Pressure Tank Has Water In It But It Appears To Still Be Working..

[Dwassner]

I have never experienced a bad pressure tank, but as I am redoing some plumbing, I had the tank disconnected and brought it outside, went to flush it out, and I can hear water sloshing around the top. I tried to put air in it but it doesn't appear to be holding. If the tank is bad, will the pump be jackhammering? I just don't know what to expect or what to look for concerning how the well pump would act if the tank is bad.

Thanks,
DW

 

[Reach4]

You could test the drawdown. That is wait until the pump turns off after running. Turn off the switch/breaker to the pump. See how much water you can get out of the tub with the pump off. That should be around 1/4 of the tank nominal size.

Your tank may be failing slowly. So that was nice of it.

If you had a lot of water on the wrong side of the diaphragm, it would be heavy.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dwassner]

To confirm, I am going to fill the bathtub with the pump off to see how many gallons I get out of it, and this amount should be 1/4 of the size of the pressure tank?

Also to confirm, there should be ZERO water in the tank when it is disconnected, correct? If there is water, and since it is not allowing me to fill to the correct psi, I am guessing I need a new one, but it is not urgent? (as in I can wait until next week rather than replacing asap?)

thank you

 

[Reach4]

To confirm, I am going to fill the bathtub with the pump off to see how many gallons I get out of it, and this amount should be 1/4 of the size of the pressure tank?

Use a 5 gallon bucket. Fill once. Turn off the faucet. Dump the bucket. Fill again.

Event though the bucket has tapered sides, you will be able to estimate the % filled much better than you can with a bathtub.

Also to confirm, there should be ZERO water in the tank when it is disconnected, correct? If there is water, and since it is not allowing me to fill to the correct psi, I am guessing I need a new one, but it is not urgent? (as in I can wait until next week rather than replacing asap?)

I think that is true. What is the precharge PSI?

 

[LLigetfa]

I tried to put air in it but it doesn't appear to be holding.

That is an obvious sign that it is failing. There can be different degrees of failure and how fast it loses air and waterlogs depends on how bad the diaphragm or bladder is. Plan for a replacement.

 

[Dwassner]

OK. Thank you. I think I am just going to buy another tank. Sounds like that is going to be inevitable anyways.

I don't know what size my well pump is, so I don't know what size tank to buy. I am not sure the tank I am replacing is correctly sized. It was already here when we bought the house.

How do i determine what size tank to replace it with, and is there any downside to buying a tank that is larger than necessary or has a larger drawdown than necessary?

thank you

 

[Reach4]

How do i determine what size tank to replace it with, and is there any downside to buying a tank that is larger than necessary or has a larger drawdown than necessary?

No. However be aware that tanks bigger than 32 gallon have 1.25 connection, which you may have to adapt down.

44 gallons is often a nice size. http://www.amtrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MC7025-09_17-WXT-Sizing-Card.pdf

 

[Valveman]

Now you need to decide if you are going to just replace the tank, or fix the problem that caused the tank to go bad in the first place.