Water Well

[Anonymous]

I have a shallow well and the pump keeps kicking on and off. I stays on for about 30 seconds and kicks of for about 30 seconds. When it comes on the pressure switch kicks in twice. I have a tank about 5 feet high with a air fill valve about midway up the tank. When I push the valve there is no air coming out. I ahve tried to put air in it and no air will enter the valve. I have changed out the guts of the valve and even tried to put air in with the guts out of the valve. I have also tried to drain the tank but only a few gallons of water comes out. I have a 20 to 40 PSI pressure switch. The system puts out good water pressure and volume, the only problem is the pump/pressure switch is cycling too much. Thanks for the help.

[daveroconnParticipant]

The only way an expansion tank can drain is for air behind the bladder to push it out. If your tank does not drain completely than it does not have enough air in it to displace the water inside.

If you have air in your water than your expansion tank needs to be replaced because the bladder has a hole in it.

To drain an expansion tank

First you need to drain the tank as far as it can go by itself. Next using a bicycle tire pump add air to the tank only until the water begins to flow out. Do not over pump the tank or you may ruin the bladder. Keep doing this until you are sure all of the water is out of the tank. Now to obtain the propper air pressure this can only be checked with the tank empty. Most well tanks use 30 to 38 PSI empty. Now it would be a good time to disinfect the storage tank with some bleach. Use an empty filter sump housing to introduce about a 1/4 cup of bleach into the tank you will need some valves to do this. Now rinse the tank by filling it and draining it sevrall times.

[wagnersParticipant]

Thanks for the information. My problem is that when I try to pump air into the tank, none will go in. I have even removed the insides from the air valve and tried to add air. None will go into the tank.

[GuestParticipant]

Sounds to me like you have an old galvanized steel storage tank. This tank does not have a bladder in it it uses air in the top part of the tank for expansion. You need to drain the tank completely. shut the pump off first. Put a hose on the drain valve and run it to a drain and then open up the faucets in the house to allow air into the water supply system(you should hear the water in the tank gurgling in the tank). This will probably take about an hour to drain the tank. When the tank is empty close all the faucets in the house and return the pump to operation.
This should take care of your problem and should be done once or twice a year because the air in the tank will escape out to the house through the water, leaving you with no air in your storage tank for expansion.

[Author]

Posts