Faucets sputtering intermittently on well

[AVR]

hey all, have an issue that a plumber could not solve.

I'm on a well in North Carolina. moved into house 6 months ago. noticed some sputtering when 1st moved in but it went away for 6 months. also have tankless hot water heater, and pressure tank. no softener, and only an inline whole house filter sump style.

Now it's sputtering again, some days worse than others.

We had a whole house filter - sump style when we moved in, and we changed filters a few times. had a new filter housing installed and they cleaned up the previous job that was not done properly. faucets were sputtering before they swapped this out FYI.

i see bubbles when the pump kicks on in the clear housing of the whole house filter. had a plumber out today, they claimed they checked the well and ruled out the well.. they were stumped

bladder tank seems okay, knock on sides sounds good has air in top.. psi on the tank measured what the pressure gauge shows.. have a check valve before the pressure tank.

have a slow leak at 1 shower head that drips.. just a heads up, was told that wouldnt cause sputtering.

plumber is stumped? anyone have any suggestions? it had been problem free for last 6 months, no sputtering at faucets, not all of a sudden its back..

 

[Reach4]

Submersible or above-ground pump? If above ground, how many pipes down the well?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[AVR]

submersible pump, not sure on depth.

 

[Valveman]

Remove the check valve before the pressure tank. Or you can gut it and put it back as a coupling.

 

[AVR]

would removing the check valve solve the sputtering issue?

 

[Valveman]

Most likely. And if it does fix the air issue, it may also show that you have a leak down the well, which is where the air is coming from.

 

[Reach4]

A leak down the well could be bigger or tiny. Air passes into a tiny leak much more/faster than water leaks out of that same tiny leak. With the above-ground check valve removed or gutted, the pump would turn on to make up for lost water. If that is one extra pump run per day, that would be good. No air or other stuff would be leaking into the pipe, because the pipe stays under pressure.

 

[Eddie_T]

Probably not applicable here but my initial installation of a submersible had a flapper valve below the top section of pipe and a Schroeder valve at the top. Every pump start pushed the air in that section to the tank. I would occasionally get sputtering due to too much air. When the submersible pump foot valve failed I got too much air big time.

 

[Smooky]

I guess you meant you have a schrader valve and not a Schroeder valve. If it is a schrader valve and there is a leak in the pipe between the inlet and the check valve, air can be sucked in at the schrader valve. As water leaks out of the pipe a vacuum would be created and the pump would not come on if the check valve is holding pressure. With a vacuum a schrader valve will work like a snifter valve to let air into the piping. Some water pipes are set up to drain back into the well to prevent freezing of the water supply pipe. This type of system would have some type of air elimination valve. You either got to find and fix the leak or eliminate the air.

 

[Eddie_T]

Thanks for the clarification, it was a schrader. The system worked well for over 25 years, I guess the air was absorbed by the water as excessive air wasn't experienced very often. This mtn water pH finally resulted in a pressure tank leak and I went to a bladder tank. I don't like it as well, I think the water with the extra oxygen tasted better.

 

[Reach4]

Thanks for the clarification, it was a schrader. The system worked well for over 25 years, I guess the air was absorbed by the water as excessive air wasn't experienced very often. This mtn water pH finally resulted in a pressure tank leak and I went to a bladder tank. I don't like it as well, I think the water with the extra oxygen tasted better.

Those conventional pressure tanks, with AVC, are still available, and as you observed, they can have some advantages. They come in classic galvanized and in fiberglass.