Re-working Well Tank Replacement Due to small leaks

Recently I replaced my Pressure Tank. I am notice small leaks and condensation. The piping coming from the well is mostly black tube piping connected together by gray inserts. The piping from the well directly is metal as you can tell in the picture.
The problem I have is the black tube piping (dont know the exact name of it) gets heavy condensation and has small leaks where it connects together using the gray piping inserts.

Since I also have to re-do a poor weld I did on the copper, I also want to take care of the problems I stated above. Should I just go with metal piping from the wall connection to the T connector? Or should I try to use what's in place just re-check how tight the connections are? Or is there another option? Thanks

Just wanted to add something. I replaced my pressure tank due to a ruptured bladder, the pump was short cycling every couple seconds. Now that I have the new tank in (30-something gallons), the cycling still seems more frequent than what it should be.
How exactly should this work? If I am just running my kitchen sink, for instance, should the pump cycle every 5 to 7 minutes? That seems to frequent. Maybe I just dont understand how this all work. I assumed, the pressure tank was there to take pressure off cycling the pump; pump fills tank, water you use is from the tank and when it gets low the pump fills up the tank again. Am I wrong?

What could cause this to happen? Id think with a 30 gallon tank, wouldnt the pump not cycle again for a half hour or so? Especially if all I run is the kitchen sink?

Take all that junk out and use a [or more] copper or SS water heater flexible hose to make your turn and connection from the galv. steel elbow. No leaks and 12 less joints.

Your cycle time sounds normal for that small tank.

Poly pipe is only practical outside on LONG runs and few fittings. If you want to save some of those fittings and joints then go to truevalue and get braided vinyl hose with a pressure rating written on it, and you can make the bends witout fittings, even if you have to make a "loop" - that stuff does not leak at joints.

Thanks, I will have to try and find out where I can get that SS flexible hose. The guys at home Depot didnt seem to be able to help me so Ill have to try and find somewhere else to get it.

Thanks for the insight on the cycle time. For whatever reason, I thought the cycle time would be longer.


Edit - Do they make those with large connections? I did call True Value and they had some but its more for washing machines and the connections are garden hose size. Any recommendations on where I can get some larger?

This stuff will work, but it would be cheaper to just do it in copper.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ec...exible+stainless+braided?op=search&sst=subset

I love when someone that can't use a product correctly then calls it junk.

The coupler in the line from the elbow back against the wall to the elbow on the tank tee should not be there; and the close end of the coupler is not all the way into the pipe. If that is leaking, that's why.

Instead of corrugated flexible SS or copper, get another longer piece of PE (polyethylene) pipe like you have and get rid of the coupler. You should remove the check valve on the Tee too, that is probably hiding a leak in the line to the well or down the well in the drop pipe. Or the check valve in/on the pump outlet is leaking. That will cause your short cycling.

If the fitting going into the check valve is leaking, replace it with a SS one.

And someday you should change out the galvanized to/from the well with PE pipe. Copper is way toi expensive and hard to work with.

When the pump is off you get water out of the tank, when the pressure falls enough the pump comes on and supplies the water you are using and any additional water refills the tank, the pressure builds and shuts off the pump. That's if your pump can deliver that much water. It doesn't look like yours can, and a leak will cause that. So it looks like ya got a new tank, more problems and didn't need a new tank and you still have the original problem. BTW, you can't/don't weld copper, you solder it.

Get rid of the coupling, get rid of the check valve. Swap all the gray plastic fittings out for brass or stainless steel fittings and double clamp all fitting connections. If you want to change it over to copper you can. Cost will be about 50 bucks or less and you should insulate that small section or it will swett.

Some products, even if used correctly are still junk. In fact, quite a few of them are junk. Plumbers would know that though.

Gary Slusser said:

I love when someone that can't use a product correctly then calls it junk.

The coupler in the line from the elbow back against the wall to the elbow on the tank tee should not be there; and the close end of the coupler is not all the way into the pipe. If that is leaking, that's why.

Instead of corrugated flexible SS or copper, get another longer piece of PE (polyethylene) pipe like you have and get rid of the coupler. You should remove the check valve on the Tee too, that is probably hiding a leak in the line to the well or down the well in the drop pipe. Or the check valve in/on the pump outlet is leaking. That will cause your short cycling.

