jswordy
New Member
My well system supplies a farm and has a house, shop and 3 outdoor hydrants on it. The pump is a lightning-arrestor protected 1/2 hp or 3/4 hp Jacuzzi (it has been several years since I installed it and I cannot recall what we put down the hole as far as hp). I do most of the work on our farm's mechanical systems and installed the present system after drilling a new well. The well is 70 feet, the pump sits at 50 and mean water level is 30 feet. In winter, it is much higher than that. It replaced a hand-dug well and jet pump with 20-gallon tank.
In this system as it was set up when we bought the farm, the dug well was inside the home with the tank and pump next to it. At 25 feet, the well was just inadequate for modern day use. In the drilled well system I installed, the well is in the yard, but the tank and pressure switch are in the room in the house. I have never had a problem with that setup in the first 7 years of operation.
My original installation used a 52-gallon rated Shur-Dri pressure tank from Tractor Supply Co. The pump discharge was great enough that a surge was felt when it kicked on and the water temp in the shower would change, so at the advice of my supplier I added a pressure regulator on the tank discharge (house and farm system) side. I was kicking the pump on at 50 and cutting out at 70, then regulating it on the discharge side to 40-60. This system worked perfectly for 7 years, then the bladder went and the tank waterlogged.
OK, at that time I decided to increase tank volume in order to eliminate the supply-side regulator and use a lower cut in/out range of 40-60. I reasoned that this would be easier on the pump and on the bladder. I went to an 85-gallon rated tank sold by Tractor Supply Co. under its Countyline brand (these are made by Shur-Dri). On installation, I removed the pressure regulator from the system's house/farm supply side. I checked the tank air pressure - 38. Set it up to run 40-60 and all was well. Worked great. There was no more surge with the larger tank.
After three months, I got air entrained in the lines and sure enough, the bladder was burst and the tank waterlogged. I removed it, got another one from TSC and installed it. Worked great, but after three months, the bladder on this tank burst, too. So I removed it and requested a Shur-Dri brand from TSC (since my last one worked for 7 years). They complied. Worked fine, but here we are almost 3 months out again and it is releasing air into my water lines, so I know it too has burst. (I'm glad I installed unions near the tank the last time I renewed it!)
So I am now exploring Well-X-Trol as my replacement. I have a few practical questions before I buy, though:
1.) Is there any other reason in the system besides a thin diaphragm you can see that is why these newer tanks are failing when the smaller one bought 7 years ago lasted so long? Could it be because the size/volume is larger? I can't see how that would matter, but maybe? It's running 40-60 psi on the gauge with a 2 psi lag in the tank as it should have and all works well except the tank diaphragm busting every 3 months.
2.) It looks like I may have to order my Well-X-Trol tank online, since no one close supplies them. (In fact, almost no one except TSC supplies anything but the cheapest 20-gallon tanks around here.) What concerns should I have should I ever need warranty replacement?
3.) Should I order a Well-X-Trol in the 80-85 gallon range? Or should I size it smaller?
4.) I'll have to run my current busted tank until the new one arrives. I trust that will be inconvenient use due to the air in the water but not harmful?
What I really am wanting to know is, after 3 failures, could there be something in my system causing this? It was rock-steady reliable for 7 years until the 52-gallon tank's bladder went. I can't think of a single thing, myself, but you pros see a lot more different well systems than me.
Thanks.
In this system as it was set up when we bought the farm, the dug well was inside the home with the tank and pump next to it. At 25 feet, the well was just inadequate for modern day use. In the drilled well system I installed, the well is in the yard, but the tank and pressure switch are in the room in the house. I have never had a problem with that setup in the first 7 years of operation.
My original installation used a 52-gallon rated Shur-Dri pressure tank from Tractor Supply Co. The pump discharge was great enough that a surge was felt when it kicked on and the water temp in the shower would change, so at the advice of my supplier I added a pressure regulator on the tank discharge (house and farm system) side. I was kicking the pump on at 50 and cutting out at 70, then regulating it on the discharge side to 40-60. This system worked perfectly for 7 years, then the bladder went and the tank waterlogged.
OK, at that time I decided to increase tank volume in order to eliminate the supply-side regulator and use a lower cut in/out range of 40-60. I reasoned that this would be easier on the pump and on the bladder. I went to an 85-gallon rated tank sold by Tractor Supply Co. under its Countyline brand (these are made by Shur-Dri). On installation, I removed the pressure regulator from the system's house/farm supply side. I checked the tank air pressure - 38. Set it up to run 40-60 and all was well. Worked great. There was no more surge with the larger tank.
After three months, I got air entrained in the lines and sure enough, the bladder was burst and the tank waterlogged. I removed it, got another one from TSC and installed it. Worked great, but after three months, the bladder on this tank burst, too. So I removed it and requested a Shur-Dri brand from TSC (since my last one worked for 7 years). They complied. Worked fine, but here we are almost 3 months out again and it is releasing air into my water lines, so I know it too has burst. (I'm glad I installed unions near the tank the last time I renewed it!)
So I am now exploring Well-X-Trol as my replacement. I have a few practical questions before I buy, though:
1.) Is there any other reason in the system besides a thin diaphragm you can see that is why these newer tanks are failing when the smaller one bought 7 years ago lasted so long? Could it be because the size/volume is larger? I can't see how that would matter, but maybe? It's running 40-60 psi on the gauge with a 2 psi lag in the tank as it should have and all works well except the tank diaphragm busting every 3 months.
2.) It looks like I may have to order my Well-X-Trol tank online, since no one close supplies them. (In fact, almost no one except TSC supplies anything but the cheapest 20-gallon tanks around here.) What concerns should I have should I ever need warranty replacement?
3.) Should I order a Well-X-Trol in the 80-85 gallon range? Or should I size it smaller?
4.) I'll have to run my current busted tank until the new one arrives. I trust that will be inconvenient use due to the air in the water but not harmful?
What I really am wanting to know is, after 3 failures, could there be something in my system causing this? It was rock-steady reliable for 7 years until the 52-gallon tank's bladder went. I can't think of a single thing, myself, but you pros see a lot more different well systems than me.
Thanks.
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