[luqui80]

I have a well pump with a well-x-troll wx102 bladder system and it has been short cycling. After looking up some stuff online I found out to check the air pressure in the bladder. So I put a tire pressure gauge to the top of the bladder and a bit of water escaped from the top of it and no pressure. Does this mean I have to get a new bladder for the pump?

I'm thinking the bladder inside the housing broke. I've read that iron in the water can cause a bladder to harden and eventually break. We have a shallow well and get stains on the sidewalk from our water. That's why I'm thinking this has happened.

Thanks in advanced

[hkstroud]

Certainly sounds like a ruptured bladder. Until you can replace the tank;
Turn pump off.
Drain tank, open a faucet to let air in and open the drain valve.
When all water is drained of tank, close faucet and drain valve.
Pressurize tank to 2 lbs below pump cut in pressure.

Turn pump on.

[creahands]

If getting water out of air valve, as Harold said, u have a ruptured bladder. Need to replace tank.

Good luck

Chuck

[luqui80]

Great, I ordered a new one. Thanks for your help guys!! I guess I'll be waiting for it before I run the pump again. Don't want to risk burning out my pump.

[luqui80]

Ok, so I put in the new bladder and it seems to be working fine. The pump turns on at 30psi, I adjusted the pressure of the tank before installing to 28, and turns off at 60psi. Now I have a new question, should my pump be cycling on every 30 sec. like it's doing or should I turn up the cut out pressure so that the pump never stops running?

[hkstroud]

No, pump should not be cycling every 30 seconds. Something wrong unless you have incredibly small tank. How big is the tank?

Suggest you drain tank and check tank. I would drain tank, pressurize it up to about 60 lbs, open faucet or drain valve, wait a while to see if tank holds pressure. If tank holds pressure, bleed off pressure to 28 lbs and try again. Pump should come on and pump up to 60 lbs. and hold until water is used.

[luqui80]

The pump seems to be working fine. The tank is only 4.4gal. It does kick on at the set cut in and out pressure settings. If I turn up the cut out pressure the pump keeps running.

PS this is for a sprinkler system.

[hkstroud]

4.4 gallons??
You may as well not have a tank. You use about 2 or 3 gallons of water and the pump will come on again. Pump life is dependent on the number of times it has to start.

Now I can understand why it cycles so often. If increasing the cut out pressure makes the pump run continuously that only means the well pump can not achieve the higher pressure.

Unless the pump is designed for this kind of use, suggest you get a considerable larger tank.

[luqui80]

Right, so is it bad for the well pump to never reach the higher pressure when running sprinklers? I had the sprinklers put in last year and that's what the pump did, just run all the time. Just run until the sprinklers were done. Even when I turn on the hose it would just run.
It was short cycling like crazy this year, turning on and off very very rapidly and would pop my circuit breaker. That's why I replaced the 4.4 gallon bladder tank with the same one as the old one.

[creahands]

Get a 40 0r 60 gal tank. This will stop the short cycling. The settings u have are fine and will work for larger tank.

Chuck

[luqui80]

At this point I can't afford a $400 to $500 tank replacement.

[creahands]

Go to plumbing supply or big box store and price them. I believe a 40 gallon starts at about $225. Found a Protec 42 gal on line for $155 and free shipping. Google "bladder tank".

Chuck

[luqui80]

I'll check out those links. Thanks!
Also, I looked up my pump online and found out:

"Powered for Continuous Operation:
Pump ratings are within the motor manufacturer's recommended working limits. Can be operated continuously without damage.
Built in Thermal Overload protection on single phase motors."

So it should be able to run just fine right? Without the need for a bigger tank/additional expense?

[jlisenbe]

The problem with a pump is not continuous operation, it is the constant turning off/on of short cycling. A pump, when it turns on, goes through more "work" for that second or two than any other time. That is what you want to avoid. A 4 gallon tank is entirely too small. You should be able to pick up a thirty or forty gallon bladder tank for around 150 to 200.