Well pressure switch sizing

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Bbqscotty

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I am about to replace my bladder tank again. I bought a 20 gallon well xtrol which i think comes pre-charged to 38 psi. My switch has always been a 20/40 so i would lower the air to 18 on this tank when i go to install it.
My question is why am i a 20/40 and not maybe a 30/50 or 40/60 ?
what determines that size? I have a submersible pump in my well that is only about 60' deep
I have no problem keeping this set-up just wanted to understand and if it seems appropriate to switch the switch out then i would do it all at once.
 

Reach4

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There is a good chance that you could adjust the switch that you have higher. It would be the 3/8-inch nut in the middle that would get turned clockwise. It would typically be about 3-1/2 revolutions to raise the cut-on and cut-off by 10 PSI.

If your pump could not develop enough pressure, that would be a reason to not raise the pressure. It may be that some prior pump would not develop the needed pressure, but your current one may have plenty of pressure.
 

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20/40 was common in the 60's. 30/50 was common in the 80's. But the majority of systems now run at 40/60. It just depends on how much pressure you want. I am sure your submersible can build as much pressure as you want, and the pressure switches are all the same. You don't have to replace the pressure switch. Just turn the large screw in the pressure switch about 1 full turn to the right for every 3 PSI you want to increase the pressure. Then adjust the air in the tank accordingly.
 

Bbqscotty

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Reach I am not replacing pump only expansion tank. My well pump is 20 years old and don't plan on replacing, I assume my well driller originally decided on the 20 gallon tank and 20/40 switch and I have just kept that way.
For 20 years I have Been 20/40, what am I gaining by switching to 30/50 or 40/60?
 

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Increased water pressure. Some things need may 30 PSI or more to work well, such as backwashing filters and water softeners. Expect faster washer and tub fills. Expect there to be a little less interaction when you draw water in two places at once.

I went from 30/50PSI to 38/58. I did not really notice a difference mostly. The lawn sprinkler went a bit farther. But I would think if I had started at 20/40, I might have noticed other differences.

Try it, and see if you like it. You can reverse it if you like.

Do you know what model of pump you have and how far down the water is? A 20 gallon pressure tank on a 60 ft deep well with a submersible is smaller than what you would expect. That would only have about a 5 or 6 gallon drawdown. Because you might have a 1/2 HP 10 GPM or 15 GPM pump. But you were thinking that the old one lasted 20 years, and that was quite sufficient.

As you increase the pressure, the drawdown decreases some too. But that may be offset by the pump pumping a little bit slower into a higher pressure, so it will at least partially cancel out. http://www.amtrol.com/media/documents/wellxtrol/MC7025_04_14_WXTsizingCard.pdf
 

Bbqscotty

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All I have on well is that it is 51 feet deep and 10-15 gpm, no mention in any of my paperwork on size of pump. Should I get a bigger tank also?
 

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Yes, that would be better. See the link, and maybe go with the WX-250. WX-251 would be even better, but there is a space and cost thing. Your system has been doing nicely so far. Here's to another 20 years on your pump.
 

Bbqscotty

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I looked at those and I would have to change out all my piping also to allow larger sizes ( i am 1 inch pvc now ). So with the additional cost if tank and piping I him I will stay with the 20 gallon one and maybe adjust my 20/40 to 30/50. My switch is a square d and I think I can just adjust it h8ghe f without getting a new switch correct?
The instructions say turn larger screw clockwise to increase cut in and smaller screen clockwise to increase cut out.
 

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Can't argue with 20 years on a tank that is 3 times too small. But pump life also depends on how much water you use and how you use it.

But to do it old school by the book and make a 12-14 gpm pump last as long as possible you would need at least a 44 gallon tank that holds 12-14 gallons like the wx250 Reach mentioned.

Or to update a little, save some space, and get more constant pressure you can replace that tank with a 4.5 gallon size tank using a Cycle Stop Valve as is in the Pside-Kick kit which also includes everything else you need.
 

PumpMd

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Do you know what kind of drop pipe was used in your well?

