Lightning strike, well pump box failed

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Yes, and thanks to my accident well is working great. I appreciate the replies.

 

[Valveman]

If the tank is upside down, water will come out of the Schrader as soon as the diaphragm goes bad. But if the Schrader is on top of the tank you won't see water come out until the tank is completely waterlogged. As was said, when the tank is right side up, the pump will have been rapid cycling for a while before any water will come out of the Schrader.

 

[steve tym]

We see water coming out of the Schrader valve frequently, it usually takes the pump out with it. Ignoring a bad tank will cost you both a pump and a tank

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Maybe when planning everything, I just didn’t get things sized properly, but my pump is cycling too fast and frequent. I am about to put in a large spin filter because we have had sand in the toilet tanks and clogging diffuser on some of the faucets. I have a smaller spin filter before the boiler but didn’t anticipate the at there would be enough debris to need a filter on the cold water.
This seems like a good time to put in a 26 gallon pressure tank, to help with the fast cycling of the pump. What I see online suggests the filter after the pressure tank. That seems lime ot could cause debris to accumulate in the tank and damage it or clog it over time. I am leaning to 26 gallons because of size, cost combination. Was considering the amtrol wellxtrol tanks since they are rated for 150 psi and I am already running 70psi. Should I put the spin filter before or after the pressure tanks? This is my current setup
View attachment IMG_5378.jpg

 

[ponytug]

Maybe when planning everything, I just didn’t get things sized properly, but my pump is cycling too fast and frequent. I am about to put in a large spin filter because we have had sand in the toilet tanks and clogging diffuser on some of the faucets. I have a smaller spin filter before the boiler but didn’t anticipate the at there would be enough debris to need a filter on the cold water.
This seems like a good time to put in a 26 gallon pressure tank, to help with the fast cycling of the pump. What I see online suggests the filter after the pressure tank. That seems lime ot could cause debris to accumulate in the tank and damage it or clog it over time. I am leaning to 26 gallons because of size, cost combination. Was considering the amtrol wellxtrol tanks since they are rated for 150 psi and I am already running 70psi. Should I put the spin filter before or after the pressure tanks? This is my current setup
View attachment 3371201

Put the filter before everything, especially your pressure switch.

If you have space for larger, I would go larger, if the well has enough drawdown to reduce pump cycling. A 26 gallon tank has about 14 gallons of capacity going from 38psi to 70psi. Not to derail things, but why 70psi? The typical window is 30-50psi, or 40-60psi. Higher pressure is just lost energy, unless there is a large difference in height.

All the best,

Peter

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Originally it was 40-60. I think the CSV was spec ed for that and for 60 psi. When we moved in I noticed fast cycle times. I contacted support and they suggested increasing pressure switch so I turned it up to 68-70 psi and that helped. But normal usage of water in the house still results in more short cycles than I would like. I don’t know if that contributed to the death of the capacitor or not, but I do know there are lots of times when the pump runs less than a minute and having an increased drawdown supply should help extend pump life My mechanical room is small and that was my original reason for going with the Cycle Stop, because of the smaller footprint. There is also size and cost. 26 gallon tank is small enough to fit my available space and allow for the spin filter and I can still get around them for maintenance. Also cost goes crazy as you increase size.
If I reduce pressure switch to 60 psi I suppose I could spend less and get a tank from lowest or home depot. Those are rated max pressure 100. Warranty is much less but since I am installing it I doubt anyone will honor a warranty anyway.
But looking at sizes, My available space maxes out at 32 gallons. After that it jumps from 15-22 width and I just wont be able to move around it as well

 

[ponytug]

Personally, I would ditch the cycle stop, but that has been thrashed extensively elsewhere, and I don't want to get into it here.

If you don't have the space, I'd go with the 26 gallon tank.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Carl_NH]

David, I would go with the WellxTrol 203 32 gal - its 15x47" so would fit in that corner on the floor under your existing tank. Just plumb it in series, also with your tank Tee on the new tank put a drain valve.

Also do not put the filter before the switch and tanks - that will cause problems. Add a block of wood and a bracket to the right side of the small tank and switch where the white PEX exits the switch, Put a good mounting bracket up, and hard pipe it with brass or SST 1" if you go with the bigger filter or the smaller filters 3/4" work fine for just the house water.

A shut off valve is nice to have on either side of the filter. so you can easily change the filters.

Last - your outside water - is it connected directly at the well feed line as I recall or does it go thru the same filter? That means you cannot put a check valve before the tank/switch if you have your outside lines plumbed into the lines before the pressure tank.

 

[Carl_NH]

The WellxTrol 203 32 Gal at 30/50 has 10 gal drawdown, and at 40/60 9 Gal is about the minimum you would want for the pump to run for about a minute.

The reasons to put the filter after the switch are many - when the filter starts to plug it can damage the pump, and if your concerned about particulates getting into the tank, thats the reason for the valve to drain the tanks once a year to flush out any sediment.

We have two of the WellxTrol 203 tanks in series, and a 3/4" whole house filter after the pump/tanks/switch set for 40/60, and then a 1" large filter for outside irrigation - after the tanks too. Our well was fracked so we had a lot of drilling fines and sediment for the first 5 years - now it;s much less. BTW, our Wellxtrol are 26 years old and still fine.

 

[WinterDeere]

Personally, I would ditch the cycle stop, but that has been thrashed extensively elsewhere, and I don't want to get into it here.

It's hard to argue with the simplicity and decades-long history of reliable operation from a plain old pressure switch and expansion tank, when properly sized and configured. There are endless theories on why CSV's and VFD's should be better, but I've honestly never felt any inclination to switch away from what just keeps working reliably two decades at a time, and is an easy quick repair when it eventually reaches end of life.