Well Pressure, Water Flow

I know this seems a little simplistic but if the springs in the old guage are getting weak you could be thinking you are setting the pressures at 45 and 60 and be actually setting them at 20 and 30.

I have seen guages that read 50 with no pressure in them at all.

JM2CW

JT

The only reason for a pressure tank is to store water so that if you go to the fridge and take 1/2 a glass of water the pump doesn't have to start and stop constantly.

With that said, here is the first test. Use enough water to get the well started pumping then quit using water and let the well fill the pressure tank. When it quits, the pressure tank should be full and ready to go. Have someone listen and start taking water out of a faucet. if the well starts immediately the pressure tank is not doing its job - hence waterlogged or bladder broken. If there is a couple gallon lag (plus or minus) before the well starts then all is good with the pressure tank.

Next test: Use water until the well starts then stop using water and let the well fill the the tank and quit just like above to prepare for the next test. Now, start using water. The important thing is to notice when the water starts running slow in relation to when the well starts pumping. If the water keeps going fast until the well starts, then slows down, you are basically taking water out of the system as fast as your well is pumping - could be a sign your well isn't functioning properly, has an intake screen plugged, or worse case scenario - there isn't quite enough water down in your well to keep the pump full (called drawdown and cone of depression)

However, I bet the water basically starts slowing down a few seconds after u turn it on. Here is a good scenario of what might be happening. Imagine you have a well and a pressure tank in your house. Now hook a garden hose up. if you put a valve and a pressure gauge at the end of the hose before you turn the water on the pressure gauge should say the same as the gage on the pressure tank (lets say 55). now open the valve some. as the water starts flowing the air in the pressure tank starts expanding pushing the water out - the gage drops slightly, but stays at about 53 lets say. BUT out on the end of the hose, the gage may only say 45, because something is working to push the water through the hose - that is why the larger hose you use - the less pressure drop you will get. Now take the experiment further. Hook 15 cheap crappy 1/2" garden hoses together. Before you start taking any water out the end of the last hose the gage on the end hose and at the house will both say 55 again. now open the valve. again, the pressure tank gage drops slightly to push the water out - to like 53 or so. BUT out on the end of the garden hose the pressure keeps dropping and dropping until out on the end it is only like 25 - ll of this pressure drop is because of the amount of resistance in all that long small garden hose.

Now to go back to your situation. IF this is the case, your long pipe runs may be getting plugged, or deposits along the sides, etc. a pressure tank at each house would help - because just like the long garden house analogy, if you had a tank at the house and at the end of the long hose you would use like 15 or 20 gallons before it would seem to start slowing down, but once u have used the water in the tank at your end of the line the flow will slow down again.

Hope this helps make things clear as mud

Check and make sure your pressure tank isn't waterlogged. If it is, and is old style,add air. If bladder type, replace.Mguy.

You probably have a screen on the bottom of your well pump suction thats pluged. Measure the out put of the well pump will confirm this.

Bladder tanks require a 2psi "higher" pressure than pump cut on pressure or you will suck the rubber bladder out of the pipe fitting each pump cycle thus cutting a hole in the bladder.

On multi-user wells we find it's more cost effective to run the well pump into a storage tank then use a pressure pump with a bladder tank for each home. Our wells are 400ft to 500ft deep tho so our well pump replacement cost is expensive.

T_Bone

One tank should be fine, two would perhaps let the pump rest longer, less starts = longer life. You could check valve it so each house has a bit of water if the other sys goes down. But we keep getting more complicated & expensive. What you have should be fine once the restriction is found.

--->Paul