Reduced Pressure at Fixtures

[molson]

I'm on a well and have a fleck softener. Over the last few months it appears our flow rates are slowing at fixtures. No scale build up on taps. Water appears soft. Well cut in and cut out look good (30 in, 68 out...maybe a bit high!). Pressure tank looks good (no short cycling). I didnt have a clue unti my wife reported today that water was leaking from the freezer ice cube maker! She also said the softerner was currently in re-charge mode. Might I have a clogged resin tank? How do I determine? (I think the softner going into bypass mode short circuited the pressure drop from flow through resin bed and the weak link in plumbing system was the ice cube valve) Am I on right track?

 

[speedbump]

I'm not sure the pressure problem and ice cube thing are related. 68 shouldn't be too high, but having a 38 pound differential might prove to be annoying.

Try bypassing the softener and see if the pressure gets better. If it does, there is your answer.

Is it all faucets that are slowing down or just certain ones? If the softener is the culprit, they all should be effected, but some may not be as noticeable as others.

 

[molson]

Thanks Speedbump. It seems all the fixtures are affected..especially if multiple on. Shower water for example drops when dishwasher goes on or toilets flush. I'm having the resin changed out as soon as local softener guy calls back (they appear slammed around here). Another issue issue has cropped up and that is air in the pipes. I'm not sure if that is related to the softener but I'm going to eliminate that variable first. Maybe I have a well problem too. Someone said a fitting in well that diverts the water horizontally into the house may be culprit. When it rains it poors!

 

[speedbump]

That fitting might be a pitless adaptor if you have one. You could also have holes in your galvanized drop pipe if you have galvanized pipe. It could be a split in PVC pipe. But for any of the above to be the culprit, you would have to have a check valve somewhere after the leak. Usually up by the storage tank. That can cause air in the lines.

 

[Driller1]

Thanks Speedbump. It seems all the fixtures are affected..especially if multiple on. Shower water for example drops when dishwasher goes on or toilets flush. I'm having the resin changed out as soon as local softener guy calls back (they appear slammed around here). Another issue issue has cropped up and that is air in the pipes. I'm not sure if that is related to the softener but I'm going to eliminate that variable first. Maybe I have a well problem too. Someone said a fitting in well that diverts the water horizontally into the house may be culprit. When it rains it poors!

Is it wet near the wellhead??

If it is leaking there in time it will be.

Also could be a hole in the drop pipe.

 

[molson]

OK. Pitless adapter - thats what I heard about The well head has no water around it. I'm going to take the well cap off and check out the riser and casing when I get home. Maybe I can see or hear something going wrong. The horizintal line (it is a rigid rubber hose it appears) going into my home looks about 6 feet under the ground so I might not be able to see anything. I'll look for a check valve mentioned too. If I come up empty, I'll find a good well guy.

 

[speedbump]

That black hose is probably poly pipe. It's good stuff, but right where it connects to the pitless under ground is where the settling of the dirt can pinch it off at the end of the barb fitting. That may be where it's leaking. Or it's possible the O-ring on the pitless tee is bad.

 

[molson]

Just to close this isue out, I had the resin water softener resin flushed out. Also, the contractor saw a loose brine hose. This was the source of sporadic air being introduced into the system.

Both the air in pipes and the low flow issues appear resolved.

Thanks for the opinions. Maybe this problem helps someone else out.