Well pressure tank/ replacement

dano0827

Hello,

New to forums so i will give all info I can so i dont come off too foolish
Well water- high iron content-
pressure tank- current is making a noise, a whining noise- my wife with less experience than I have which is nil seems to think that the tank may be low on air- but the gauge that is on there is all funked up and rusted and broken glass on the gauge and,,,,- i presume the bladder is shot and needs replacement- Do I
A: get a similar size tank- 60gal. with a bladder or
B: as some of my searches have shown the control valve thing that states you can have a 20gallon tank and get longer life from my well pump through the use of this Constant Pressure Pump Control Valves-

It was MY OPINION- that a larger tank that would allow more water in the tank would be better as it would cycle less- and my fear is when i am running the sprinkler on my 1 acre lawn that in time it will burn out the well pump if i only use a 20 gallon tank- What are the opinions of the well advised

joecaption

That gauge is reading the water pressure not the air pressure.
The air pressure is tested on top of the tank thought what looks like a tire stem valve.
If the gauge is messed up, just shut the pump off, relieve the pressure by opening up a faucet and change it. Your going to need one anyway if you end up changing the tank.
If you google pressure tank the company websites will help you size one if it needs to be changed.

dano0827

I will do so- but do you or would you offer an opinion on the "Constant Pressure Pump Control Valves"
If a replacement is needed- pressure tank that is is there a particular word on the streets for these things- are they better for one situation versus another- in the end the work will be performed by a professional as I REALLY dont want to do this 2 or 3 times with the end result of calling in a plumber to do it right- I just have no experience in anything plumbing so this is why i came here to maybe be schooled in some of the do's and dont's of plumbing .
Thanks for your help so far- as far as a gauge- any particular range- up to 100psi?
150 psi?

Dano

joecaption

Posting a picture of the tank you have now would help.
A guage is most accurate in the middle of the range. So if you have 40 to 60 PSI a 100 or 120 PSI gauge will work fine.
Sooner or later some of the real plumbers will chime in.

Bob999

1. With a conventional setup and pump the single largest contributor to pump failure is the number of start/stop cycles. Installing a larger pressure tank lengtens the life of the pump by reducing the number of cycles. The largest standard pressure tank is a "120 gal" which has a useable drawdown of about 30-40 gallons per cycle.

2. There are variable speed pumps that are designed to provide constant pressure. They are relatively new, relatively expensive, and I wouldn't chose one for myself.

3. There is the CSV valve that is installed between the pump and the pressure tank and is designed to reduce pump cycles by slowing the flow from the pump to the pressure tank as the pressure approaches the cut off pressure. I have not personally used one but have read good reports about the CSV valve.

Here is a link to get more information:

http://cyclestopvalves.com/index2.html

dano0827

thank you all,

I will chat with the warden and see where we go from here, i did check the pressure at the tank, it reads 40psi so that is good and i can rest assure i didnt lose any pressure- but it still needs repair-
thanks again- i will chime in as i get further into the final stages.

Dano

Akpsdvan

If the Well driller did the job right at the start the pressure tank and well pump where sized together so changing to a different tank might lead to problems down the road.
That said any number of home owners often change out the tank for a smaller one because of the price, it is best to go with the same size that is there unless it is one of the very small ones then going bigger would be better.

To find out if the pressure tank is going out.
Turn off the well pump and let the water drain out of the house system.
If there is water on top of the bladder there will water dropping down from on top and a noise will be heard along with water not stopping from coming out of the drain valve on the pressure tank tee.
Take a tire gauge and see what the pressure is at the top of the tank, it should be -2 lbs less than the cut in point of the pressure switch that is use...
38lbs if it is a 40-60
28lbs if it is a 30-50
18lbs if it is a 20-40

Bob is correct in that it is better to have the larger tank so that there are fewer pump cycles per day.

dano0827

thanks again- all great info

Dano