Question for people with a well

[timswi]

Larry, wouldn't that cause waterlogging though...Constant cycling. That's what happened when my badder went.

 

[Dale_Alan]

Pressure guage is wrong.
Dale

 

[eepete]

I had my pump at on at 25 PSI, off at 55 PSI. I have heard a lot of horror stories from people who run 80 to 100 PSI off of either well or municipal system. Eventually, stuff just leaks.
Two well experiences for me:

When my bladder went south, it was constant rapid cycling. Replaced the tank and added another. That way, if one goes I can notice the change in cycle time (by the change in water pressure) as I use water. Works, one tank went and I replaced it without any time pressure like you would have for a single tank. 2nd tank can be small, like 25 gallon or so.

2nd experience: The tube leading from the pressure vessel to the pressure switch got clogged up with mud over time. This resulted in the pressure going up to about 80 PSI before shutdown, and down to near zero before turn on. The mud caused a time delay since the water had to slowly percolate through it.

Common theme here is be aware of the cycle time and pressure of the system when you use water. That way you can catch problems before they get bad.
Oh yeah- if you get the mud in the pipe, drain down the system before you put the coat hanger wire in the clogged pipe. Trust me.

Pete

 

[mjncad]

Did your horse washing neighbor have your permission to use YOUR well water?

 

[Kays Supply]

One thing to keep in mind. It takes 1# of pressure at the water level to raise water 2.3'. So you must have enough pressure at water level to get the water to your tank plus the high limit. So if you have a deep well and a high limit, you can burst pipes by over pressure at the pump. 60/40 is the standard setting on a deep well , submersible pump switch. 50/30 for a jet pump. When you build a house, there is a system using a pressure regulator on your system that will give you one pressure swing and then constant pressure until you turn off the tap. Jacuzzi designed it, but you can make your own out of aftermarket parts.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Not really a good idea to wash a horse right at the well head. Wash horses 50-100 feet away from the well head to avoid contamination.

 

[MossRoad]

Wellllll, our well pump just barfed two weeks ago, so I got to see them set up everything like new. With zero pressure in the system they inflated our pressure tank to 35PSI. Then they turned the well on and set the max pressure shutoff to 60PSI and the min pressure turn on to 40PSI. Works great. The well guy said he would set it lower if we had plastic pipes.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry, wouldn't that cause waterlogging though...Constant cycling. That's what happened when my badder went.

Exactly. That follows from my second sentence. The air dissolves in the water. As the amt of air decreases the delivery per cycle decreases. Even with the bladder popped a tank can be used be adding air every couple weeks to maintain the expansion volume. Takes attention but the tank will usually go a couple more years before it must be replaced due to rustout.
larry

 

[BungeeII]

If you have a 100 psi tank, it stands to reason that's where you should be operating it at. This has to do with cutoff/cut-on range that's been discussed, and more importantly, with the air charge. As Spyderlk has pointed out, the tank is charged with air pressure just below the rated cut-on level.

So, if your tank is factory set for an 80 psi minimum, you'll need to compensate for this if you lower the pressure on the switch, otherwise you could empty the water tank completely as the switch comes on. (fraction of a second, as the pressure drops from 70+ to nil on the last few ounces of water.)

Then again, if you had your 100 psi tank in service out there already AND had it operating at the lower pressure range, then the installer likely made the air adjustment in the tank.

 

[FlaDon]

Most tanks have air over a water bladder. This keeps the air from being absorbed by the water which finally would result in no air left in the tank to act as a spring to push the water out. Normally the air pressure precharge is set slightly below the cuton pressure with no water in the tank. When the pump comes on the bag fills compressing the air around it. For max water delivery per fill cycle you want the precharge very near but below the cuton pressure. When you raise the water pressure setting without raising the precharge you wont get as much water delivery between run cycles... but, much worse, you may overfill the bag and burst it. In some tanks the bag can expand enuf to fill the tank and prevent this. Hope yours is that way, otherwise your horse washer may have popped your bag when he upped pressure to 100#.
larry

Depends on how big a tank you have, age, and where you are located if they have bladders. Ours does not and is a 100 gallon tank of galv steel. It has an air control valve on it to control the amount of air maintained in the tank.

Like most others, it is set at 60-40.