Hi, I typed a whole thing and lost it so will start over. My son and I had a well drilled 20 years ago and piped water to our houses which are about 30 feet apart. Yesterday a couple different times I had dirt in my water. Today it cleared up pretty good but have heard noises in my basement like someone pounding on metal pipes. I ran the water for awhile and the gauge stayed the same and the water pressure remained very good.

My son has the pressure switch, etc. in his basement and he is not having any problems. My holding tank is light blue about 30 inches high and 50 inches around the outside. It has an orange cap at the top saying to the installer to check the air pressure. A label says the pump is powered by Franklin Submersible motor. Another label says Model # S50FM2-07-2 but I think it also refers to the motor.

At one time we were both getting dirt and we had the switch replaced. There is no shut off between the gauge and where the water pipe enters the basement. It would need to be shut off to replace the pressure gauge? Is it possible to drain out the dirt like I do with my water heater? I am a 71 year old woman, so forgive me if my questions seem stupid. Thank you.

1. Relax. Your questions are not stupid. That's not to say, however, that my answers might not be!

2. The switch has nothing to do with dirt in your water. It regulates pressure.

3. You can drain the tank, but I don't think that will help you. Most tanks like you describe have the water inlet and outlet at one opening in the bottom and do not tend to collect dirt. But, to drain the tank, you will cut off the power and drain the tank though an outside spigot so long as its lower than the tank. Can't drain it like a hotwater heater since in probably does not have the drain cock (or whatever its called) like the heater has.

4. Your pressure gauge will also not affect having dirt in the water.

5. You can place a sediment filter on your line and solve much of the dirt problem, though the water might still be discolored. Strange that your son does not seem to have dirt. I am wondering if what you are referring to as "dirt" is actually rust or other "crud" that will collect in pipes and tanks over time. Just curious... does this "dirt" come only in hot water or in both hot and cold?

We really have no idea why I was getting dirt and my son wasn't. Yes, it was dirt as I had to clean the filters on my faucets and washing machine. I don't know if it affected the hot water as I didn't use it until the water cleared up so it wouldn't get into my hot water tank. My son had no problems whatsoever. It did it twice one day and the pipes were banging the same day. Everything has been fine since. We did have our electricity go off and back on quickly several times that day or the day before. Thank you for taking your time to answer.