If the fitting going into the check valve is leaking, replace it with a SS one.

And someday you should change out the galvanized to/from the well with PE pipe. Copper is way toi expensive and hard to work with.

When the pump is off you get water out of the tank, when the pressure falls enough the pump comes on and supplies the water you are using and any additional water refills the tank, the pressure builds and shuts off the pump. That's if your pump can deliver that much water. It doesn't look like yours can, and a leak will cause that. So it looks like ya got a new tank, more problems and didn't need a new tank and you still have the original problem. BTW, you can't/don't weld copper, you solder it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I just bought the house and the some how the inspector missed the short cycling or it started right before I moved in. Replacing the tank helped the cycling. It use to cycle every 2 seconds. Now it cycles between 5 and 7 minutes, and I guess that is normal?
Youre right about the elbow coupeling. It isnt in all the way. That, I will change. The other coupling you mention, I will remove and get a longer piece of PE pipe. One thing about the PE pipe, I may need to go thicker. The original was a tiny bit thicker; maybe that helped limit the condensation I see now.

As far as the cycle valve. That was already there. I wasnt sure if it needed to be so I left it. Ill remove and it see how the system runs. Now that you mention it, I cant think of why it was put there and for how long its been there.


One thing again about the new tank. The original problem is gone. I see 5 to 7 minute cycling with the new tank now. Previous poster said this was normal though I was still curious about it. It seemed to me if all I was running was the kitchen sink, that the cycling would be well over 10 minutes or longer. But Im completely new to this so I wouldnt know how often it should be cycling.

Itll be a while before I can change out piping to the well. That sounds like quite a task and unfortunately, the house has some other issues Id like to take care of first.

I love it when someone has no understanding that poly pipe is designed for long home runs of pipe and not for indoor " my first plumbing job" junctions with toy box fittings.

Poly pipe is great for drip systems, pump drop lines, and long feeder lnes. Poly pipe is only junk when it has several fittings in only a few inches of run. Its not allowed inside a house under any codes I know of. You can fix it for 5 bucks with some pressure rated rubber or vinyl hose in just a few minutes.[ also non code, but a better defect] Or reduce it to 3/4" and use WATER HEATER connectors, not washing machine. Cacher has the right idea but at government prices. You can use PEX also.

Easier to put a bucket under the pipe and water the roses with it weekly. Keep the insurance paid up.

By the way, if you do make the error of keeping the poly, sand the mis matched ridges on the 29 cent fittings that cause it to leak because the water travels the ridge lines from the worn out injection moulds the cheesy Mfgrs. use. And use at least 2 chinese clamps, one close to the end of the poly, just off the ridges.

And if you want to seat the pipe deep on the fitting, warm them with hot water, not the torch method that some wham bang plumbers use.

And by the way, it sure seems like one elbow has NO clamp on it at all!

You can't do it with one piece of poly becauseit won't make the bend in that tight corner. Get your blind "inspector" to make the repair.

Thanks for the responses. I was going to put things off a bit because I didnt think the problem was as bad, but turns out im going to have to do something about it ASAP.

Turns out maybe I shouldnt of bothered trying to do this on my own. Ive got water/dampness now that runs along the ground next to the wall in the basement (source is near well tank). Well tank and immediate piping/connections have very heavy condensation. Dripping. Small leak/dripping under tank.

Im surprised how it runs along the basement wall. There isnt any puddles on the ground but somehow that wetness is getting around nearly the entire basement.

Seeing how im going away for a week, ill just open the breaker. When I return, ill drain the tank, undo all fittings and try and come up with a better plan of putting things back together more securely. I thought the T connection to the tank was pretty tight when I installed it so I dont understand the leak there. I didnt want to over tighten it. Im guessing the biggest source of the leaks are from a poor solder job, a shark bite connection, and under the tank itself.

I can't tell if we are seeing a leak or if you just have condensation. It's normal for the tank to condensate, particularly if your basement is warm. The concrete can produce condensate if you allow the humidity to rise to high.

I run a dehumidifier at 50% all summer and the basement never gets over 65F. Our tank will condensate enough to wet the floor only after I use a lot of water. The water comes out of our well at 45F in the summer so there will be condensate.