Rusty Water and A Pressure Tank Mess

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emcdonel

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Hello, everyone!

I'm Erik and I'm new here. I admit, I am here for your knowledge. I was hoping you could answer a question for me. Note the attached, please.

My problem started when, as a first-time homeowner, I didn't realize that to unscrew the bottom of our whole-house filter, I had to release the pressure via a button on top. I ended up torqueing the container too hard with the removal tool and snapped the incoming (PVC) water line.

To repair, I had to drain two (?) pressure tanks, a newer blue one on the floor and an old white one on a shelf. When I drained the white tank, an *enormous* amount of rust came out in the water, to the point it was almost like draining mud.

You'll see I was sloppy with the primer, sorry. I was in a hurry. I also realize I put the valve too low and now need to move it up six inches, but that's beside the point, and I'll fix that.

The point is that when I turned the pump back on and everything refilled, I was getting rusty water at all the faucets. It would run clear at first and then, in about five seconds, run very rusty for about twenty seconds, and then run almost clear. It's been doing this for a week now, with absolutely no improvement. It is both hot and cold water, so it's not the water heater. I also checked the filter, which comes into play before the pressure tanks, and they are very clean.

Incidentally, the hardware is for a spring, not a well.



Here are my questions, oh wise ones:

1) Why are there two pressure tanks? Is that normal or not? I've noticed the previous homeowners did all kinds of bizarre things, so maybe this is one of them? Or it's normal?
2) Can I just remove the older white pressure tank that I believe is causing the problem, just leaving the blue one on the floor?
3) If I do this, is it a problem that the pressure tank sits on the floor, a good seven feet below where the water comes in?
4) Or do I need two pressure tanks?
DSC00666.jpg
 

Reach4

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You should be using food-grade silicone grease on your filter O-ring. Only tighten hand tight, or a tiny bit more. The wrench is mainly for removal. Remember to take the pressure off before removal next time.

1. Normal enough. Not so common, but there is nothing wrong with that.

2. You could remove one of the tanks, but I think it would be better not to. Instead, concentrate on flushing out the junk by turning on the pump until you get max pressure, turn off the pump, and then draining the tanks as rapidly as you can. Repeat until only clear water comes out.

For this it would be best to have a faucet lower. Maybe you could add a faucet as close to the input of the bottom tank as practical. Hook a garden hose to that to wash out your debris.

3. No problem.

4. 2 tanks is as good as one that is bigger. One bonus with your system is that you could isolate the blue tank, and replace it... or take it out for cleaning. Being at the low point, it might have accumulated more stuff.

Not a pro.
 
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Craigpump

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What you have is a recipe for disaster, the filter should NEVER be on the inlet side of the tank. If that filter ever plugs completely, the pressure switch won't sense the incoming pressure which can lead to burst pipes, a pump that deadheads and wipes itself out, or the pump deadheads and gets so hot it melts off the pipe......
 

emcdonel

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Alright, then. It sounds like, in addition to moving the filter, I can just replace the single pressure tank. I shall do that.

Erik
 

Reach4

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It's tricky to follow, but I think the blue tank is on the input side of the filter.huge1.jpg Green line drawn pre-filter, and red post-filter.
 

Craigpump

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Reach,

It doesn't look that way to me based on the pipe sizes and the location of that gate valve.
 

Reach4

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POP! OK.. I agree. Not OK... emcdonel move the filter or get a better one after the pressure switch.

Hmmm I wonder where the rust came from when draining the white tank.
 

Cacher_Chick

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Not related to your issue, but you should know that PVC pipe is not approved for potable water service inside a residence.

If you are getting rust out of a bladder tank, it would be because the bladder has failed. You can have multiple bladder tanks, but either way it would be in your best interest to check them a couple of times a year to verify they are holding air properly.

As stated before the filters should be downstream of the tank(s) or you risk further problems.
 

emcdonel

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Not related to your issue, but you should know that PVC pipe is not approved for potable water service inside a residence.

If you are getting rust out of a bladder tank, it would be because the bladder has failed. You can have multiple bladder tanks, but either way it would be in your best interest to check them a couple of times a year to verify they are holding air properly.

As stated before the filters should be downstream of the tank(s) or you risk further problems.

No worries, PVC pipe is totally within code in North Carolina for potable water. In fact, in this state, mostly only older houses tend to have copper. Most new constructions here use PVC.

When I get a new tank (sometime this week), I'll move the filter downstream. Thanks for the heads up, guys.

Erik
 

Valveman

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Somebody probably added that second tank because the pump was cycling too much. Since they didn’t know how to STOP the cycling, they added the extra tank to at least cut the cycling in half.

Cycling is also probably the reason for the bad bladder in the tank, which is just one of the first signs of too much cycling.

Why add another tank to just slow down the cycling when cycling can be STOPPED by using a Cycle Stop Valve? The CSV would work with just one of those tanks, and you really only need a 4.5 gallon size tank if you ever need to replace the other tank.
 
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