What would I need to purchase to reroute the tube from in front of the tank itself and not the regulator? Also when I tried to drain the system there was always a little bit of water stuck in the tank even when I tried to air it up to 50 and push it out. I would say the tank was probably 80-100 pounds when I lifted it, not the 40lbs the spec sheet is saying it should be.
Deep well jet pump Pressure switch not turning on by itself.
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Ideally the pressure switch would see the same pressure as the pressure tank. Looking at your photo, I am not sure where you would cut in a tee to tee off to the pressure tank.
Maybe move the pressure tank back, and glue a tee onto the cut pipe. If you add a union in there, you could replace the tank more easily next time, but that should be years and years.
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbin...gs-PVC-Fittings/Union/N-5yc1vZ1z18i3xZ1z114xb has PVC unions.
There are also things called tank tees, and some of those have a union. See if any thing on https://www.supplyhouse.com/sh/control/search/~SEARCH_STRING=tank tee union inspires you.
The tank tees have a manifold for pressure switch, gauge, drain valve, pressure relief -- whatever. Plug the unused ports. Maybe overkill in this case.
Maybe move the pressure tank back, and glue a tee onto the cut pipe. If you add a union in there, you could replace the tank more easily next time, but that should be years and years.
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbin...gs-PVC-Fittings/Union/N-5yc1vZ1z18i3xZ1z114xb has PVC unions.
There are also things called tank tees, and some of those have a union. See if any thing on https://www.supplyhouse.com/sh/control/search/~SEARCH_STRING=tank tee union inspires you.
The tank tees have a manifold for pressure switch, gauge, drain valve, pressure relief -- whatever. Plug the unused ports. Maybe overkill in this case.
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Bannerman
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The diaphragm within your tank has a hole or has ruptured, so water is now within the tank's air chamber. Regardless of how much air is added to the air chamber, the water within the air chamber will not be pushed out as the air is pressing the rubber diaphragm downward against the bottom of the tank, effectively sealing off the water connection, thereby preventing the water from exiting.
Unfortunately, time to replace the tank.
Is it normal that only a little bit of water could have gotten out of the bladder and into the tank? Because it still sounds hollow when I knock on it and no water came out of the valve on top. Seems like most of the time people's tanks are completely waterlogged when the diaphragm has any sort of leak. And replacing the tank is would be fortunate for me if it fixes the problem, trying to do anything but pull the pipe up or replace the pump at this point.
Bannerman
Well-Known Member
A diaphragm is a flexible membrane which fully separates the air and water chambers.
The air chamber occupies ~3/4 of a pressure tank's total capacity. I don't recall your tank size being specified, but for example, if your tank size is 40 gallons, it will have an approx. 10 gallon drawdown capacity and ~30 gallons space for air. This is when the tank is filled to the pressure switch cut-off pressure. When the water pressure is lower, the air chamber will be expanded, reducing the space of the water chamber.
You estimated your tank, even after being drained, to weigh 80-100 lbs whereas the manufacturer specifications indicate it should weigh 40 lbs when empty.
Water weighs 8.33 lbs per gallon so if your tank weighs even only 60 lbs after draining (ie: 20 lb difference), that would suggest there is 2.4 gallons remaining trapped in the air chamber. 80 lbs = 4.8 gallons. 100 lbs = 7.2 gallons.
Whether 2.4, 4.8 or 7.2 gallons, the space within the air chamber will remain substantially vacant of water, so knocking on the side will likely continue to sound hollow. Because the water in the air chamber is sitting directly on the diaphragm which separates the air and water chambers, with no pressure below the diaphragm to deflect it upward, the water in the air chamber will not be pushed out from the Schrader valve located at the top of the tank.
For the air chamber to be completely water logged, would mean the air chamber to be completely vacant of air. For this to occur, would require all air to leak out from the air chamber, such as resulting from a pinhole leak through the top of the tank's shell or through the Schrader valve.
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When a tank diaphragm lets a tank waterlog, it is time to figure out that cycling is what caused the tank diaphragm to go up and down until it broke like repeatedly bending a piece of wire. A PK1A would be better than just replacing the tank.
cyclestopvalves.com
PK1A Pside-Kick Pressure Tank Kit – Cycle Stop Valves, Inc
Buy It! Interactive Animation Installation Video General Information Typical Applications Specifications Dimensions Installation Instructions Troubleshooting VFD Controller Replacement WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including nickel, which is known to the State of California...
cyclestopvalves.com
Turned the pressure switch range nut 2 full turns, pump now cycles perfectly at 30/50 and haven't had an issue since. Still have a couple leaks as it loses about 5psi per hour. I guess the new pressure switch was just very off from factory and I pump was having some finicky issues with it, I'm not sure. Haven't had the pump lose prime since then though.
I am sorry but the tank is bad no matter how much you don't want it to be the problem.
I understand that, I will be replacing it asap. Just glad I have water again for a bit before I do that.
If yo can keep ANY air in it you can get by. But it usually fills the air chamber with water and you can't add anymore air.
Hello again, my bladder pressure tank just kept filling with water very slowly until it was basically fully waterlogged. I just kept turning the pressure up on the switch to make it past the Florida hurricane and fortunately it did. I was also fortunate enough to replace my 20 gallon flexcon challenger with a newer and bigger version of the same tank that a family member just had lying around. I'm hoping this will finally fix the problem I've been having, I went ahead and precharged the tank to 38psi and turned my switch up to 40/60 from the 30/50 it's always been. I will attach a photo of my work and hope it is okay enough to last, also will be putting a cover over the setup to protect from the sun. (I used a union fitting that someone mentioned on this thread, it seemed like a good idea)
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