well water stops, but pressure gauge normal

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Marvinly

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Hi, I could really use some expert help. I recently moved into a house where I have had a few surprises that I have to deal with. The home has a deep water well and two pressure tanks that are manifolded together. There was a also a water system added by the previous homeowner after the bladder tank to raise the ph of the water. Over the last few weeks the water has started to slowly lose pressure until it stops completely in the entire house and after several minutes will start back up. The part that baffles me is that the pressure gauge never drops below 50 psi. I don't "think" it's a false read because I changed the gauge a few months ago because the old one was defective. The tanks are laid horizontally in a low crawlspace. I tapped both tanks and one of them has a clanging sound. Could one one of them possibly be empty and causing my problem of the water stopping? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Marv
 

Reach4

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Something is blocking the water between your pressure gauge and the first faucet that you are checking. Maybe that water processing system is blocking things. You might check the pressure of your outside taps. The pipes for those might split off before the water processsing system.
 
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Valveman

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The little nipple connecting the pressure switch maybe clogged. Check to see if the points in the pressure switch are closed or open when the water stops.
 

LLigetfa

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The little nipple connecting the pressure switch maybe clogged...
If the gauge Tees off from the same nipple, that would explain why it shows pressure. Anyway, never trust a single gauge.

A bad tank would only cause loss of water if it caused the pump to short cycle so much that it tripped the thermal overload or burned up.
 

Craigpump

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I've seen bladders fail, get into the tank T and stop water. Too much soda ash could block off the water too but that's unlikely.
 

LLigetfa

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I've seen bladders fail, get into the tank T and stop water...
Yes, a ruptured bladder can often block the port at the bottom of the tank and stop the water when the pump isn't running.
That gives you zero drawdown and the pump would cycle excessively.
The odds of having it happen on both tanks and the pressure gauge and switch holding though is worse than winning the lottery. I suppose the bits of rubber could migrate down the line and pile up at a constriction or bend but that doesn't sound like what the OP described.
 

Boycedrilling

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The older Well-mate taller tanks couldn't be laid over. The air bag would shift and block the water. If you stood them back up they were ok again. I don't know if this is still true for their current models
 
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