Well pump problem

[James Wheland]

Moved disabled FIL into farmhouse. Well switch is kicking on and off over 10 times to fill Washing machine. It has a pre-charged blue tank and the guage by the switch is showing 35 lbs. I shot some air into the tank last week and it improved it. Now it is back to constant on and off. What is happening here??? Thank-you to all in advance!!
 

[oj]

i bet the pressure tank is on it's way out, ours did that a year or so ago... teh new tanks don't seem to last like the old ones... surprise surprise
 

[Ted in NE-OH]

Drain the tank and let air enter It's water logged.If it is a standard tank and not a bladder tank it will work.If it is a bladder tank recharge it if there is an air valve (tire valve) on it, otherwise new tank.
 

[old]

Bladder type tank or just the old simple tank where after a period of time would get water logged?? If it has a bladder it maybe bad and has a hole so you lose air into the water system. If the old type then it is water logged and needs to be shut off with a facet open and add air
 

[DownSouth]

The blue pre charged tank is a bladder tank as others have said. I had to replace mine recently for the same reason. Don't wait too long as the pump is working much harder than it needs to in this condition and it will die prematurely. I found mine to be full of sand, quite the challenge to get out of the well house. A new well is in order here a bit later this year, but for now I installed a drain valve in the lowest line coming out of the tank so I can at least try to dump some of the sand as needed.
 

[rusted nuts]

Press tank is bad if it has a bladder, replace it, Seeing as you already added air to it and it"s back to comeing on all the time. Check the new one for air press before you put it in and hook it up, Should be around 30 lbs out of the box, Just put a tire gauge on the valve stem like you are checking air in a tire. Used to install pumps and tanks Only ever had one bad one out of the box in 13 years. BUT one bad one will get you PO when you have to take it back out 5 min after you put it in. lol.
 

[DonTN]

The way I set up my pumps and pressure tanks is to make a note of the pressure at which the pump turns on, then with the pump turned off, and the pressure tank empty of water, fill the valve stem on the tank with air to a pressure that is between 2 and 5 PSI lower than your pump turn on pressure. In other words, if your pump turns on when the pressure drops to 45 PSI, then you want 40 to 43 PSI of air pressure in you tank, but be sure the tank is empty of water when you adjust the pressure. This assumes that your water pressure gauge and your air pressure gauge are both somewhat accurate. Make sure that the valve stem does not leak once you air the tank up. If this does not solve your problem, especially if the air pressure goes down after a short while, then your bladder or tank may have a leak.
 

[RayP(MI)]

I have to recharge my bladder tank about monthly for same problem. Apparently the bladder is no longer seaworthy. Replacing the tank is a job I don't want to do without a large lifting machine to pick up pump house off'n the well and tank. So it's out there with the portable air tank every once in a while.
 

[Russ from MN]

Bad bladder and possibly a bad tank, it should of worked better for more than a week. You cant put too much air in them (up to the system max) as the excess will just burp out. I use an old water heater tank for the cabin and I add air about twice a season, not a problem.
 

[JMS/.MN]

Bladder tank is just a convenience thing- certainly not necessary. If it does go bad, just DRAIN it, restart the pump. Old plain tanks used to have an air valve on them so as not to get waterlogged. Starting and stopping too often means it is waterlogged....ie, not enough air space in the tank. That's why you pump some air in to create the 'cushion' above the water to make the system work right. I've never had a bladder tank- current tank (since 1997) is an old (bad) 52 gallon water heater. Put a tire valve on it to pressurize when necessary. Can't remember the last time I had to do that. Been at least a couple years since I had to drain it and restart.
 

[Paul Janke]

A tank with no bladder will get rid of the excess air. A good bladder tank won't. We shoot for two pounds less than the start pressure. If the air pressure is higher that the start pressure then the tank will run out of water before the pump starts and will cause a momentary out of water situation. Water well pumps and the tanks to go with them should be sized so the pump runs for at least one minute before it shuts off. Frequent starts causes the motor to overheat and eventually die$$$$.
 

[John B.]

Replace the pressure tank. We had the same problem with my MIL's system. A new pressure tank cured it.
 

[SuperHank]

Check the pressure switch to determine the start/stop pressure. Likely 20/40 or 30/50. Drain the tank turn off electic etc and use a tire pressure guage to determine pressure in tank. Add or remove air pressure to be two pounds below the turn on pressure (18 if 20/40; 28 if 30/50 switch)should work and if bladder is not working replace it.
 

[Russ from MN]

Once the bladder is broken you can't over charge them, its only until you replace it, right?
 

[led]

Replace pressure switch.
Led