Bladder tank operation

Here's the skinny.
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Hello Two Dogs,

Learn something new Thanks!. Also you should know That the opposite is also correct. Air bladder on the top of the tank water enters on the bottom fills the tank not the bladder. Water pressure pushes against the bladder air pressure, all the rest is the same,

Guido.

Toe may toe....toe mah toe. I learned something too, thanks. I thought all of them had the water in the bladder so as to fight rust and corrosion. TDF

Hello two dogs,

I had a well system at the other house with no bladder. At one time I had an automatic gizmo that was supposed to put air in it automatically, never worked right. I'd drop the pressure to 20 add ten pounds of air and all was well for awhile,

Guido.

We are using an old water heater tank at our cabin, works great, but I pre-charge it in the spring and then add some air a couple of time in the summer. If something ever happened to me would anyone else know how to do that? It's a submersible pump so you really can't hear it rum, if I put my hand on the casing I can feel it.

I tried finding out more info and came up with several different styles. wel x troll calls theirs a bladder but looks to me more like a diaphragm ? but they are to have a plastic lining at the bottom where the water is.

Hello Russ from MN,


Don't you have a pressure gauge at the pump. The draw down volume, the pump on and off cycle, depends on the tank size. Rule of thumb for me is at least 1/3 water volume of the tank for the cycle. In other words when the pump stops you should be able to draw at least 1/3 the tank volume before the pump comes back on. If you have a bladder tank, the air pressure should be 2# less then the pressure the pump comes on. Hope I made it clear for you,

Guido.

I had a Sears 100 gallon with a bladder. When I got on community water I dismantled it. Shell is thin steel. The bladder, containing the water, is heavy duty plastic and the inlet is molded in as part of it. Air enters the tank through a shrader valve like you use on your tires. Forget the air pressure you use.

If the tank were completely full of water with no air cushion, as soon as you used any water the pressure would drop to atmospheric instantaneously and the pump would short cycle. You needed a certain amount of air to cause the pump to cycle when the bladder was almost empty. I think my drawdown was 30 gallons in that 100 gal tank (shell) between pump cycles.

With no bladder you had to worry about tank rusting/galvanizing, and over time the water would absorb the trapped air, reducing its volume and as it did your pump would shorten the time it short cycled. Letting the tank drain down and then recharging the air would get you ready for another round.

When I bought my place there was a water line running down the road across from the property but I couldn't get on it because the system was full per the FHA (financier) guidelines. What I did, per their recommendation, was to get a 500 gallon lift top SS milk tank and draw off the line at night my 500 gallon daily allowance. This fiasco lasted about a year, until the utility could get an expansion approved and implemented allowing for more connections.

Yes, I have a pressure gauge by the pressure control switch, but that's all in the crawl space under the cabin, so it's not readily accessible. What I meant was when I am using water outside I can go over by the well and feel and hear whether the pump is running. If I can draw out more than 5 gallons of water before the pump starts I don't worry about it, if it's less then I add some air. The way I add air is run a air hose from my shop to the outside silcock on the cabin, turn off the pump, bleed off the water pressure and then add air. With just an open tank (water heater tank) there is no danger of adding too much, and I have the air regulator set on 60. Then I turn off the air and start the pump and cycle it a few times to purge out the excess air and the dirty water. I have bought a new 20 gallon bladder tank and plan on installing it next summer. I have an unusual problem because the well is an artesian and sometimes and if I start taking pipes apart under the cabin water comes out without the pump running. After a rainy spell the well has flowed as much as 60 gpm at the overflow.

My first experience with a bladder tank was a Sears also. When I was hauling it out to where I was building a new house it rolled in the pickup box and broke the schrader valve off. I was able to take a ring like a victaulic clamp off the bottom and the whole bladder came out, and then I could install a new schrader valve. (valve stem) It looks like Sears still sells that same bladder for $65! On that style tank the water never touches the metal tank so no chance of rust.

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part-number/U20-13/0042/390.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=U20-13&sid=SPDxGPROD&gclid=CjwKEAiAwfzDBRCRmJe7z_7h8yQS

Hello Russ,

Five gallons sounds about right. I had the old style toilets at the other house. Two flushes without the pump coming on was my mark. Looks like you got it covered,

Guido.