I have a well water system in my new house and don't know much about the water pressure tank. My question is, What should the pressure be at and can I raise the pressure myself with a air compressor that I have?

I am assuming this is a bladder tank. You can tell by whether there is an air valve at the top. If there is, then the pressure at that valve should be two pounds UNDER the pressure at which the switch cuts the pump on. The trick is, that pressure must be set with the tank drained, which can be done by opening an outside faucet and running it with the system off until pressure drops to zero. So, for example, if your system is cutting the pump on at 30 pounds, then you will set that pressure at 28#.


Again, I am assuming that you are referring to the pressure at the top of the tank. However, you might be referring to the pressure at which the system operates. If that is the case, then let us know.

I am assuming this is a bladder tank. You can tell by whether or not there is an air valve at the top. If there is, then the pressure at that valve should be two pounds UNDER the pressure at which the switch cuts the pump on. The trick is, that pressure must be set with the tank drained, which can be done by opening an outside faucet and running it with the system off until pressure drops to zero. So, for example, if your system is cutting the pump on at 30 pounds, then you will set that pressure at 28#.


Again, I am assuming that you are referring to the pressure at the top of the tank. However, you might be referring to the pressure at which the system operates. If that is the case, then let us know.

There is an air valve at the top and the pressure is at a constant 40#

You have a bladder tank. You need to determine the cutin/cutout points. You can do this by simply running a faucet and watching the pressure gauge as pressure drops. The point at which the pump cuts on is the cutin. The point at which the pump cuts off is the cutout. Once you have the cut in pressure, set the pressure at the top of the tank as I described earlier. BTW, the pressure you get at the top of the tank when the system is operational should be the same as the pressure gauge.

You have a bladder tank. You need to determine the cutin/cutout points. You can do this by simply running a faucet and watching the pressure gauge as pressure drops. The point at which the pump cuts on is the cutin. The point at which the pump cuts off is the cutout. Once you have the cutin pressure, set the pressure at the top of the tank as I described earlier. BTW, the pressure you get at the top of the tank when the system is operational should be the same as the pressure gauge.

I am going up to the house in a couple weeks( it's a house in the country) and I will check it as you explained and let you know the results, thank you for your info.