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View Full Version : Lower water pressure than a week ago.


leftwinga
Jul 10, 2007, 03:42 PM
Hello all... 1st let me say I have a well system with a newly installed 82 gal pressure tank.
It replaced a 20gal tank... ever since I replaced it the pressure has been great.
Now while the weather has been getting hotter and the basement damper ( I was able to see a ring of moisture around tank) I got a de-humidfier for the basement the same day we left for our vacation. I also was afraid that a line may break so I turned the pump off too at the switch.
When we got back we noticed 2 things... one was the water pressure seemed to be less than before ( we always had enough pressure for a shower before it would be so low) and there was a strange odor also.
I have checked the gauge and all seems well, pump cuts in @ 40.. shuts off at 65 or so... So I don't understand why it seems like the pressure in the faucets,showers toilets are low?? Could the water filter have gotten clogged?
Did adding a dehumidifer to the basement hurt me?
Please help...
Thank you

jlisenbe
Jul 11, 2007, 08:32 AM
Can you bypass the water filter? Most of them have a bypass valve. If so, do that and see if the pressure situation resolves itself. If it does, then you know where the problem is.

adlowe
Jul 11, 2007, 10:00 AM
I can't see how a dehumidifier could have any affect at all.

Do you have a filter "downstream" from the pressure tank? If so, when did you last change the filter? If it's been more than 2 months, change the filter and see if you get your pressure back; my pressure drops off pretty badly when the filter gets clogged and I can't always go 3 months between changes.

leftwinga
Jul 11, 2007, 07:36 PM
Sorry to respond so late... I am an idiot. I pulled and replaced the filter with the best filter replacement they sold and viola... wonderful pressure. I just couldn't fathom how the filter would be clogged after 10days of not using the pump.
I just wondered if it would be benficial to add another filter in line with this one so id have 2 filters... would that make any sense?

adlowe
Jul 12, 2007, 03:43 AM
It's not how long the filter gets used as it is how much stuff the filter traps. I have not yet found a pattern that makes sense to me but sometimes the filter "fills up" faster and more completely than usual and then I get a whole-house pressure drop that's pretty severe. The first test I run when I get a sudden pressure drop (at least during the warm weather months) is to turn on an outside faucet -- because they get water before it goes through the filter; if the flow is strong then I change the filter right away.

Adding a second filter won't help you do anything but get cleaner water -- and then only if the second filter traps particles that the first one missed. Plus it will actually reduce your pressure even when both filters are new -- although it may not be enough of a drop to be noticeable. You'll still get a big pressure drop when the first one is clogged. Unless you really need to filter your water twice, I don't see any benefit to having a second one.

leftwinga
Jul 12, 2007, 06:38 AM
Thank you for all your help.. I will keep up onm the filters more often