Sorry for any cross-posting. I have a doozie of a problem and I can't seem to find anyone with experience to answer it. Thanks in advance for all the help. I have well water with a pressure tank. The line comes out of the pressure tank and "t's" off to a frost-free sillcock before continuing into our water softener. After winter, and within the last few months, I've noticed a tremendous amount of air in the water lines.
I started with the well. Water is at 40' and the well pump is at 55'. So no issue with lack of water. Pump was replaced two years ago. There is a check valve at the top of the actual pump (in the water and 55' down) but no other check valve between pump, pitless adapter, or pressure tank. I checked the line and no leaks. I checked the pitless adapter and no leaks from seal. My final test...if I get the pressure tank up to full pressure (~62) and then shut off water to the house, it never loses pressure or water. Thus, my guess is the pump and water supply (and related materials) are fine.
I then went to the pressure tank. Holds air fine. 38 psi with no water and doesn't lose air. When I press the air valve, no water comes out and tank is 'hollow' (no hard sound as if full of water).
My third check was to see if it was the softener or something inside the house. But, I can close off the rest of the house but keep the sillcock (a closed system of pump, tank, and faucet) and it still sputters air.
So, my final step was to check the frost-free sillcock (the outside faucet between the pump and the rest of the house). If I turn on water outside, it sputters. Then, I get air in the house. It never really clears but will occasionally stop sputtering momentarily. If I turn off the outside faucet, and clear the air in the house by running an inside faucet, I never get air again. Said differently, as long as I don't use the outside sillcock, I don't get air in the water.
I tried replacing the VACUUM BREAKER in the frost-free sillcock (what I originally called the filter)--the one that lets air in so that the faucet can drain and not freeze, but that didn't help.
Has anyone ever heard of this? It kind of makes sense because I didn't use the sillcock over winter (outside faucet) and only started using it over the last few months (when I started noticing the issue). I'm wondering if the hard winter we had broke something.
Why post here and not just replace the sillcock? First, I'm hoping someone else has experience or that this can help someone else. Second, they soldered the sillcock. I'm not an experienced plumber, but there is almost no space to solder in a new sillcock. I can and am planning on using a 'shark-bite' system to replace it. I know people would prefer solder, but the connection is in an open basement where I can monitor the connection for drips. Anyway, before I switch from Solder to Sharkbite, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything else obvious.
So, any guesses? Thanks from a completely bewildered homeowner.
PS - I should add--there are no leaks in the house. I can see the "T" and the inside and outside of the sillcock and I do not get water.
I started with the well. Water is at 40' and the well pump is at 55'. So no issue with lack of water. Pump was replaced two years ago. There is a check valve at the top of the actual pump (in the water and 55' down) but no other check valve between pump, pitless adapter, or pressure tank. I checked the line and no leaks. I checked the pitless adapter and no leaks from seal. My final test...if I get the pressure tank up to full pressure (~62) and then shut off water to the house, it never loses pressure or water. Thus, my guess is the pump and water supply (and related materials) are fine.
I then went to the pressure tank. Holds air fine. 38 psi with no water and doesn't lose air. When I press the air valve, no water comes out and tank is 'hollow' (no hard sound as if full of water).
My third check was to see if it was the softener or something inside the house. But, I can close off the rest of the house but keep the sillcock (a closed system of pump, tank, and faucet) and it still sputters air.
So, my final step was to check the frost-free sillcock (the outside faucet between the pump and the rest of the house). If I turn on water outside, it sputters. Then, I get air in the house. It never really clears but will occasionally stop sputtering momentarily. If I turn off the outside faucet, and clear the air in the house by running an inside faucet, I never get air again. Said differently, as long as I don't use the outside sillcock, I don't get air in the water.
I tried replacing the VACUUM BREAKER in the frost-free sillcock (what I originally called the filter)--the one that lets air in so that the faucet can drain and not freeze, but that didn't help.
Has anyone ever heard of this? It kind of makes sense because I didn't use the sillcock over winter (outside faucet) and only started using it over the last few months (when I started noticing the issue). I'm wondering if the hard winter we had broke something.
Why post here and not just replace the sillcock? First, I'm hoping someone else has experience or that this can help someone else. Second, they soldered the sillcock. I'm not an experienced plumber, but there is almost no space to solder in a new sillcock. I can and am planning on using a 'shark-bite' system to replace it. I know people would prefer solder, but the connection is in an open basement where I can monitor the connection for drips. Anyway, before I switch from Solder to Sharkbite, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything else obvious.
So, any guesses? Thanks from a completely bewildered homeowner.
PS - I should add--there are no leaks in the house. I can see the "T" and the inside and outside of the sillcock and I do not get water.
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