[itbelinda]

WE have well water in our house. One day there was no water. My husband flipped the breaker and then the water started working again. But we noticed the pressure tank is not filling with water. Someone suggested we change the pressure switch, which we did. Still no water in the tank. Can anyone help a couple of plumbing dummies??

[Dr1757]

Periodically your suppose to drain the tank, then when it refills you have space for air that will compress which gives you the needed pressure.

[jlisenbe]

It, it depends on what type of pressure tank you have. You probably have a tank which is painted (not galvanized) and has a little air valve (like a tire valve) at or near the top. If that is the case, then you need to turn off the system, drain water out an outdoor faucet until pressure is zero, then set the pressure at the top of the tank to 2# BELOW the point at which your pump cuts on. So, for example, if your pump turns on at 30#, you would set the pressure at 28#. Turn the system back on, and you are set.

Don't worry too much about water entering the tank. That usually resolves itself in a few weeks.

Changing the pressure switch was not needed, but the fact that it threw the breaker is a little troubling.

If you have a tank with the air valve (called a bladder tank), then I'm not clear why you would need to periodically drain the tank. In fact, that would not be productive.