Well system and well house got to love to hate them

old

Well-known Member
So I noticed the other day that my water was surging a bit. But it has been to cold out to check it out with out the risk if having things freeze up. So since it is around 40 out I figured time to check it out. As I figured the system was water logged super bad plus the temp in the well house was cold enough to have ice on the floor. Turned the system off and then started putting in air and also had pump off. I pretty much drain the bigger of the 2 tanks and filled it with air. Also found the well house heater was not turned up as high as it should have been plus the rats have made havoc of the insulation so will have to see about adding more insulation
 

My pump and pressure tank is in a pit that is about 4 1/2 ft deep (I'm 6'2" tall), about 50 feet from the house and next to the old cistern and the spring house. Several years ago we lost water pressure and upon looking down into the pit noticed the wire to the pump had burnt in half. Had to re-wire it with temps in the single digits and a blizzard raging over my head. Not fun working with electric (shut off, of course, but still) down in a wet hole in that kind of weather.
 
That is one thing nice about me I have worked with electrical stuff ever since I was in the Navy and done it of an on for many years as a living so no big deal. I did learn to respect 3 phase power and happy I no longer work on/with it
 
Old, didn't you have water logged tanks before? Did you replace them or just add air? Adding air is a short term fix.

Before bladder tanks wasn't there an air pump on old holding tanks? It worked similiar to the fuel pump on air cooled engines. As the pressure inside of tank changed a diafram would add a small amount of air to tank. I remember seeing one on a storage tank back in the 50's. It had a small copper line running back to the pump.
geo
 
My pump system is decades old and rigged up form used parts and pieces I came up with years ago. No bladder tanks just the old when they need air you air them up system. Up till I had to replace the pump this past summer I had it set up so the check valve was just before the tanks and the pipe had a pin hole in it so that when the pump turned off the pipe would drain and in turn the next time the pump came on it would push a colum of air into the tank before the water and that kept the system form water logging but the new pump has the check valve built in so that will not work any more
 
The tank on the house I bought in 1977 was the orginal tank when house was built in 1952. It too had a check valve and some kind of air pump that added air. I googled and couldn't find such an air pump. I even found a new one in my garage when I bought the place . No clue what happened to it.

There is no reason you can't install a bladder tank anyplace instead of out in the cold.
 
Yes there is a reason I do not install a bladder tank it is called they cost $400 plus and the system I have cost me not even 1/10 of that other then the new pump. Shoot the first pump I had cost me all of $5. Ya I had to repair it but it worked just fine for well over a decade
 
Old, sounds to me like you need to connect an air hose to the tank and run it to a warm place where you can add air.
Or tell yourself to add air on the first of each month.

I'm glad my pump and tank are in a basement that never gets much below 50 year around.
geo
 
I have an old Demster pump in a pit probably from the 30s or 40s. No bladder tank just big air tank just add air in spring and then in fall. No big deal.
 

I have a 5 ft tall, 5 ft dia concrete tile down in the ground with a top on it and a manhole cover in the top for access.
A 80 gallon bladder tank, pump switch and valves are under ground in this tile, it hasn't froze in the 18 years it been there.
It's located 1200 ft from my house and supplies water to cisterns at five of my families homes, we each have a pump in our cisterns to supply water to each house, my 20 gallon bladder tank and switch is in the house on a shelf above the hot water heater.
 
Hellk old,

A 20 gallon bladder tank should be $140 or so, not $400? Even the 40 gallons are about $375. You did not say the size or I missed it,

Guido.
 
Hello Geo-TH, In,

I had one of those in my old house. Some kind of diaphram, I was putting air in once a month after it went bad,

Guido.
 
The well at the farmhouse is across the road,,the pit is in a farm building, In the late fall I cover the top of the pit with blueboard insulation,,then two old carpets,I put a drop light in the pit,but dont plug it in until its real cold.There is a submersable pump in the well,and a bladder tank.The water line goes under the road to the farmhouse,,I hope it never springs a leak,it is a busy road
 
20 gal ones in my area are $400 plus and my system right now has a 30 gal one and a 15 gal one set up in tandem
 
Most of the time it takes 3 or more months for it to give me any problems. Today I just fired up my old 1980 Chev and turn on the under hood compressor and ran the air hose to the well house. Took maybe 30 minutes told to get every thing working as it should including setting the heat back up etc
 
