How much water can a bicycle pump hold?Originally Posted by Jim Koepke
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How much water can a bicycle pump hold?
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If this is a house your considering purchasing, ask the buyer to make the repairs/replacement or decrease the agreed upon price for you to take care of correcting the problem after taking possession. That's the point in home inspections in the purchase process.
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It is a waterlogged tank and the procedure to fix it can be found with Google. It is pretty easy to do. If you have a well, it is worthwhile to learn to service it. The two typical repairs are the waterlogged tank and pressure switch. I always have a spare pressure switch.
I have also replaced the pressure tank. It is not difficult. Of course you can pay a plumber to do these things but not cheap.
The tanks come with the bladder inflated to some degree. Adding air through the top will work. If the tank is only 3 years old it is likely still under warranty for the current owner and can be replaced for free. I have one like this that has lasted over 20 years.
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Well X Trol tanks have a 7 year warranty.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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I agree that the issue should be on "the list" of things necessary to be fixed by the current owner or part of the financial negotiation dance if they are left to you. This could be as simple as properly configuring the tank, especially if it's only three years old. Having the air in there to balance the pressure and smooth out operation is important for the water supply. That's why the inspector called it out.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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To pass inspection they could of pumped in air and that would last a few weeks while it got inspected. It is possible they put in to much air pressure and ruptured the bladder. This tells me the owners did not know it was short cycling and did not know that is something they should have paid attention to. That tells me they probably did not do any maintinence anywhere else either, unless something failed. No clean and lube of heating/cooling system etc.
Bill D
Last edited by Bill Dufour; 08-27-2020 at 10:41 AM.
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We pumped air into the bladder. Can't remember what the neighbor told me about how it got low. He had called someone who told us what to do.
In the case of the OP buying a place, this is something you either have the current owner fix or have a reduction in price to cover any possible costs for repair.
It is like having the septic pumped and a roof that doesn't leak, unless one is in the business of buying, fixing and flipping.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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A simple test is to take something like a screwdriver and push the center of the air valve on top of the tank down (like you would to let air out of a bicycle tire). If water comes out the bladder has a hole in it and is bad. If only air comes out then what you'll need to do is find what pressure the pump turns on at. Then shut the whole system off, drain all the water out of the tank, and then using a bicycle pump or air compressor fill the tank up to 2 psi less than the pressure at which the pump turns on. Even a new tank, if it's a cheap one, can fail. This really is a case of if you spend more you get a better product.
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Yes, It does. There is no shortage of you tube videos on how to do it, if you need to.
Depending on the type of tank involved, most assuredly the pressure in the bladder must be checked periodically.
I have a Well-Trol, 35 gallon tank. On top of the tank is a schrader valve just like you would find on a bicycle. If you bleed some pressure through the schrader valve and water comes out the tank is shot. if just air comes out, the tank may need to be charged.
To charge the tank, shut off the well pump, bleed the water out of the tank, and when it is empty, inflate the bladder to 2 psi below the desired cut in pressure, or when the pump should turn on. Close the system up and restore power to the well pump.
I have been on a well pump for over thirty years. I try to once a year I check the pressure in the bladder and flush out the water heater at the same time. Sometimes I forget for a year or two, like this last year, and my pump tank bladder pressure was only 18psi when empty instead of 30-32 psi.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
No, if the bladder was set up properly to start with and there are no holes you don't need to add any air. I have had my bladder type tank for over 30 years and have never added any air to the bladder. My system used to supply both my house and the geothermal heat system so it has seen far more cycles than the average tank and it is still functioning normally. During the heating season it would cycle at least 6-8 times an hour 24/7.
Note: When you drain all the water out of a Well X Trol tank the bladder goes all the way down to the bottom of the tank. It would be nearly impossible to burst the bladder without distorting the tank. Too much air would make it hard for the pump to reach the high pressure setting on the control switch so it would run longer.
Last edited by Lee Schierer; 08-27-2020 at 5:27 PM.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute
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I beg to differ. Before replacing tank, check the Schrader valve. Sometimes they leak, allowing the air charge to also leak out. Easiest way to test one is the spit test. Depressurize the system, remove cap from Scharder valve, and charge system to about 30 PSI. Then using your finger, place a drop of spit onto valve. If it bubbles up, then the Schrader valve is leaking. Don't worry about spit getting into water, as valve only connects to top side of bladder. The cap on the Schrader valve has an "O" ring inside, so make sure it's screwed all the way down. Shcrader valve is the same as in car tires, FYI.
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I have well and septic. I found in doing research that a submerged well pump should generally run for one minute or longer when the pump is turned on. I bought my house AS-IS and the pressure tank was all rusty. I went from a 20 gallon to a 44 gallon tank. I have timed it and the pump runs for over a minute.
Member
What Alex said.
It is simple to see if the bladder has failed by either removing the schrader valve or by opening it. Be sure that the well pump is turned on. If water comes out, the tank needs to be replaced.
Tanks usually are pre-charged with the correct amount of air, and have a chart in the instruction sheet that lists the recommended pressures for various installations.
[OP]
Member
Okay I had a well company come out finally..... I have the old style with the air volume control valve. They showed me how to drain it out and just said it needs to be done periodically when it starts to short cycle. He changed the filter too and put a 50 micron filter on. I don't think that's fine enough. Looks like they make 25 micron filters and 5 micron filter that will fit my filter head. Can I use the 5 micron or will that just cloth in an instant? The guy who came out wasn't very detail oriented in that kind of thing. I do have an on demand water heater I don't want clogging up with sediment.
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