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View Full Version : Low pressure from brand new bladder tank


applegrower
Sep 6, 2008, 05:06 PM
The pump is also brand new and fills the 20 gallon pressure tank in a matter of seconds, but when after it comes up to 50 psi (cuts in at 30 psi) and I run the faucet, the pressure from the faucet is miserable, about 1 gallon in 2.5 minutes. Is is an installation error? When I first installed the tank and gave power to the pump, the drain at the tank tee was open. I figured since there was no water in any of the lines there would be too much air in the system... Im thinking maybe this was the wrong thing to do? Any Ideas?

albinfla
Sep 6, 2008, 05:14 PM
If the tank fills in seconds, it makes me wonder if the air pressure was incorrect in your bladder tank. It should be 2# less than the pressure your pump comes on at. With all pressure off the water lines, put a tire gauge on the valve stem on top of the bladder tank, in this case it should be 28 since your pump comes on at 30.

If your pump and bladder tank are sized to match each other, your pump should run a minimum of 1 minute to fill up the bladder tank with no water running anywhere.

No pressure to your faucet sounds like a blockage someplace. Check and clean faucet aerators, check to be sure all valves are open... sometimes the gate will stick on a gate valve and not open up properly.

I suspect that when you brought everything back up to pressure that it sent some sediment up the lines and clogged something. Remove all aerators and flush lines thoroughly.
Al

applegrower
Sep 6, 2008, 05:19 PM
The well is new too. It was drilled about 2 months ago and I just installed the pump, pipes, everything today. This leads me to believe it wouldn't be a blockage, I will go check the pressure right now and report back. Oh... the faucet and all water lines from the pressure tank to the faucet were new today too...

hkstroud
Sep 6, 2008, 06:20 PM
What kind of pressure do you have at the drain at the tank tee? At what faucet did you check the volume? If it was a kitchen, is it a water saver type.

albinfla
Sep 6, 2008, 06:42 PM
You could still have plugged up aerators. It is actually very common for new wells to pump sediment for awhile. The other thing could be pipe shavings in the lines.

Harold is right too, if you bought inexpensive water saver faucets, they don't do very good on wells sometimes. You could check the pressure on outside spigots with a pressure gauge that threads onto the spigot.
Al