How old is the plumbing in your house?

What I have found by stepping up the pressure on old plumbing pipe in your house or in the well. Usually your drop pipe takes the hit first because it only has 200psi pipe or sch40 pipe(20/40 is also why 200psi lasted 40+yrs without breaking). Your plumbing in the house can cause leaks from the pressure increase on old plumbing. If you decide to step up the pressure,run your water in tub first were the biggest opening is to flow the most water first because you can have rust breck off and clog your faucets up. If your pressure seems fine in the house, I wouldn't mess with it because it can cause you more problems than what it's worth. Nice to see multiple pump installers like us,can get long life out of there pump with a 20gal tank, the last person said 30yrs.
 
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Bbqscotty

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The pipe going down my well to the pump is black plastic, my house is only 21 years old. The first expansion tank was an amtrol and lasted make 15 years, then I replaced that tank with a pro source which only lasted 5, and now I decided to go back to an amtrol. So same pump in well from when built and this will be third expansion tank.
 

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Did you ever check the Precharge in the pressure tanks over the years? I meant pump life but I have found when a pressure tank loses its Precharge, depending on how long it was rapid cycling for, if it put a hole in your diaphragm tank. It can stir your well up, pump abrasives in your tank, and give you dirty water.
 
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PumpMd

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Lets hope you have 160psi polly pipe. If you step up your tank size to make them millions of cycles last longer on your pump and you step up your pressure, just open the tub up, maybe take the aerators off your faucets just in case.
 

Bbqscotty

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No I installed second one and left alone didn't realize I needed to check. Currently the tank Guage stays on 40 whether run g or not it doesn't go down to 20 and up tp 40. Pump runs for like 15 seconds and of fir maybe 38 seconds. I did a bang test to check sound on top and bottom and t hey both just thud....assuming it wen bad again
 

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I looked at those and I would have to change out all my piping also to allow larger sizes ( i am 1 inch pvc now ).
Not so. There is no need to increase pipe size due to using a bigger pressure tank. If the connection to the pressure tank is bigger than the plumbing or the tank tee you are connecting, just use a fitting to adjust.

No I installed second one and left alone didn't realize I needed to check. Currently the tank Guage stays on 40 whether run g or not it doesn't go down to 20 and up tp 40. Pump runs for like 15 seconds and of fir maybe 38 seconds. I did a bang test to check sound on top and bottom and t hey both just thud....assuming it wen bad again
If the water pressure gauge stays on 40, you probably either have a bad gauge or a clogged nipple going to the gauge. If the precharge air pressure stays on 40 when you have 30 PSI of water, you should adjust the precharge down. To adjust precharge, turn off the pump, release the water pressure down to zero, and remove/add air as needed.
 

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You can thank Amtrol for putting maintenance free on their pressure tanks back in day.

Check out Valveman's sticky thread "Pressure Tank Maintenance".
 

Valveman

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Pro Source tanks are junk. But even your first WellXTrol only lasted 15 years. Busting bladders in the tank is one of the first signs your pump is cycling on/off too much. Bending the bladder up and down 100s of times per day will break the bladder the same way bending a wire back and forth will cause it to break.

Most people think 20/40 pressure is fine untill they try 40/60. Then they wonder how they lived with low pressure for so long.
 

PumpMd

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No it's the first sign that you didn't check the Precharge in your tank, so now you are having pump problems, when it could have been avoided by just checking on the Precharge in your pressure tank.
 

Valveman

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No the precharge air in the tank was lost from the bladder continually going up and down, which will pump the air charge through the rubber bladder as it is not impervious to air molecules.

The fewer times the pump cycles the less air gets pumped out of the tanks air chamber and the less important maintenance is.

One thing I know for sure is that homeowners will never remember to check the air charge in the tank. Even when they tell you they just checked it a year ago, it was really 5-7 years ago. Time goes by quickly when we are busy living life. I don't know how many times a customer has been mad at me because their pump only lasted 2 years or so. Then when I show them the invoice dated 8-10 years ago they are shocked at how fast time flys when your having fun. :)
 
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