We have a well that we only use during good weather for supplying water to a pond and miscellaneous gardening watering. There is a Amtrol well tank installed that we disconnect and drain each fall, since we don't use the well during the winter months. I think the tank is an 8 year old WX-203.
I reconnected the tank recently and the well pump shut off within 2-3 seconds. The air pressure at the valve was 30psi so I pumped it up to 38psi, since the turn on pressure is set to 40psi. When I opened the water faucet, water was delivered for about 5-10 seconds and then the pump kicked back in for the 2-3 seconds before reaching the cutoff pressure.
I thought maybe the bladder was leaking and the tank had become water logged so I disconnected the tank. Only a couple of gallons of water came out. The pump wasn't running long enough to put much water into the tank. For the heck of it, laid the tank on its side and tried filling the tank with a garden hose by pressing the hose against the inlet. I could only hold the hose there for about 20 seconds because of the back pressure. When I removed the hose a geyser of water shot from the inlet 15 feet in the air. I removed all the air pressure from the tank through the top-mounted valve and did the hose thing again with the same result.
Since there was no air pressure in the tank, I'm trying to figure out where this excess pressure is coming from. Is it possible that the bladder itself has become so stiff that this is creating the extreme pressure? Would this explain why the well pump only runs for only a couple of seconds?
I reconnected the tank recently and the well pump shut off within 2-3 seconds. The air pressure at the valve was 30psi so I pumped it up to 38psi, since the turn on pressure is set to 40psi. When I opened the water faucet, water was delivered for about 5-10 seconds and then the pump kicked back in for the 2-3 seconds before reaching the cutoff pressure.
I thought maybe the bladder was leaking and the tank had become water logged so I disconnected the tank. Only a couple of gallons of water came out. The pump wasn't running long enough to put much water into the tank. For the heck of it, laid the tank on its side and tried filling the tank with a garden hose by pressing the hose against the inlet. I could only hold the hose there for about 20 seconds because of the back pressure. When I removed the hose a geyser of water shot from the inlet 15 feet in the air. I removed all the air pressure from the tank through the top-mounted valve and did the hose thing again with the same result.
Since there was no air pressure in the tank, I'm trying to figure out where this excess pressure is coming from. Is it possible that the bladder itself has become so stiff that this is creating the extreme pressure? Would this explain why the well pump only runs for only a couple of seconds?