How to test wire from pressure switch to wire under ground

[trotter13]

Seems like really good news so far. Let's see how it goes. I have good hope. I am not sure of the effect of having the precharge at 5 psi was having. You have already seen a big increase in the amount of water that the pressure tank delivers before the pump has to turn on again. That is good.

Well-X-Trol tanks have "multi-dome" construction, and I have not yet thought through what the expected behavior was at 5 psi precharge.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....ell-x-trol-and-champion-pressure-tanks.65692/

How did the air get so low? I don't know. Do put a sealed valve cap over the valve if you don't have one in place already. The caps on cars and truck tires have seals too.

With a submersible pump it is usual to have the air precharge 2 psi below the cut in pressure. With a jet pump there is a 4 or 5 psi difference, because the jet pumps are slower to deliver pressure. On your typical pressure switch, turning the nut on the big screw 3.5 turns CW raises both the cut-in and cut-out pressures by about 10 psi.

To compare the calibration on your water pressure and air pressure gauges, you can read the air pressure when the pump is off and the water pressure is above say 34. At that time the air pressure and water pressure are almost the same. So if there were say a 3 psi difference observed, you could just make note of that and adjust readings in the future with those gauges.

I have a cap on it maybe lost pressure over 23 yrs. I've lost pressure at least 3x before. 1 the line was frozen 2 plastic 90 degree fitting cracked. 3 ran out of water changed pump . This week. Presure holding steady at 50. I ran some faucets.

 

[trotter13]

If I raise the pressure to 40 - 60 will that be alright? The shower is good but it could be better. When I water my garden pressure sucks! I've got 80' of hose outside.

 

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[Reach4]

If I raise the pressure to 40 - 60 will that be alright? The shower is good but it could be better. When I water my garden pressure sucks! I've got 80' of hose outside.

As long as the pressure is still climbing as the pump cuts off, yes. If raising to 40/60, I would tend to want to raise the air precharge to 38 first. However after you running your precharge at 5 and apparently not damaging the tank, that seems less important now.

 

[trotter13]

As long as the pressure is still climbing as the pump cuts off, yes. If raising to 40/60, I would tend to want to raise the air precharge to 38 first. However after you running your precharge at 5 and apparently not damaging the tank, that seems less important now.

Indeed, maybe I got lucky on that part time will tell

 

[trotter13]

As long as the pressure is still climbing as the pump cuts off, yes. If raising to 40/60, I would tend to want to raise the air precharge to 38 first. However after you running your precharge at 5 and apparently not damaging the tank, that seems less important now.

I wonder how long it was like that. Probably did my pump in.

 

[Reach4]

I wonder how long it was like that. Probably did my pump in.

Yep.

I have thought through the multi-dome pressure tank construction, as you have, and I can now see how your 5 psi of precharge would result in short-cycling. If you did that with a tank without that feature, you would not have had the short cycling until the diaphragm failed... and it would have.

I have not checked my precharge in a couple years. Probably time. I'll wait until I am doing something else like changing a whole-house filter cartridge, which I do less frequently than yearly. For you, you will probably want to check in a month or two. If no loss, then maybe every 2 years. I think 1 year is the normal recommendation. Temperature affects the precharge pressure, so if some change, it does not necessarily mean loss.

For your pressure, you could go for 45/65 or 55/75 or some such while you are at it. I am using 38/58.

 

[Midriller]

Pressure tanks can be funny, what i have noticed is tanks can have "Micro-tears" and you can have a couple gals of water above bladder which will allow you to air bladder up and it seems to hold. That is until you leave your pump off for 14 days and the couple gals of water slowly bleeds out and the air bubbles out through an empty toilet tank or back to the well. If your tank has lost air three times, my suggestion would be to change out the tank if economically possible. Tanks generally don't just lose air. Put a soapy water solution on the air stem and if it doesn't leak, the air is leaving your tank through the bladder.

 

[trotter13]

Pressure tanks can be funny, what i have noticed is tanks can have "Micro-tears" and you can have a couple gals of water above bladder which will allow you to air bladder up and it seems to hold. That is until you leave your pump off for 14 days and the couple gals of water slowly bleeds out and the air bubbles out through an empty toilet tank or back to the well. If your tank has lost air three times, my suggestion would be to change out the tank if economically possible. Tanks generally don't just lose air. Put a soapy water solution on the air stem and if it doesn't leak, the air is leaving your tank through the bladder.

Thanks for the info, so far so good. I'll keep monitoring it to see if it holds.

 

[trotter13]

Yep.

I have thought through the multi-dome pressure tank construction, as you have, and I can now see how your 5 psi of precharge would result in short-cycling. If you did that with a tank without that feature, you would not have had the short cycling until the diaphragm failed... and it would have.

I have not checked my precharge in a couple years. Probably time. I'll wait until I am doing something else like changing a whole-house filter cartridge, which I do less frequently than yearly. For you, you will probably want to check in a month or two. If no loss, then maybe every 2 years. I think 1 year is the normal recommendation. Temperature affects the precharge pressure, so if some change, it does not necessarily mean loss.

For your pressure, you could go for 45/65 or 55/75 or some such while you are at it. I am using 38/58.

Ok, it's been two + weeks. My tanks cut in is still 27-28, but I'm having issues with water pressure. If I flush the toilet my sink in the kitchen slows way down. Presure in shower sucks.

I drained the tank when I checked pressure. Could it still be sediment? I should have good pressure now.

Tom

 

[Reach4]

Ok, it's been two + weeks. My tanks cut in is still 27-28, but I'm having issues with water pressure. If I flush the toilet my sink in the kitchen slows way down. Presure in shower sucks.

I drained the tank when I checked pressure. Could it still be sediment? I should have good pressure now.

I did not go back and review your setup. I don't remember why you could not turn up the pressure.

Watch the pressure on the pressure gauge. Have a helper, or video the gauge while you use water. If that pressure stays above 26, the problem is not the pressure tank or anything before. The pressure drop would be in your pipes or a filter if you have one.