New well owner! Low pressure. Replaced tank. Seems.... worse....

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TravB

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First time home owner! The house has a well. Which has been pretty painless the last few years. Pressure started to seem a bit lower than normal, so I replaced my pressure tank, after thinking the air bladder went bad. (it was also a bit small, and very old. In hindsight, maybe wasnt but, but though a larger tank helps pump longevity).

Anyways!

It seems to be very standard. Tank. Tee fitting. Right side is input from a submersible well (that I have no idea how deep it is). Left is input to my main. Took out the old tank. Cut out the fittings. Put in new tank, install went fairly easy. I'm pretty handy, though I have no idea what I'm actually doing...

I purchased a new gauge, new 40/60 switch. Tank came pre inflated @ 38, which I verified. Got it all connected, threw the breaker, checked for leaks, all is well (pun!). Tank fills up, hits 60, stops filling. Hooray!

Well... actually. The pressure kind of sucks. And its not ALWAYS bad. Also, there seems to be some air in the lines. Which MAY have worked out after a few tank charge/discharges. But when the tank gets ANYWHERE NEAR the 40psi low end, if you're in the shower, it's like someones just pissing on your head. Not pleasant. The old tank was NOT this bad.

HELP!

At this point I feel like Im just babbling.

TLDR version:

Replaced older smaller pressure tank with new 85gal tank (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...sure-tank-85-gal-actual-capacity?cm_vc=IOPDP1)

Put on new 40/60 switch.

Put on new gauge.

Checked for leaks.

PRESSURE IS GARBAGE.

What did I do wrong?!
 

Reach4

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With the pump off and the water pressure between 40 and 50, what air pressure do you read, and what water pressure do you read?
The purpose of this test is to compare the calibration of the air and water pressure gauges.

How long does the water pressure stay low? 100 msec? 4 seconds? Could it be that the pump is not starting as soon as the pressure switch clicks? Is there a control box for the pump (not the pressure switch)? If so, maybe the start capacitor is weak.
 

TravB

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When the water pressure is on the low end, it is LOW for my entire shower (5 minutes).

Basically as it reaches its way down to 40, its a near trickle. Its definitely BETTER than a trickle, but not much.

Maybe the pump isnt kicking on at 40 like it's supposed to? My new switch is bad? I could put the old one back on?

I'll do the tank pressure / air pressure test/check tomorrow. Definitely at least a starting point.
 

Reach4

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Five minutes at better than a trickle. Not what a bad start capacitor would do.

Try making a movie of your pressure gauge while you take a shower. Then if you have one of your dibble showers, you could see what the pressure gauge reads during the shower.

I am wondering if the problem is something after the pressure gauge.
 
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Valveman

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PRESSURE IS GARBAGE.

What did I do wrong?!

You put on a larger pressure tank! The larger tank will make the pump cycle less, but causes you to see the low pressure before the pump starts for much longer as well. Then when the pump does start, it sees the larger tank as another demand to fill, which makes it take much longer for the pressure to increase to an acceptable level again. Even when your pump is coming on at 40 and off at 60 as it should, your shower will be at close to 40 a lot more of the time than it is close to 60. Like you said, PRESSURE IS GARBAGE.

A smaller tank and a Cycle Stop Valve would have given so much shower pressure you wouldn't even need soap. A small tank gives a quick drop to 40 before you even get the shower temp adjusted, then the CSV will hold a constant 50 PSI for as long as you are in the shower. Constant 50 PSI in the shower is like night and day compared to on at 40 and off at 60 over and over as you are seeing now. The CSV will even work with the large tank and give you a constant 55 PSI. But you will still have to wait for the 20 gallons stored in a 80 gallon tank to be used before the pump will start and you see constant pressure. With a 3 GPM shower head that means your first 7 minutes of the shower will still have garbage pressure. But as soon as the pump comes on and the CSV starts delivering a strong constant 55 PSI, you can put the soap away. LOL!
 

TravB

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You put on a larger pressure tank! The larger tank will make the pump cycle less, but causes you to see the low pressure before the pump starts for much longer as well. Then when the pump does start, it sees the larger tank as another demand to fill, which makes it take much longer for the pressure to increase to an acceptable level again. Even when your pump is coming on at 40 and off at 60 as it should, your shower will be at close to 40 a lot more of the time than it is close to 60. Like you said, PRESSURE IS GARBAGE.

A smaller tank and a Cycle Stop Valve would have given so much shower pressure you wouldn't even need soap. A small tank gives a quick drop to 40 before you even get the shower temp adjusted, then the CSV will hold a constant 50 PSI for as long as you are in the shower. Constant 50 PSI in the shower is like night and day compared to on at 40 and off at 60 over and over as you are seeing now. The CSV will even work with the large tank and give you a constant 55 PSI. But you will still have to wait for the 20 gallons stored in a 80 gallon tank to be used before the pump will start and you see constant pressure. With a 3 GPM shower head that means your first 7 minutes of the shower will still have garbage pressure. But as soon as the pump comes on and the CSV starts delivering a strong constant 55 PSI, you can put the soap away. LOL!


Thank you so much for that information! I'm new to this so I'm learning. And I'm happy to learn!

could you explain to me how a CSV works? Wear it installs in line with a current submersible pump setup like my own?

I will have to look into installing one because it sounds like it will fix my pressure issue! I think there is plenty of water in the well though I really don't know. It seems to be fairly clean and never has any odor. I do have a water softener in place, but I think even without that I would not really have iron issues or anything. The water seems really good.

so getting back to the point I appreciate the help but if you could explain how and what a CSV is a bit more that would be amazing.
 

Valveman

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Thank you so much for that information! I'm new to this so I'm learning. And I'm happy to learn!

could you explain to me how a CSV works? Wear it installs in line with a current submersible pump setup like my own?

I will have to look into installing one because it sounds like it will fix my pressure issue! I think there is plenty of water in the well though I really don't know. It seems to be fairly clean and never has any odor. I do have a water softener in place, but I think even without that I would not really have iron issues or anything. The water seems really good.

so getting back to the point I appreciate the help but if you could explain how and what a CSV is a bit more that would be amazing.

Sorry! I should have posted this video for you. It is the best way I know to explain how a CSV works. The CSV is just installed prior to the pressure tank/pressure switch, and before any hydrants or water lines that tee off. It is a very simple valve with a complicated explanation. If you need more assistance you can call us an we will talk you through it.

 
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