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countrygirl56 · Jan 6, 2009, 02:11 PM

I have an old pressure tank on my water well without a bladder. It has no water in it and when the control unit turns on it gurgles and shuts off immediately. My well has a deep well pump (75 foot well). I get a slow trickle of water in the house and I replaced the control unit. Should I replace the pressure unit and the pressure tank?

EPMiller · Jan 6, 2009, 06:15 PM

You are certain that there is NO water in that tank? It sounds to me more like a waterlogged tank. One with too much water in it. What 'control unit' did you replace? Was it the pressure switch? Do you have a water filter somewhere?

Your description of the problem is very vague. If you have low flow at faucets and the pressure at the tank is in the correct range, then you have a blockage in the supply line somewhere. Is the flow problem the same at all faucets? What about outdoor hydrants? What about commodes, do they fill correctly or very slowly? Do you have a WORKING pressure gauge at the pressure tank and what does it say? Do you have a drain valve or faucet at the pressure tank? What kind of flow do you get out of it?

Need some more info to help out better.

EPM

mygirlsdad77 · Jan 6, 2009, 07:01 PM

Just waiting for your answers to epm's questions

countrygirl56 · Jan 6, 2009, 09:28 PM

There is no water in the tank because I shook it and it was empty. I tried adding air to the tank but it would not build up any pressure. There is no filter. I replaced the control unit not the pressure unit. When I turn on the power the water tank gurgles but the pressure unit will not engage the points because I have no pressure in the tank. We drained it of all water and put air through the lines to make sure all water was out. Then attempted to put air in the tank through the valve which is located on the line from the well just before it goes into the tank. I would guess this tank is the original one and may be as much as 40 years old. It has quite a bit of rust on it so I am sure it is in need of replacing. I figure I should replace the pressure unit at the same time to start fresh.

21boat · Jan 7, 2009, 03:00 PM

I will take a stab at this
It sounds like you have the what we call the farmers tank "no bladder" The tank you have is just like the bladder ones the sell but way bigger. The old tanks act the same way but the tank needs to have a set amount of water and air pressure to balance with your well pump low pressure kick in on the pump. There needs to be partial water in the tank about half way up when well pressure is at its peak.
They way this works is it helps push pressure back into the waterlines so the well pump doesn't drop so quick and recycle the pump on and off. Some how it got low in water. If the tank has NO water in it to begin with all you are doing is blowing air into the house waterlines and that's why it will never build up air pressure until you blow enough in to fill up a lot of house water line and then it back pressures back to the tank. The bladder tanks resolved that by the bladder capturing the air and not going out the tank to waterlines. That's probably the gurgle you are getting
Release air in tank and pressure and pump some water into it and then pump air in
A setting on a bladder tank is set at 2lb less then what your pumptrol switch is set at to start well pump Its been a long time for that type of tank My good guess is at 2lb less when the well pump shuts off. So tank half with water pressure and half air and 2lb less than high pumptrol switch is set at.
I would still like to know what the "pressure Unit" is also

Signed 21 Boat

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EPMiller · Jan 8, 2009, 03:39 PM

There is no water in the tank because I shook it and it was empty. I tried adding air to the tank but it would not build up any pressure.

If you can't get any pressure to build up by adding air to the tank, you have a leak somewhere. Or an open faucet or commode that is waiting to fill. Even starting from 0 psi, you will be able to charge a closed water system. You might get air in the lines, but it will build up pressure.

Are you starting the pump by moving that little lever on the side of the pump pressure switch? You know that you have to hold it on until the pressure gets up to about 15 psi before you can release it. Then things will work as they should. That lever is part of a safety mechanism so that your pump doesn't continue to run with a broken line or a dry well.

I do not see this forum every day, so pardon the occasional posts.

EPM

countrygirl56 · Jan 22, 2009, 10:13 AM

We ended up replacing everything. No more problems. I think the main problem was the pump it's self.

EPMiller · Jan 22, 2009, 04:06 PM

Glad it's solved.

EPM

mygirlsdad77 · Jan 22, 2009, 06:32 PM

You can sleep soundly knowing all components are new. Good job.