[ameliasmum]

Hi,

I have a well pump (not submersible) that pumps water from a shallow well into a 30 gallon Amtrol Well x-Troll bladder tank. Lately I noticed that the pump was coming on too frequently so I emptied the bladder tank of water and checked the air pressure and It was about 10 psi, so I added air to 28 psi (30 psi below the cut on pressure, cut off is 50 psi on 30/50 square D pressure switch) and everything was OK for three days. On day 3 during the evening the pump started to come on every 5 minutes even though no water was being used. I shut off the well pump and this morning I made sure the bladder tank was empty and checked the air pressure- back down to 10 psi! I recharged to 25 psi and all is well again. Do I need a new bladder tank? I know that my tank is not waterlogged because water is not coming out of the air valve. Please help.

I also timed the amount of time that it took to empty the tank when no water was being used and it was about 1.5 hours- I am guessing this is either a leak in the house or a problem with the check valve in my well- does that seem correct? But I guess I need to fix my pump short cycling problem and bladder tank problem before I look into problem #2. Any suggestions on problem #2?

Thank you, Scott from Florida

[speedball1]

Hey Scott,
Sounds like a faulty foot/check valve to me. Replace it and pressure up the bladder tank and see if the doesn't solve your problem. Good luck, Tom

[jlisenbe]

I like SB's advice. I would only add this. If you have a cutoff valve to the house, then turn the water to the house off and see if the short cycling stops. If it does, then a leak in the house (toilet, perhaps?) is the problem.

The bladder tank pressure is a little strange. If the tank is indeed empty and pressure is at zero when you are charging the tank to 28#, then it should stay at 28# three days later when the tank is drained at system pressure is at zero. But the short cycling is the first problem you need to address.

Good to see Speedball back on line!

[hkstroud]

everything was OK for three days

That's a very short time for the air in the tank to be absorbed by the water even if you have a ruptured bladder. In addition to checking for a leaking check valve also check to see it the valve stem is leaking air. Remove the valve stem cap and put a little Mr. Bubbles on the needle valve.

[ameliasmum]

Update to problem,

Thanks for all the advice. A plumber came out checked the check valve of the well and said it was OK but found that the valve stem to the pressure tank had a leak in it (Hkstroud- you were right!) so he put in a new bladder tank on Friday (why he didn't just replace the valve- I don't know? ). Everything went back to normal and all seemed well. Tonight is Saturday night and I noticed a puddle of water near the tank on the floor of the garage. I took a flashlight and looked at the connection at the bottom of the tank where the pipe comes out of the tank into the house plumbing and there is a constant drip- so I guess the connection isn't good and I need to call the plumber again arrgghhh!

The tank is a challenger pc111R and the plumber had to redo most of the piping because it is a shorter wider tank than my previous tank. My question is how is he going to fix the drip- I don't see an easy way to disconnect the discharge pipe and fix the leak...

Thanks again,

Scott

[hkstroud]

My question is how is he going to fix the drip

All depends on the type of pipe. It's his problem but shouldn't be difficult for him.

[Handyman2007]

Personally, I would have only changed the valve stem. If I thought the tank was not serviceable , then I would have suggested changing it. As for the leak, that is his problem. If he knows what he is doing, it should be a fairly easy fix,, but it costs him money.