I have a 18 year old Perma Tank PAD 20. According to all the prior dialog on this site about pressure drops and short cycling, it sounds like I have a ruptured bladder. The tank clunks all the way to the top and water comes out the pressure valve.

I'm pretty handy. Is a bladder tank something I can buy at Lowe's, HD or a plumbing supply shop and install by myself.

Any special skills or tools required?

If I should call a plumber, what should I expect to pay for a installation of a comparable bladder tank?

Thanks in advance.

You can get these from your local plumbing supply. I don't believe the home improvement stores carry them however. Depeneding on plumbing configurations, there is a chance you will have to do some minor plumbing to make you connection. All in all it should be a relatively easy task

Good Luck,
Morrowrj

Charging out a bladder tank's as siumple as falling off a log. Simply shut the pump off at the breaker box and bleed the system down. Unscrew the old one, tape the threads and screw in the new one. Before pressure up the system look on your pump control box. It will give you the cut in and cut out settings. Ax a rule 20/40, sometimes 30/50 PSI. Set the pressure in the bladder tank to 2 PSI under the CUT-IN setting on the control box. In other words if your cut in pressure's 20 PSI the bladder tank pressure's set at 18 PSI. Good lucki, Tom