[rjbare]

I put a new pump and drained the line. After putting a new pump in and starting the system back up. It will turn on at 40 psi and off at 60 but it cycles every minute and a half. Its acts like I do not have a well tank in the line. My question is can this tanks get air in them? I had to clean the well out because it was pumping sand. Could the tank have sand in it ?

[Grady White]

Sounds to me like water may be running back to the well via a bad check valve.

[hkstroud]

Its acts like I do not have a well tank in the line

No, acts like leaking check valve as suggested above or leak in the line or the well pipe.

[rjbare]

If I had a bad checkvalve or a leak in the line it would turn on with out have water on somewhere right? As it is the pump only came on went I have water running in the house or out in the yard

[jlisenbe]

If it only shortcycles when you are using water, then it sounds like a ruptured bladder in your tank. There is a little air valve at the top of the tank. Press the valve stem a few seconds. You should get only air. If you get water, then the tank is bad. You can do a temp fix by turning off the power and draining the tank as much as possible through a low level faucet. Add 20 or 30 pounds of air to the tank with an air compressor. Turn the power back on. System should work fine for several weeks.

[Grady White]

If it only shortcycles when you are using water, then it sounds like a ruptured bladder in your tank. There is a little air valve at the top of the tank. Press the valve stem a few seconds. You should get only air. If you get water, then the tank is bad. You can do a temp fix by turning off the power and draining the tank as much as possible through a low level faucet. Add 20 or 30 pounds of air to the tank with an air compressor. Turn the power back on. System should work fine for several weeks.

The way I was taught do this is to turn off the pump, open a spigot, let the pressure drop to zero, add air to the tank to 2# below cut in. If your pump comes on at 40# you would want to pressurize the tank to 38#.
Another thing you can check, after setting the tank pressure, is tank sizing. Start with the tank at full pressure. Drain water until the pump kicks on. As soon as the pump comes on, shut off the water. Measure how long it takes for the pump to come up to cut off. If under a minute, the tank is undersized. The hardest thing on a pump, or any other motor, is starting.

[jlisenbe]

The way I was taught do this is to turn off the pump, open a spigot, let the pressure drop to zero, add air to the tank to 2# below cut in. If your pump comes on at 40# you would want to pressurize the tank to 38#.

That's true if the bladder is intact and the tank is good, but if the bladder is shot, then that becomes unimportant. As the weeks go by, the water will dissolve the air and the carefully set initial air pressure will continually decrease until the tank is once again waterlogged.

You also have a good point with sizing the tank, but again, that would not apply unless the tank is good. If the bladder is shot, then replacement is the only long-term solution.

[Grady White]

Yessir, if the bladder is bad you might as well go ahead & replace the tank.

[jlisenbe]

Work is for those who don't know how to fish.

That's good. I like that!

[Grady White]

Thank You. That tagline goes back to when I used to fish a lot. Since the fishing went to pot & gas at $3.50+ a gallon the boat sits a lot but I kept the tagline.

[speedball1]

When you pop the air snifter on top of the tank do you get water out? Back to you, Tom