Water tank pressure release?

I have the same problem as Manney, but my tank constantly gets air locked. The air in the water tank gets so high pressure that the water pump will only fill the 80 gallon water tank about a foot. About once a month I have to let the water out of the tank so the high pressure air will expel and then turn on the pump again to refill the water tank.

How do I adjust the water tank pressure release valve to release some of the air in the top of the tank when it gets to high psi that it trips the electric pump control off, so it can fill up to the normal level and stay that way by releasing air as needed to balance the water tank pressure with the electric control switch. The water pump control switch is set to the factory electric control unit off and on psi levels.

Thanks,
Al Barrs

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Originally Posted by Al Barrs

About once a month I have to let the water out of the tank so the high pressure air will expel and then turn on the pump again to refill the water tank.

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Does that mean that you get air out of the faucet after draining the tank? If so. You have a ruptured bladder.

Open faucets and let water out until pump comes on. Note what pressure the pump comes on. Close faucet and note what pressure pump goes off. Turn pump off and drain tank, note pressure on tank when tank is completely empty of water. That pressure should be 2 lbs. less than the pump cut- in pressure.

There is no automatic air adjustment, not should there be. Get pressure readings and come back for assistance.

NO, there is no "bladder" in the tank. It is an 80 gallon galvanized steel water tank with NO BLADDER. And, yes, lots of high pressure air comes out after draining what little water is in the tank. Somehow air pressures is being built up in the top of the tank over time and the water level fluctuates downward to a point where there is too much air for the water pump to compress to pump enough water into the storage tank... It's a too much air problem.:rolleyes:

OK, you have a pressure tank.
What kind of well and pump? How deep, submersible or surface pump, check valve or foot valve. You have a well problem. Some how you are pumping air. Could have a leaking well pipe, could have a leaking foot valve, could be low water level.

Al, I believe you have one of the older well systems that uses a simple pressure tank with no bladder. The idea is this: When the pump cuts off, there is an air valve at the well head that allows the well pipe to fill with air as the water drops back down to the pump. When the pump cuts on, this air in the pipe is pumped into the tank, thus recharging the air charge in the tank every time. The problem with this idea is that you get far more air pumped into the tank than is needed, so the tank has an air release valve on the side that vents air when the tank fills more than about halfway with air. You might want to check that valve if this sounds like the system you are dealing with.

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Originally Posted by jlisenbe

<snip> there is an air valve at the well head that allows the well pipe to fill with air as the water drops back down to the pump. <snip>

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Around here they call that the snifter valve. The water only drops back to the water level in the well, but if you have a low water table, you will get a lot of air each time. Most likely your problem is the air relief valve on the tank.

EPM

EP, do you see many systems like this anymore? It always seemed to me to be a good idea since the pump is able to start with no head at all.

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Originally Posted by jlisenbe

EP, do you see many systems like this anymore? It always seemed to me to be a good idea since the pump is able to start with no head at all.

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No, thankfully, bladder tanks are always used around here any more. They can be smaller too for the same capacity because they don't have to have as much capacity to handle system problems like brought this topic up. The problems of the original questioner are fairly common. Internally open tanks may be very slightly cheaper, but most of the time we had problems with the snifter valve plugging and then we get water lodged (logged?) tanks. That's just as miserable a problem and it is REALLY hard on the pump. As to starting under less load, it's pretty minor. Modern electric motors are very efficient on starting. If your pump is that close to not operating correctly, you very shortly will be pulling it anyway.

EPM

The well is a 6" diameter to 175 feet deep, plenty of water! The pump is a submersible with an 80 gallon galvanized upright steel tank. There is a 'snifter valve' in the water line at the Well Head. There is a Water Tank Air Volume Control Valve shaped like a small rectangular steel box about half way up to side of the tank which has a pressure gauge attached. There is what appears some brass adjustment part with a locking nut with a center stem with a cross-point screwdriver slot in it on the valve body. The Water Pump Pressure Control Switch is also attached there. There is no air or water mist coming out of the Water Tank Air Valve Control Valve or anywhere else. Over a period a about a month the tank will fill with air pressure that forces it to remain empty and allow air with water to enter the house water system through the outlet pipe about 6" from the bottom of the tank. Then I have to drain the air down to zero and restart the system for another month. The electric control box was replaced several months ago and seems to be working fine so long as the air pressure has not built up to the water pressure level.

Can someone tell me how I can get notified when someone responds to my question so I don't have to keep going back to this forum website to check if anyone has responded?

Thanks,
Al Barrs
Greenwood, Florida

You should be notified by email (at the address you used when you signed up) every time that there is another post to a thread you are part of.

As to your pressure tank problem, you will have to get that air control valve on the tank replaced. It is supposed to release excess air in the tank, but yours seems to be malfunctioning. I personally have never repaired one of them, so I don't know the exact name of the part to tell you what to get. If you go to a real plumbing supply house, (and they aren't too busy to be helpful) you should be able to describe what you need (pictures could be helpful) and get the part. I do not know if there are any adjustments or specific things you have to do to set it up, so do some research. I think I will have to do the same, just for kicks, because where I work, we have all bladder tanks, but I would love to have the knowledge.

Thanks!

This is the first automated response that I have received. I went into my profile and checked and reset everything so maybe I got lucky. Thanks!

Yea, that is what I suspected. Only thing is I have had a problem locating a source on the Internet for the type valve we have on that tank. Can you steer me to a source? Thanks, Al

It is the small rectangular valve with some kind of brass adjusting screw and lock nut on the front, a threaded hole on the top and a connection that screws into the tank threads on the backside.

I can email you a picture if you would like and will email me your address.

Al Barrs
[email protected]
Greenwood, Florida
32443

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Originally Posted by Al Barrs

Thanks!

This is the first automated response that I have received. I went into my profile and checked and reset everything so maybe I got lucky. Thanks!

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Great.

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Yea, that is what I suspected. Only thing is I have had a problem locating a source on the Internet for the type valve we have on that tank. Can you steer me to a source? Thanks, Al

It is the small rectangular valve with some kind of brass adjusting screw and lock nut on the front, a threaded hole on the top and a connection that screws into the tank threads on the backside.

I can email you a picture if you would like and will email me your address. <snip>

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Al,

I'm in Pennsylvania. And I rarely do internet shopping for that type of thing, I use the local supply house. You will have do do a search for "water pressure tank air volume control" or something like that. Good luck.

Before you go to great lengths, check your tank. Possibly it would be just as good to remove the snifter valve, replace the old tank with a bladder tank and be done with the whole thing. You probably will also have to get a manifold, pressure relief valve and drain valve. I think I remember you saying that you got a new pressure switch. Please use a brass nipple to mount it. I've seen some scary overpressure situations that arose from a steel nipple under the pressure switch that rusted shut. If you don't have a pressure relief valve now I would encourage you to upgrade to the new tank and safety features. Unless you use a LOT of water you do not need anything nearly as big as you have. There are resources that will let you figure the size you need. The plumbing supply house -might- help you there. But they are more for someone that knows exactly what they need and won't return it.

Sorry about the disjointed paragraph. I'm in a hurry and added some stuff and my editing is less than thorough.

EPM