Well Pressure Tank problems - Please advise

[clawbennett]

Hello!
We bought a house and moved in at the end of 2018. The previous owner has done 98% of the home build himself including all the plumbing and such.

We are new to having a private well system. And lately we've noticed the well pump kicks on quite a bit. If we flush the toilet, it kicks on, if we run any water for a short period of time, it kicks on. I know from the research that I have done online (mostly this forum) that this is probably a problem with the pressure tank.

Doing an investigation on the pressure tank in the basement here is what I know...
I have a WellRite WR120R from 1997
The gauge face is broken and they've used AND as you can see in the video, they have PVC/Copper/Galvanized pipe all at the connection of the pressure tank and pressure switch.

The video is only about 90 seconds long, and you'll see the pressure switch activates and completes it's fill twice during this time. I am recording the gauge so you can see the activity on it. It activates at 40psi, fills to 60psi. Once the switch kicks off, it immediately falls to 50psi then slowly drops to 42psi and hangs there for a few seconds before dropping to 40psi and turning back on again.

I have tapped on the tank and the tank is hollow at the top and I can see the condensation line half way up the tank so I do not believe the bladder is bad, but I am not sure?

Please see the YouTube video and advise!!!! I am greatly appreciative of any response!

 

[Reach4]

With the water pressure zero, adjust the air precharge to 38 PSI. See if that helps.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[clawbennett]

With the water pressure zero, adjust the air precharge to 38 PSI. See if that helps.

Hello, thanks!
I drained the water from the pressure tank. There was a ton of black sediment that came out. After draining the water, I checked the pressure in the tank and it was 15-20psi! I am guessing this is extremely low. I proceeded to fill the tank with air to 38PSI. Once completed, I allowed it to fill. I then went to use some water and was able to do quite a bit of things before the pressure switch kicked on. So, half of my problem has been solved.

The remaining issue is that the pressure switch is still kicking on/off in less than a minute. Before adjusting the air pressure in the tank it was cycling at about 15 seconds to fill the tank. Now when the pressure switch is activated, it takes 37 seconds to fill the tank and kick off the pump.

It is my newbie understanding that this is a short cycle and will cause the pump to burn out. I have a submersible pump and I do NOT want to replace it anytime soon! Does this 37 second fill time mean that the pressure tank is undersized??? Or is there something else I am not understanding or missing about my pressure tank setup?

Thanks again! Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Reach4]

The remaining issue is that the pressure switch is still kicking on/off in less than a minute. Before adjusting the air pressure in the tank it was cycling at about 15 seconds to fill the tank. Now when the pressure switch is activated, it takes 37 seconds to fill the tank and kick off the pump.

Many people run for years that way. You could upgrade to a bigger tank, but if you are not doing much irrigation/watering, you should be fine. Or if you water the lawn, use lots of gpm to do that. The pump will cycle very little if you match the usage to the pump. It would probably take two hose spigots running at the same time to do that. Yes, the tank is undersized, but not grossly undersized.

If you go to a bigger pressure tank, those have a 1.25 inch thread rather than 1 inch. You would adapt. 62 gallons would be a good size, looking at your numbers.

Alternatively, you could add another 33 gallon tank in parallel with a low-resistance connection in between.

I think making changes is not at all urgent. When doing changes, take the opportunity to dump any galvanized that you are touching in the process.

A CSV could slow the flow as the tank fills, and make your current tank more than big enough.

 

[clawbennett]

Great! I don’t know how long they’ve run the system this way. It’s been like this since we purchased the house. And being that the tank was manufactured in 1997 I’m wondering if it’s not better to just do the overhaul. New tank and plumbing. The gauge glass is broken, etc.

However, a CSV as you mention is definitely worth looking into as well.

I really appreciate the help. It’s definitely been a learning experience! I’m more of an electrical person than plumbing. But we are very rural here in Amish country and professional services are far and few. So a lot of DIY and doing work to future proof has been essential.

Thanks again!


Edit: we will be doing garden watering in the coming months. But more importantly we are a family of 4 and the ladies of the house tend to use water quite often and we have a lot of laundry. Quite often we have laundry, dishes, and a bathroom occupied at the same time.