Water flow direction?

[treekris]

Hello all,

We recently purchased a home with a well and this is my first well. I'd like to install a water softener and a sediment filter in the pvc line between the two pipes that are coming out of the wall. My question is (and I am embarrassed to be asking this question because there is probably a very obvious answer): which way is the water flowing, or, which pipe (top or bottom) is coming into the house from the well? I want to know the direction of water flow to properly set up my filter and softener inlet/outlet. Thanks for any help or advice!

 

[RS]

I would think the bottom line coming out of the wall is the one from the well, but it looks smaller than what I have used, I have always used 1 inch black poly. Another thing, there is a valve in the top line, and there should never be a valve in the line from the well to the pressure tank. If this is all true, then the water is flowing up in the pipe in between. I would install the filter before the softener, you will have less trouble with the softener.

 

[treekris]

I would think the bottom line coming out of the wall is the one from the well, but it looks smaller than what I have used, I have always used 1 inch black poly. Another thing, there is a valve in the top line, and there should never be a valve in the line from the well to the pressure tank. If this is all true, then the water is flowing up in the pipe in between. I would install the filter before the softener, you will have less trouble with the softener.

Thanks RS - I really appreciate the help. My thought was that the bottom line was coming in from the well also.

 

[Twowaxhack]

That blue handled gate valve needs to be replaced with a ballvalve.

I would tell you to turn it off and then see if you still have constant flow out of the hose Bibb near the floor in your pic.

If the bottom pipe is the feed line with the blue handled valve off you should have constant pressure at that hose Bibb. You have a bladder tank so it will have some pressure but if the bottom pipe is the man feed, it’ll keep flowing.

But if you turn the blue handled gate valve off you may never get it back on. They’re bad about stripping out and the gate coming off the handle stem.

 

[treekris]

Twowaxhack - great tip, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks!