cribbj
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We recently bought a summer/retirement home in MT that had been used by 2 PO's as a part time, seasonal vacation home. It and its plumbing, and well pump are all 40 years old. Everything worked OK, but "just" OK. Enter the new owner who's a DIY'er and an engineer and decides he wants to make everything work better and that's where this story begins. BTW, well is about 30 deep and has a 3/4 HP submersible pump.
Replaced the pressure tank with a new Water Worker 20 gal unit (same as before) and its piping tee and fittings with new SS, also a new Square D 30-50 pressure switch, new check valve ahead of the pressure tank, etc.
The precharge on the bladder in the new tank was 38psi, and shame on me, I initially forgot to bleed it down to 2psi below the pump cut-in, so the first few pump starts were accompanied by a fair amount of water hammer. Realising what I'd done, I drained the system, bled the bladder down to 28psi, then started things back up again and monitored the system & system pressure closely.
Now, at 30psi, when the pressure switch contacts closed, I had 240v on the load side of the contacts, going to the pump, but the pump acted like it wasn't starting, because I had no pressure buildup for a few seconds - possibly 3-5. Meanwhile, the pressure kept dropping in the system, due to the water usage in the house, until it fell to 0psi once it was below the bladder pressure. Then, after a few seconds, the water "arrived" to the pressure tank with a water hammer bang, and we had pressure again.
Bled some more pressure out of the bladder until it was at 25psi, and tried again and got the same symptoms, although not quite as severe. Although I was tempted to bleed more pressure out of the bladder, I'd run out of time and we had to close the system down for the winter and head back to TX.
Really wish I'd had my clamp-on ammeter with me, as that would have told the story, but based on the above, does it sound like my 40 year old pump is on its last legs? Particularly since it probably didn't take kindly to the initial or subsequent water hammer in the system?
BTW, when the pump did come on, and built up pressure, there was no air being expelled out the taps in the house, so this would probably eliminate the possibility of corroded pipe and air in the suction line allowing the water to drain back to the well, wouldn't it?
I've searched the forum and read both these threads:
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....y-in-getting-water-after-pump-kicks-in.47856/ Don't think my problem is quite the same as SmokingTundra, and of course, my well is nowhere near as deep.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....essure-switch-clicks-and-pump-turns-on.48169/ I think my problem is similar to BillEBob's, but unfortunately, he didn't publish the resolution of his issue.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts & suggestions!
Replaced the pressure tank with a new Water Worker 20 gal unit (same as before) and its piping tee and fittings with new SS, also a new Square D 30-50 pressure switch, new check valve ahead of the pressure tank, etc.
The precharge on the bladder in the new tank was 38psi, and shame on me, I initially forgot to bleed it down to 2psi below the pump cut-in, so the first few pump starts were accompanied by a fair amount of water hammer. Realising what I'd done, I drained the system, bled the bladder down to 28psi, then started things back up again and monitored the system & system pressure closely.
Now, at 30psi, when the pressure switch contacts closed, I had 240v on the load side of the contacts, going to the pump, but the pump acted like it wasn't starting, because I had no pressure buildup for a few seconds - possibly 3-5. Meanwhile, the pressure kept dropping in the system, due to the water usage in the house, until it fell to 0psi once it was below the bladder pressure. Then, after a few seconds, the water "arrived" to the pressure tank with a water hammer bang, and we had pressure again.
Bled some more pressure out of the bladder until it was at 25psi, and tried again and got the same symptoms, although not quite as severe. Although I was tempted to bleed more pressure out of the bladder, I'd run out of time and we had to close the system down for the winter and head back to TX.
Really wish I'd had my clamp-on ammeter with me, as that would have told the story, but based on the above, does it sound like my 40 year old pump is on its last legs? Particularly since it probably didn't take kindly to the initial or subsequent water hammer in the system?
BTW, when the pump did come on, and built up pressure, there was no air being expelled out the taps in the house, so this would probably eliminate the possibility of corroded pipe and air in the suction line allowing the water to drain back to the well, wouldn't it?
I've searched the forum and read both these threads:
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....y-in-getting-water-after-pump-kicks-in.47856/ Don't think my problem is quite the same as SmokingTundra, and of course, my well is nowhere near as deep.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....essure-switch-clicks-and-pump-turns-on.48169/ I think my problem is similar to BillEBob's, but unfortunately, he didn't publish the resolution of his issue.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts & suggestions!