No water pressure....yes me again

[Molly]

Please, somebody HELP! I have installed a new pump (meyers deep well jet pump) and a new water tank (bladder type). We have absolutely no water pressure. I mean there isn't even enough to come out of the shower head. Our pump is coming on and shutting off when it should. We even drained the system just in case it was waterlogged. We have water, our well is not dry. Any suggestions would greatly help. I fear it may be the foot valve, is this a possibility?

[Cass]

Is there pressure at the bladder tank on the gauge? Even with no footer valve you should pump up to pressure then the pump should turn off and you would slowly lose pressure until it turned back on. If there is pressure at the tank but not in the house you would have a clog somewhere, double check to see all valves are open. You could disconect at the tank and using a compressor blow air backwards towards the tank in hopes of disloging the blockage. If you have old globe valves it is possible that the washer has become disloged and is preventihg water flow. If you have an old gate valve you could have broken the gate in the closed position and when you thought you opened the gate valve the handle would turn but the gate would remain closed.

[Molly]

After we drained the tank yesterday the gauge on the pump and the tire gauge read 0. WE filled the tank with 18lbs of air by hand pump. When we turned the pump back on the tank filled and pump shut off at 35lbs. Right now the tank at the valve reads 40lbs with a tire gauge. The gauge on the pump also reads 40. We have small black chunks in some of our screens. This is the reason we changed the tank. Somebody suggested that was the bladder deteriorating. All valves are open. All screens are clean for the moment.

[speedbump]

Have you tried cleaning, removing the aerators on your faucets.

bob...

[Molly]

If we are having problems with hot and cold pressure is it possibler the blockage is after the water tank but before the hot water heater? By airation do you mean the screens?

[Gary Slusser]

Yes it's possible.

It's probable that your new pressure tank is bust. Otherwise there would have been more than 0 psi air pressure in it with no water in it. IF you are running the pump at 20/35 (it should be 40), you need 18 psi with no water in the tank. 30/50 gets 29-28 psi with no water in the tank. That compressed air is what provides water pressure when your pump isn't running.

Those black specks... if they are coming in with the water from the well, they may be blocking the jet in the pump.

Gary
Quality Water associates

[Molly]

See, when we run water we have no pressure, then the pump comes on and there isn't even a boost of water pressure. The fact that the tank doesn't keep 18 lbs in it ever, could be a bad tank. What are the chances of that happening? I don't think that the black chunks are clogging the jet, the pump is actually running better than ever, and it is supplying water fine.

[Cass]

Not sure of the chances of a bad tank ... but someone has to get it .

[Bob NH]

Deep well jet pumps usually require setting a regulator are fairly sensitive to leaks in the suction piping.

You should take the installation manual in hand and follow through the procedure from beginning to end. There may be a checklist for finding solutions to problems.

If you don't have the manual, find the model number off your pump and go to:
http://www.femyers.com/products/water_sys.html to find your pump and download the manual.

When setting up the pump and controls, you should have a place to dump water near the pump, such as a faucet with hose. Then, with all water uses shut off, try to get the pump to operate in the correct range. Separate your possible house problems from the possible pump problems.

Let's start with the tank and the pump.
1. Turn off all water usage in the house, shut off the pump, and drain the system to zero WATER pressure through that hose I discussed above. Close the drain valve.
2. Check the air pressure and set it to 18 psi (if you are going to use 20-40 psi on your pressure switch). After you fill it with air, put a little spit over the Schrader valve to check for leaks out the valve.
3. Without turning on the pump, open the drain valve again.
4. Wait 10 minutes and see if the air pressure holds steady. If it doesn't hold steady and the Schrader valve is not leaking, then you probably have an air leak in the air side of the tank or a leak in the bladder. We still haven't established for certain that the bladder doesn't leak because it could be pushing the bladder against the side of the tank and closing leak.
5. If the pressure holds steady, start the pump and observe the water pressure gauge. Measure the time (seconds) to fill the tank to shutoff.
6. If it doesn't rise to the shutoff pressure, then you have a problem with the pump or pump setup. Go to the installation manual and try to fix the problem.
7. If the pump is working to shutoff, open that drain valve slowly and observe the pressure at which the pressure switch starts the pump.
8. Turn off the pump switch and let all the water run out. Check the pressure at the Schrader valve and see if you still have the original 18 pounds. If it has dropped a lot, you probably have a leak on the air side of the tank or in the bladder.
9. Close the drain valve and turn on the pump. See if it cycles to the shutoff pressure. Adjust the pressure switch to get the pressure you want at shutoff. The big nut on the taller stem usually adjust both turn on and shutoff pressure together. If you want to adjust the differential there is usally another nut or screw. Look at the instructions on the pressure switch.
10. Run the pump for 5 cycles between turn-on and shutoff. Record the time (seconds) between start and stop of the pump when the drain is closed. If you are happy with the result, you probalby have a working pump and tank and can concentrate on your internal plumbing system.
11. If you start to get short pumping cycles (shorter time from start to stop when the water is off; compare with those seconds from step 10), then you probably have a bladder or tank failure. Reset the air to make sure but if short cycling returns in less than a week then you have an air leak somewhere.

If the pump won't pump to shutoff, then go back to the installation manual and do a step by step checkout of the installation and settings. Make sure you have the correct regulator settings and ejector.

Get the pump/tank system working before you start worrying about the shower.

[Molly]

We have had a breakthrough!! I was so disgusted because we have had only problems with this house. I turned on the water in the bathroom sink (the first faucet) and it seemed like it wanted to run faster but something was preventing it. So I decided (against my husband's and probably anybody on this forum) to hit the pipes gently with a wrench. Guess What?! After turning on the bathroom sink about 3 tablespoons of black bits came flying out and now the presssure is fine. So, apparantly we have a blockage someplace. Any idea what this black matter is? It is about the size of this @ and it is real soft and falls apart if you squeeze it. It almost looks like a gasket or rubber washer but in the amount we've seen in the last couple of weeks it has to be maybe some kind of lining.

[speedbump]

Sounds like sulphur specs to me. And it will plug up faucets if enough of it is in the pipes at the same time. It also plugs the aerators if you have any.

I wouldn't beat on those faucets too much, they aren't as tough as they used to be.

bob...

[Molly]

Sulphur Specs? What is that? Is it fixable? We do not drink our water and only use it to shower and for laundry. It is a fact that the water in my area is not good. It tested drinkable but with "particles", so we use bottled water.

[speedbump]

There is another home owner wasting money on bottled water. I can't believe how the water industry has hoodwinked people into thinking they shouldn't drink their tap water.

Sulphur is a mineral just like hardness or iron. It won't hurt you and won't show up that often unless you install something in your water system and knock it loose from the pipes. It should stop after you run the water for a while. I always advise after a repair to run all the outside faucets first. They are the least likely to get plugged up, then the bathtub, then remove aerators and run the other faucets in the house. Lastly flush the toilets several times until the color is gone.

If you bathe in the water you might as well drink it. You would get more contamination through your pours than you will from drinking it anyway.
bob...