Pressure switch/well pump issue?

[ah55]

Hello,
I have recently encountered a problem with my well that has me a bit confused. I have a submersible well pump that I've never dug up so I do not know the brand. A couple of months ago my well pressure tank bursted, so I changed it with a flotec pressurized tank, all has worked well since then.

Well, recently I have noticed a drop in water pressure, not huge but noticeable. When I turn off the breaker to the well and drain the tank via the kitchen sink, not much water comes out, maybe 3 gallons until its dry. I believe the flotec unit is 18 gallons and it is also piggybacked to another older tank. After I turn the breaker back on, the pump never noticeably kicks on. it doesn't make any noise as far as motors running but you can hear the water filling the tank and the gauge builds to 40psi. The pressure switch is a square D unit if that helps, with no apparent low pressure kickout switch.

I am wondering if this leans more towards the pressure switch or the well pump? I have working water, which I would think I would not if the well pump went bad. I cleaned the wiring to the pressure switch and still nothing. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Armond

 

[speedbump]

I don't know how old your Flotec is, but 1.5 years is their average life expectancy in my experience. There are much better tanks out there and they don't cost much more if any more than a big box tank. Your submersible pump will cost somewhere between $1000.00 and $1800.00 to replace and the job of a bladder tank is to protect that pump/motor.

The other tank that is piggy backed with the Flotec is probably in the same shape.

You say this is an 18 gallon tank. Does that mean it will physically hold 18 gallons or that it's equivalent to an 18 gallon galvanized tank? Or what are it's dimensions?

 

[ah55]

Thanks for the response. The Flotec is a 19 gallon capacity it says. I would put it at a little under a year old. Is that what you think the problem would be is the pressure tank? When I first started doing some nosing around, I found that it had 11 pounds of air in it, so I filled it to 18 per the cut in instructions. Maybe the bladder broke or something?

 

[speedbump]

It would be my guess that the tank is bad. Did you drain all the pressure before making your air adjustments?

The odds of the bladder breaking are very good.

 

[ah55]

Yes, I drained the tank before I checked the pressure. That is where I discovered that only about 3 gallons came out of the kitchen sink, where it used to be quite a bit til empty. You think the tank would be bad even though it showed 11 pounds? if so what brand do you recommend? Thanks.

 

[speedbump]

Since it's a Flotec, I have no doubt that its bad. Even if the bladder was still in tact, where did the air go?

I sell and highly recommend Flotec Bladder Tanks they and the Well X Trol are the only two I would even consider.

 

[Valveman]

Even a cheap tank will last longer if you stop the pump from cycling on and off excessively.