a well that pumps water into those two tanks and the little pump in the picture pumps out of them, and that is where the pressure comes from.

I cant tell what turns the sub on, but the clicking sound you hear may be the sub filling the two gray tanks.


Travis

That ticking might be a chlorinator that we can't see too. Although I don't see a tank for the chlorine. Very strange setup.

bob...

Is the brass thing on the top of the pipe on the two tanks an automatic air bleeder?

I think the brass thing is an air vent…if so this is my guess as how the system works:

The submersible well pressure switch is set at a higher pressure than the jet pump pressure switch. The two fiberglass tanks are normally full of water and the automatic air vent will close, causing the fiberglass tanks to pressurize, pushing water through the jet pump satisfying well pressure switch.

When you use water in the house, the well pressure switch will turn on first, if the well keeps up only the well pump will run. If the well pump can’t keep up, the pressure will fall enough causing the jet pump pressure switch to turn on and start pulling water out of the fiberglass tanks, and the air vent will open, and the fiberglass tanks will go to atmospheric pressure.

When you quit using water in the house, the jet pump will shut off first. The well pump will continue to run until it fills the fiberglass tanks back up, the vent closes, the fiberglass tanks pressurize, and water pushes through the jet pump and satisfies the well pressure switch, shutting off the well pump.

I have never seen anything like that set up, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

I don’t know what the ticking sound would be.

They are retention tanks and the one on the left has what may be a vent valve to vent H2S, methane, radon etc. but I'm not sure. If that is a vent valve, then there is a head of air maintained in the tanks above the water in them. But I don't know how you get water out of them from the bottom and not have it dirty etc.. Usually the water would come out of the top and maybe it does when the well pump is off, but not when it is on because it will feed the jet pump if it runs, without the water going through those two tanks.

I've seen stranger things done by well drillers, plumbers and DIYers though.

How's your water quality? Have you ever drained the bottom of those tanks off and seen what the water looks like?

How's your pressure and flow?

I don't think they are being used to treat/filter/oxidize/contact time/ the water in any way. They are just being used as storage tanks for when the well can't keep up. It's kind of a "creative" setup....

But I could always be wrong.

They are retention tanks because they have an outlet on top, pressure tank doesn't but, they can not have any vacuum on them or they will crush very easily. So maybe that brass valve up there is to let air in. Weird fer sure...

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to take more pictures and post.

yes there is a small brass thing on top of one of those retention tanks that I have heard air spitting out of it before.

To answer some of the questions:

Water quality and pressure are great.
No chlorine tank

I think andy007 might be correct on his explanation.

They can't be used for retention because the jet pump can draw water directly from the well pump line, without the water first going to the other two tanks first. And there is no chlorinator.

That may be an air vent on top of those two tanks but, would just serve to keep those tanks waterlogged. If it were also a vent, then when the jet pump draws water, it would suck in air, as water can be drawn from the top of those tanks at the same time as from the bottom. This would make the jet pump lose prime as it is easier to draw air from the top than water from the bottom.

The way it is plumbed, I still don't think those tanks are doing anything but taking up space, and possibly allowing the water to sit long enough to get contaminated.

I do know that those tanks have emptied before. I had my tile saw running a few weeks ago and when I went down in the basement I heard the indoor pump running and inbetweeen the 2 tanks you will see a clear PVC pipe which is always filled with water, but this time it was almost empty and the tanks where almost empty as well. I was able to tell by shaking the tanks a little. They are usually pretty solid and this time they were easy to move around.

I noticed that I do have a seperate electrical box connected to the "in well" pump and the other electrical box connects to the little grey box just to the right of the pressure gauge located infront of the Wellxtroll.

The floor pump is connected to a seperate fuse as well on my main fuse box panel.

On the left retention tank there is a brass valve of some sort that the only time I heard it pissing out air was when my tile saw was running. I almost also never hear my indoor pump running either.

Usually all I hear is a ticking sound similiar to a muffled snare drum.(brip brip brip brip brip brip) followed by a thud.

I'm trying here...............................

Well they are Well Mate retention tanks, not pressure tanks.

They are designed to have an air head trapped in them. There is a check ball in a distributor tube below the in/out head.

This jet pump rarely runs. There is a possibility air is being added by that brass valve, or it will vent air added in the well or the line from the well by an air injector or break a vacuum so the tanks don't collapse when the jet pump runs. And if air wasn't introduced, air would be absorbed into the water over time and the jet pump would collapse them.

They may not have been intended as retention but they are providing retention.

I have used many Honeywell Bachmann float controlled valves much like the brass valve I can barely see in the picture after reworking it to see it as best I can. IIRC they will allow air in under a suction and prevent water only out.

So what does this all mean to me?

let me know if this is correct........................

pump inside the well pumps water into my house via the wellxtroll...........
pump inside my house pumps water into the retention tanks and those tanks hold it there when my pump inside the well can't handle the demand?????????????

Or vice versa?

The theory is that at times, the well can't produce sufficient water volume for the needs of the house. So, these tanks store water and usually, the well pump runs and supplies the house until the water level in the well causes that pump to not be able to do it. Then the jet pump comes on taking water from these thanks and the hope is that the well recovers before the tanks go dry. It seems that none of us have seen a system like this, although I have serviced the same tanks used for water treatment.

So try to find out who installed them and ask them about the system or don't worry about it until you run out of water. I suggest you conserve water when using water for more than running the house; like your tile saw use.

Thanks for the help!

on my wellxtroll tank there are a couple of "Service company" stickers. I'll try calling 'em up and see if they have any info as well.