New Well House, not performing ideally

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JrPlumber

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I've set up a solar well house for myself and I would really like to work out all the kinks since I'm about to send the water to the house and hook up all my appliances. My setup:

-Grundfos Solar well pump sends well water into 1200 gal. cistern
-Spin-down sediment filter
-Aquatec 550 12v DC booster pump pulls water out of cistern and into 86 gal. pressure tank (bladder type)
-yard hydrant, utility sink, house main (future) lines are all running out of this pressure tank

Everything seems to work, but I got an 86 gal. pressure tank in order to reduce cycling of my 12V pump so often and to have plenty of water.

When I open the faucet or yard hydrant, I only get about 2 gallons of full blast pressure and then it reduces to a trickle once the pump turns on. I connected a 40/60 pressure switch to the pressure tank. The pump runs for about 10 minutes+ to fill the pressure tank.

I'm STUMPED as to WHY I'm only getting 2 gallons. Shouldn't I be getting at least 20 gallons before the pump has to turn on and I get any drop in pressure? I'm wondering if my pump is not strong enough to keep up with the large pressure tank? I'm about to check pressure in the pressure tank.

ANY THOUGHTS? I really need to achieve constant pressure to send this to the house and be able to hook up all my appliances. Please help!
 

Valveman

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Is the pump coming on at 40 and off at 60? If so, with 35-38 PSI air in the tank you should be getting 20-22 gallons out of that tank as the pressure drops from 60 to 40. You won't have "constant pressure" as the pressure switch will be working the pump from 40 to 60 PSI, so the pressure will be between 40 and 60, not constant. But that is about the best you can do with a solar pump, as you want the tank to deliver 20 gallons before the pump comes on.
 

WorthFlorida

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It's not clearly stated, is the tank properly pre-charged? Looking at the data sheet, obviously 12v a volt DC pump is at the low end of water flow. Once you get the 20 gallon flow corrected and the pump turns on with a faucet open, the pump has to work to fill the tank and provide the open faucet.


Screen Shot 2022-03-16 at 4.12.30 PM.jpg
 

JrPlumber

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I'm about to check to see if the tank is properly precharged. Is there a chance that is has TOO much pressure? Would that cause it to reach max PSI without filling all the way with water?

When I look at the gauge, it is at 60 PSI. When I open a faucet, only 2 gallons come out until the pump turns on.
 

Reach4

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I'm about to check to see if the tank is properly precharged. Is there a chance that is has TOO much pressure? Would that cause it to reach max PSI without filling all the way with water?
Yes, yes. In that case, if you are using little to no water, there would be a brief loss of pressure followed by the pressure quickly jumping well beyond the cut-in pressure.

Air precharge is checked and set with the water pressure zero. Usually 2 psi below cut-in is used for a submersible pump.
 
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