Air in water lines?

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96BelisleAs

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I recently replaced my pressure tank, and jet pump because my old tank was old and had a hole in it. I have been getting air in the lines (which I was before) and before I dig up the line that runs under my house to check for leaks I wanted to make sure it wasn't something more simple. I can see the air coming from my pump into the tank because I have installed a clear line. So I am 100% sure the problem is coming from where the line goes into the pump, back to my well. I am fairly sure the air is getting in underground where the line screws into the line thats in the metal casing where my lines goes into the well. I had to dig that up last year because there was a slight leak there (should have replaced the lines) but didn't. I have the black hard plastic water line underground (don't know what its called) that comes in a roll and how my line is and the angle of the connector on the metal casing it was almost impossible to not have it pinched off at the connection point so this is where I think it is failing. I am thinking about getting straight pipe and digging under my foundation again to make sure I get a flush/tight fit if it is the problem.

The only thing that worries me is when I bought a new jet pump, I got one that was slightly more HP and I am worried I might be pumping water too quickly from my well. My house is 100 feet from a river, and I am at the base of a hill so I never figured that would be an issue. When the pump kicks on there is a small but steady/consistent stream of air running with the water. Any help will be great, I am pretty sure i have to dig up the line again but would hate to do it for no reason as its a pain because it runs in my small crawl space under my house and under the foundation.
 

Valveman

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A leak in the suction anywhere will cause a jet pump to suck air in. But usually a jet pump will lose prime and stop pumping. I don’t understand how it is still working.

Is there a foot valve in the well?

Did you switch from a standard tank to a bladder style tank?

If you have a non-bladder style tank, maybe all you need is a new Air Volume Control. It is screwed into a fitting about half way up the side of the tank.
 

LLigetfa

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I infer that there is a topside checkvalve which prevents a loss of prime. Speaking of prime, this is a prime {groan} example of why NOT to have a topside checkvalve. The leak can allow contaminated surface groundwater to enter the system.
 

96BelisleAs

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A leak in the suction anywhere will cause a jet pump to suck air in. But usually a jet pump will lose prime and stop pumping. I don’t understand how it is still working.

Is there a foot valve in the well?

Did you switch from a standard tank to a bladder style tank?

If you have a non-bladder style tank, maybe all you need is a new Air Volume Control. It is screwed into a fitting about half way up the side of the tank.

I never got an email notification or else I would have responded sooner. The tank I replaced was a bladder tank and I replaced it with the same type of tank. I went ahead and dug out my well, and that seems to be the issue. I cut off a section of the black PVC threw in a piece of clear (more flexible) pipe, connected that to the well casing and black pvc and put a larger piece of 4 inch PVC around it as a sleeve so when I cover it back up it wont get damaged/come loose. I am still getting a tiny amount of air in the line visible through the clear pipe, but its barely any, I am assuming thats normal? As for the other guys question when I installed it I originally installed a check valve in between the pump and the tank, I had issues with the pump making an arking click, click, click noise, after removing it, it has worked fine. (Guessing I didn't have it installed far anough away from the tank. As for the pump I never lost prime, and it worked great the entire time, if I had to guess it was pumping about 90% water 10% air. Now its more like 99.5 and .5% air.

I did notice I have an issue with Iron Bacteria of whatever its called I have to take care of so that will be my next job. Anyone know how well that clear pipe I spliced in will hold up under ground. Note it has the 4 inch PVC around it as a sleeve, and it's getting covered with gravel (not dirt) because I have a french drain system which runs next to my well. It is also in the corner of my house so it will never have anyone driving over it or anything. Also do I absolutely need the check valve? My knowledge on plumbing is very limited but how I have it hooked up it has worked fine other than the air leak I just fixed.

Since I know little about wells/pumps I'll dumb it down to my level to explain my set up. My well has an 6 inch metal pipe/casing, when you look down the pipe I see a pipe that goes down into the water, it seems to have something round on top of it where it elbows outside thats green (not sure if this is some sort of check valve or what) and the line runs about 3 feet under ground from the metal casing to my Jet Pump (3/4 HP Wayne) (about 15 feet of line), my pump runs about 2.5 feet to the pressue tank T,( I used to have my check valve here but had to take it out) a drain valve , then on the outlet of the T from the tank I have my pressure gauge, and a relief valve.
 
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LLigetfa

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I'm still not clear on where the checkvalve is. In some rare cases, a joint can leak under suction but not leak under pressure. As I mentioned, a suction leak can allow contaminated surface water to enter. Having a French drain go to your well casing is a really bad idea as it can route ground water to where your pump can suck it in.
 

96BelisleAs

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As far as I know there is no check valve. Unless its in the metal well casing or built into my pump. I don't have an issue with back flow. I had installed a check valve on the inlet side of the T that connects to my pressure tank, but it caused issues with my pump so I took it out. As far as running a french drain where it is, its a non issue. The well is a few feet from my house, I used to have a major water issue flooding my crawl space under my house. After a lot of digging and redirecting surface water I found out I had a spring bubbling up from near my well/under the house and it was the only way to keep the water from flooding under my house. The french drain starts at my well casing and runs down hill. The water its redirecting isn't surface water its spring/underground water, I have a second french drain away from my house that does that. The well is in the corner of where my house and garage connect.
 
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