I've look at bladder tanks in my area and every one I have found are in the $400 range no matter how big or small. I have either a 30 or 40 gal tank for one of the 2 and the other is a 15 or 20 gal tank hooked up in tandem. System is in the same well hose my dad started to build but he never finished it. Two walls are rock and concrete and the roof and other 2 walls are 2X4 and plywood. at open time it was well insulated but the rats ripped it all off and most years I have little or no problem but once in a while thing have to fight you
 
In around 1960, both my dad and grandfather put in wells and pumps. They both had experience with pressure tanks so they were looking for a better way. My uncle worked for a place that sold a thing that looks like a 6" pipe about 2' long with a fitting on each end. They had something like a rubber tube about 1"ID inside the larger 6"tube. They were mounted upright with the supply side on the bottom. The plug in the top was only opened long enough to fill the rubber tube with water, then plugged and forgotten. As the pressure rose, the rubber tube swelled inside the outer tube. When the pressure drops the rubber tube maintains pressure till the pump starts, just like a pressure tank. I still have the one on the well at my Grandfathers house. It works like it did on day one. My Dads worked problem free till about 10 years ago when the county bought the place and ran a road thru the house and well area.
I seems like these were called something like "Hydro Cell". I have never seen them anywhere else however.
I always thought these were the way to go, as they are maintence free.
Best of luck to you guys on wells (I now am on City water and use the well for out-door uses).
Tim in OR
 
Old, it sounds to me like you love to hate what you have. When my wells go bad, I call a 5th generation well driller and install a new well with pump in well. No well house to fight rats, flooding or freezing up. New tank in a warm place that never freezes.

The last well I installed was around $2800 and it delivers 10 gallons a minute. I installed a hydrant at the well and one at the pole barn. Comes in handy when watering the garden and flowers. I'm glad I got rid of the old well.

It sounds like you like to fix things with old used parts and then fight it.

I like to fix things one time, fix it the right way.

Now BUBBA might take an old water heater and use as a holding tank installing it backwards. Water comes in on the hot side and removes water on cold side that way you can add air to top of tank. That's doing it on the cheap side.
Geo
 
We fought those well house problems for years. Warm it up and fight rodents, let it stay cold and fight freezes, yuk. We had decent equipment but failures always seemed to happen when it was stupid cold out. At the new place the well is 6 foot from the house and is new enough that it has the pitless adapter. Pipe runs into the basement and the tank and switch is right there where it can be worked on, I am like in hog heaven, LOL. Lowes had a scratch and dent pressure tank for 50% off and brought it home and stuck it in the spares pile.
 
(quoted from post at 05:36:11 12/21/16)
The last well I installed was around $2800 and it delivers 10 gallons a minute.
Geo

Is that for drilling and every thing ?
Your water table must be just below ground level.
I live on top of a hill, the house well is drilled 425ft with 1 1/2 hp pump, had to case 320ft, cost me $10k in 98.
The poultry house well is 520ft with 2 hp pump, they hit a mud cave at 65ft and blew the top of the well getting the bit out, then hit bad water at 325ft so that well has triple casing, 20ft of 10", 80ft of 6" and 340ft of 4", cost me $16k in 05
Neighbors down in the valley can hit water at 100ft, it cost big bucks to drill a well on top of a hill, but I do enjoy the view.

John
 
Butch our pressure tank has always been in the basement - even in the old farm house. I got lucky in 2015 just before starting construction on the new house. The local farm store (Orschlen's) had put a 119 gallon bladder tank originally priced at over $900 on clearance for like $290 and it came home with me. My well guy said I STOLE it when he installed it. He says that big tank is better but he can't sell hardly any because they cost so much. Mike
 
The have it drilled cost me around $500. The guy went down 15 feet and hit water and for the next 20 or so feet pumped my small lake backwards. He also hit 2 caves as he drilled. He then hit what he called good water at 75 feet and asked me if I wanted to stop or go deeper and I told him go at least 100 feet which is how deep it is. Once he was done I checked water level and it was 19.5 feet from the top of the casing which sticks up 2 foot.
 
My well pit was probably top of the line 1950 technology , about 6 x 8 cement block about 9 foot deep, but after about 3 days of rain the blocks leak so I have to keep an eye on the sump pump.
 
My well house cannot be dug in like many are since you dig down 6 inches and you hit solid rock. The water line that comes into the house is only 6 inches deep so this time of year I have to have at least one faucet that drips 24/7
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top