Pressure not holding

[Johnnyf0614]

I've replaced my bladder tank about 3 years ago. I noticed that my pump will turn on about every 5 minutes or so, and I do not have any water running. About 3 months ago, I needed to added about 20 PSI to my pressure tank. Is this a sign that the bladder may have burst?

 

[Craigpump]

Nope, sounds more like there is a loss of pressure in the drop pipe to the pump. The check valve in the pump is leaking. The O ring in the pitless is bad or there is a problem with the offset pipe from the well to the house.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Johnnyf0614]

I'm a fairly handy person, but don't have much experience with wells. My pump is deep in the ground. I assume the check valve is near the pump? I do not visibly see any check valve from my line coming into the house to the pressure tank. If its the pitless adapter, is that something I would tpyically see? I haven't opened the well cap yet.

Separately, I did just drain the pressure tank, and checked the pressure. and its holding steady at 39. My switch is a 40-60. Like I said, I very slowly loose pressure without water running. It maybe takes between 5 and 10 minutes before I lose pressure and the pump turns on again.

 

[Reach4]

You can look down the casing. Use a bright narrow-beam flashlight at night or a mirror reflecting the sun during the day. You may see water dribbling from below the pitless. You might hear or see water coming out of a hole in the casing at maybe 1 GPM.

I would not call every 5 or 10 minutes very slow.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

Thanks, I'll check that. I just looked at the pressure tank, and I definitely have a check valve where the pressure switch and gauge are on. It looks like a Flomatic check valve. I'll open the well cap and check the pitless as well for any dripping this weekend

 

[Reach4]

Thanks, I'll check that. I just looked at the pressure tank, and I definitely have a check valve where the pressure switch and gauge are on. It looks like a Flomatic check valve. I'll open the well cap and check the pitless as well for any dripping this weekend

You normally don't want to have a checkvalve up top if you have submersible pump and a diaphragm or bladder pressure tank. If that checkvalve is working, that would mean that the leak is not in the well. It would mean that the leak was after the checkvalve. Look in the crawl space.

Of course that top checkvalve may have been deactivated by having its innards removed. Then that becomes just a pipe, and the leak could well be be before the checkvalve. That top checkvalve could also be leaking.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

Here is what I thought was a checkvalve after looking online.. Of course I cant confirm in the innards have been removed...

 

[Johnnyf0614]

I do have a valve after the check valve. This weekend I'll close that to determine of the leak is before or after the checkvalve

 

[Johnnyf0614]

Update: I closed the other valve, and pressure still leaked back down. So I have determined I'm not losing pressure inside the house from the checkvalve. Either the checkvalve is faulty, or the leaking is in the well/well line

 

[Reach4]

Here is what I thought was a checkvalve after looking online.. Of course I cant confirm in the innards have been removed...

I would think that is just a manifold, but I guess it could have a check valve in it. If there is a check valve, expect an arrow on the unit.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

Ok, take a look at the bottom where it was painted over a bit. Looks like an arrow to me, right?

 

[Reach4]

Ok, take a look at the bottom where it was painted over a bit. Looks like an arrow to me, right?

It looks that way to me also. And the arrow points the right way for a check valve. So check valve it is, or at least was.

ROMA is a company that makes check valves, but I did not find on similar to the one that you have.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

So what would you suggest? replace the checkvalve with another? I'll certainly open the well cap this weekend to see if I can see water from the pitless as well. I'm assuming there is not other test I can do to see if the check valve is the victim or not.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

My check valve is called Flomatic. I did find their website and they have ones similar looking

 

[Reach4]

So what would you suggest? replace the checkvalve with another? I'll certainly open the well cap this weekend to see if I can see water from the pitless as well. I'm assuming there is not other test I can do to see if the check valve is the victim or not.

I thought your idea of closing the valve to the rest of the house made sense. I think it unlikely to stop the cycling, but it is so easy, it seems worth trying.

Presuming the cycling does not stop with the valve closed, I guess I would look down the casing and listen. At that point, you would already be pretty sure that the ROMA checkvalve was not holding pressure. But still, looking down the casing is not hard. I would clean the outer part of the well cap and casing before lifting. This presumes you have a well cap with screws on the outside edge similar to this and not a well seal that has bolts inside the diameter of the casing:

The next step, I think you should get advice from somebody with experience, but I think you could safely do these two things.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

I definitely have a well cap with screws on the outside. I'll take a peak this weekend and see what happens. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

So I just tuned how long it takes between the pump cycling on and off. It took about 14 minutes.

 

[Valveman]

Replacing that flomatic check valve will solve the problem of leaking back. But it will cause another problem of a loud thump when the pump starts. This is because you still have a bab check valve on the pump or a hole in the pipe. Fixed right the only check you need is the one on the pump.

 

[Johnnyf0614]

Replacing that flomatic check valve will solve the problem of leaking back. But it will cause another problem of a loud thump when the pump starts. This is because you still have a bab check valve on the pump or a hole in the pipe. Fixed right the only check you need is the one on the pump.

Couldnt the problem just be a bad check valve on the inline before the pressure tank? From my understanding I've always had a check valve on the in line. If that is leaking the water back down, replacing that should solve the problem no?

 

[Craigpump]

Not if the checkvalve is bad at the pump or if there is a hole in the pipe.