Pressure tank slow refill

[RescueRanger]

Hi all, first time poster just wanting to say this is a great forum! I've got an issue with either my water filters or my pressure tank. On the line coming in from my well, I've got an iSpring whole house spin down filter, followed by a GXWH08C 5 micron filter and then a BigBoy 10" 5 micron filter before the pressure tank. My well is super shallow (about 10' deep) so I'm trying to provide extra filtration.

I re-plumbed everything about 2 years ago and it all worked great for a year. I change the filters every 5-6 months. About 6 months ago, after I changed the filters the pressure tank was incredibly slow to fill to the cut out pressure. I replaced the pressure switch (it's a 40/60) but that didn't fix it. I bypassed the middle filter because I was worried the filter cartridge I got wasn't compatible with the filter housing. That solved the issue.

Fast forward to today, I just changed all the filters and bought the correct filter. Having a similar issue now. When running large volumes of water (showers, etc), my water pressure drops below the 40psi cut-in, the pump kicks on but it can't fill the pressure tank fast enough and pressure drops to near zero. If I turn off all the water demands, pressure builds from 0 to 40 psi in seconds but it takes over 10 mins to fill from 40 to 60 psi (cut-out pressure).

I bypassed the middle filter again but it doesn't fix the issue this time. I can't bypass the iSpring or BigBoy filters to test those, but I can bypass all filters, pressure tank, softener. When I bypass everything and turn the well pump on, the pressure is 100psi + so I think the pump is good.

I thought with brand new filter cartridges water flow should be fine, but maybe there's crap built up inside the filter housing? Or could the pressure tank be bad? I haven't drained the pressure tank to check pre-load pressure yet. I will do that later today. Any thoughts?

 

[Valveman]

This is exactly why filters should always be on the outlet side of the pressure tank. A 5 Micron is really small. If it clogs as it has, and restricts the flow to the tank to less than 1 GPM, the pump will get hot and be damaged. Pump still building 100 PSI means it may not be destroyed as yet. Just move the filters to where they should be.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

Fast forward to today, I just changed all the filters and bought the correct filter. Having a similar issue now. When running large volumes of water (showers, etc), my water pressure drops below the 40psi cut-in, the pump kicks on but it can't fill the pressure tank fast enough and pressure drops to near zero. If I turn off all the water demands, pressure builds from 0 to 40 psi in seconds but it takes over 10 mins to fill from 40 to 60 psi (cut-out pressure).

So the air precharge is probably about 40 psi, because the pressure jumps to that even thru the clogged filter.

I bypassed the middle filter again but it doesn't fix the issue this time. I can't bypass the iSpring or BigBoy filters to test those, but I can bypass all filters, pressure tank, softener. When I bypass everything and turn the well pump on, the pressure is 100psi + so I think the pump is good.

If you remove the cartridge on most cartridge filters, you will still pass water. But always have a spare o-ring handy any time that you open a filter sump. Otherwise, if you cannot get the old o-ring to go back, your water system is down. The exception would be if you have a 3-valve bypass on your filters, which most people do not have.

 

[RescueRanger]

Thanks for the tips! I will relocate the filters after the pressure tank

 

[RescueRanger]

SOLVED. I removed the spin down filter cartridge, reinstalled the housing to "bypass" it and that was the issue. It was gunked up inside the cartridge. Next task will be to relocate the filters after the pressure tank. Thanks all!!

 

[Fitter30]

SOLVED. I removed the spin down filter cartridge, reinstalled the housing to "bypass" it and that was the issue. It was gunked up inside the cartridge. Next task will be to relocate the filters after the pressure tank. Thanks all!!

Won't matter the ex tank doesn't care till it stops up. Filter needs a gage before and after. With full flow bath tub all the sinks full open what.is the.pressure drop then what you want for minimum.