More pressure tank questions

[Abikerboy]

Sorry to be a pest. Just trying to learn here. Last december, I posted a question about a suspicious burried underground pressure tank that is now over 14 years old, and later found that the tank was at that time still good. A blown o-ring was found in the well, and also some leaking fittings due to a pressure switch sticking. Now, another leak came up, and upon digging out the burried pressure tank (a Goulds V200B), it was found to have a hole rusted through right at the pipe fitting, although the bladder is still sound. The underground tank was removed, the hole in the front yard filled in, and two challenger PC-144 tanks are now ganged together under my house in the crawl space. The new pressure switch is now between the two tanks, not in the well casing as it was before, and it does have a relief valve now, though that is not required by code here. Was just an option that I wanted. I have never heard of a challenger tank, and after doing some research, Ive found they are made by flexcon industries. I remember several people saying something about flexcon here in the past, but Im curious on the challengers, as Ive never heard of them. My questions; Are the challenger tanks as decent as the seller has claimed, or is this a "cheapened" version of the flexcons that we've talked about here? I got a great deal on two of them, so if theyre good quality 9as they appear to be), then Im super mega happy! My other question now; the tanks are installed laying down. The guy explained (hopefully not lying to me) that not all bladder tanks are bladder tanks, that the cheap ones use a bladder bag, which is like a balloon, and they have to stand upright, otherwise the balloon chaffs on the tank sides as it inflates and deflates with water. However, he says that the good tanks (like the challenger, according to him) use rubber diaphrams which are like a rubber saucer clamped to the inside of the tank, that they will last longer, and that the diaphram tanks can be used standing up or laying down because the diaphram cannot rub against the tank wall. Does this sound right? My well is feeding two other houses, so I just want to make sure that this was done right, though everyone including myself does seem happy with the water flow.

 

[Valveman]

Yep! He is right. Those kind of tanks are good ones and will work in just about any position.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Old Dog]

Pressure tanks empty?

New member to this site,old guy born B.C.(before computers).On the big island in Hawaii and we're on catchment system here.My pump started coming on yesterday as soon as you turned on a faucet and won't shut off by itself.The pressure is consistent for as long as you are using water.My plumbing buddy installed this system about 6 months ago with no problems until yesterday.I have tandem 42 gallon pressure tanks from amirtol,3/4 horse pump and a 40/60 pressure switch.I bled down the system and I have 38lbs. on both tanks.The weird thing is neither tank has ANY water in it.They have always had some water in them before this and you could draw down water for quite a while before the pump kicked in.My buddy is in California at a wedding so I can't ask him whats up.Any help would be appreciated(hope I gave enough info!). thanks

 

[MaxBlack]

...The pressure is consistent for as long as you are using water....neither tank has ANY water in it.They have always had some water in them before this and you could draw down water for quite a while before the pump kicked in.

You know how it's supposed to work, yes? The pump feeds the tanks and your house piping and pressurizes the entire system to 60lbs at which point the pump is supposed to turn off. Then the tanks help to keep pressure in the system until it drops to 40 and the pump comes-on again.

I can't imagine how you could not have any water in your tanks unless you valved them off somehow? Do you have a guage in the system to show you what pressures you are getting?

 

[Old Dog]

pressure tank problems

Thanks for responding!
I know how it's supposed to work,thats whats driving me crazy!The tanks aren't valved off.I took the pump apart to make sure there was'nt an obstruction in the check valve.(it has unions for easy removal)Ichecked in my catchment to make sure there isn't obstructions on the supply line.I have a pressure gauge on the pump.It kicks in at about 40 but it won't get up to 60.It's sits at about 53 and it will run forever if I don't shut it off.I can trip the pressure switch with a stick while its running and it goes off(Don't say it,I know).It will cycle on again as soon as the pressure drops to 40 but that takes about 1/2 a gallon.of draw down.I used to be able to darn near finish a shower before the pump kicked on before yesterday.I even checked the line coming off the pump to the tanks for leaks and obstructions.the pressure switch and tanks are 6 months old,the pump about a year.Any ideas why no water is entering the tanks? thanks again for any help!!

 

[Abikerboy]

Yep! He is right. Those kind of tanks are good ones and will work in just about any position.

Great! Thank you for your answer! Another question (sorry)...I had asked the well man about suggestions on a cycle stop valve. He gave me two reasons not to use one on my system. First, he said not to put one on a pump as old as mine, and that a 15 year old pump would never survive the head pressure. Does this make sense? His second no no was my system layout since the modifications of replacing a burried tank beside the well with tanks under my house on a multi-home well. My layout is as follows, and in direct order; well with sub pump (gould 10ej10422) at 225 foot deep, 15g/min recovery on well at time of drilling. From the well to the manifold with valves, where the water splits to the two other houses, then to two yard hydrants used for watering small garden, and flower beds only. Then, my house, with the pressure tanks and switch under the crawlspace. He said that with a csv, I would have to run a line straight from the well to the pressure tanks, then another line from the tanks back to the manifold to make the valve work right. Does this make sense, or will it still work on a single line from the well feeding the other houses? Current pressure switch setting is 40/60...old switch was 60/80, but was told that the 40/60 would put less stress on the old pump. Will the cycle stop valve still work in this instance? I really dont care how the electrical useage is affected. I just want to keep my pump and well alive. Also, it was suggested that the other two houses install small pressure tanks of their own to smooth the pressure surges as the pump starts and stops. The size suggested was a pc-88 challenger for each of the other two houses. Will this make much of a difference for the other users? There is no water agreement in place, the other two houses are family (and the water is for their use only, and will be disconnected from each house if anyone moves or sells), so I will more than likely be deciding how to do this on my own. I cant remember who was telling me about the flexcon tanks here, but I do remember he said he had the best prices, and since the failure has been fixed, and the rest is not a time issue, Im looking for a flexcon equiv. of the challenger pc-88 tanks. Shouldnt be hard since the challengers are made by flexcon anyway. Sorry for the 100 questions, but thank you in advance.