Bladder in the well..........

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WoodMann

Minister of Fire
Feb 9, 2008
670
New Mexico
Howdy folks, well another question reagarding home maintenance. I bled out some air from the well tank via the shreader valve at the top and got water after a bit which leads me to believe that the bladder is ruptured some how. Would this observation be correct? I find this odd because it's a shared well with 2 tanks and having bled them both I only hit water on the one, GF's tank. Another observation is that GF has airey water that comes out foggy and settles after about a minute in the glass, the neighbor who is on the other tank has crystal clear water. Any inputs, experiences? Does GF need a new tank? Can we just go on like this? THanks for y'alls answers and inputs............
 
Are you sure there was a bladder in the tank to begin with? Not all tanks had them, especially if this one has some years on it. Air pressure in the tank should be 2 psi lower than the pressure switch cut-in setting.
 
Why did you bleed air out? Was there a problem with the way things were working? Bleeding air out will usually lead to effectively lowering the working volume of the tank and increasing short cycling of the pump. Although if there was a bladder in it, and it had a hole in it, short cycling should have already been happening.

Did you check PSI before you bled?
 
Well maple, no- I just bled because there was lousy pressure- which I ultimately ended up installing a new pressure switch; pressure is wonderful now, it's just the observance of the clarity of water between the neighbor and us. Now that ya mention it master, the GF's tank is obviously older, so I guess we may not have a bladder possibly, would that make a difference? Also- I've heard of something like a spiral aerator, would anyone know something more about them.................
 
Shut the pump off and drain the tank. Now give it a shake, do you hear/feel any amount of water sloshing around? If so the bladder is shot, time for a new tank, go as large as your wallet allows, your pump will thank you. Sometimes its cheaper to hook up two in parallel then buy one larger one. Find out your pumps cut-in pressure and charge your tank to 2-3psi below this setting. Make sure you always check your pressure tanks air pressure with an empty tank.
 
I'll check that out, never thought to check that when I had drained the tanks recently.............
 
Google the proper test sequence, but I believe you shut off the pump and drain pressure from the water system, then measure the air pressure at the valve, it should be approximately 2-3 psi below pump cut in pressure. If lower, then you need to pump it back in (carefully, or you will have a burst bladder). I needed to add air to mine, and it made a huge difference. Your well pump is probably cutting in and out like crazy, which could create turbulence and cause your symptoms

TE
 
Sorry, ben away fer awhile. I'll work on a pic.................
 
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