Rusty Water and A Pressure Tank Mess

[emcdonel]

Hello, everyone!

I'm Erik and I'm new here. I admit, I am here for your knowledge. I was hoping you could answer a question for me. Note the attached, please.

My problem started when, as a first-time homeowner, I didn't realize that to unscrew the bottom of our whole-house filter, I had to release the pressure via a button on top. I ended up torqueing the container too hard with the removal tool and snapped the incoming (PVC) water line.

To repair, I had to drain two (?) pressure tanks, a newer blue one on the floor and an old white one on a shelf. When I drained the white tank, an *enormous* amount of rust came out in the water, to the point it was almost like draining mud.

You'll see I was sloppy with the primer, sorry. I was in a hurry. I also realize I put the valve too low and now need to move it up six inches, but that's beside the point, and I'll fix that.

The point is that when I turned the pump back on and everything refilled, I was getting rusty water at all the faucets. It would run clear at first and then, in about five seconds, run very rusty for about twenty seconds, and then run almost clear. It's been doing this for a week now, with absolutely no improvement. It is both hot and cold water, so it's not the water heater. I also checked the filter, which comes into play before the pressure tanks, and they are very clean.

Incidentally, the hardware is for a spring, not a well.



Here are my questions, oh wise ones:

1) Why are there two pressure tanks? Is that normal or not? I've noticed the previous homeowners did all kinds of bizarre things, so maybe this is one of them? Or it's normal?
2) Can I just remove the older white pressure tank that I believe is causing the problem, just leaving the blue one on the floor?
3) If I do this, is it a problem that the pressure tank sits on the floor, a good seven feet below where the water comes in?
4) Or do I need two pressure tanks?

 

[speedbump]

I can't tell where the pipes are going with that useless cartridge filter in the way. Two tanks is rather abnormal, however I have four. It really doesn't matter where they are in relation to the pump as long as the pressure switch is near one. "Your in good shape there" The iron and gookie water is a normal thing once you have released the pressure from the system. If I read your post right, you relieved it all at once when the pipe broke.

The white tank is a mystery to me, I don't recognize the sticker. The blue one is a Flotec (junk) and if it isn't bad already, probably will be soon.

The thing to do is run the bathtub full blast until the water clears, then run the other faucets one at a time until clear. "It will clear up, some water just takes longer than others"

I would remove the cartridge from the in line filter and leave it out. It will remove nothing harmful and is not a water softener or iron filter. Yes, it will catch some crud, which simply makes you buy more cartridges.

By the way, there should be no valves or filters in front of the tank/pressure switch.

If you want to learn more than you ever wanted to know about bladder tanks, click on the link below.