water pressure spiking

[brianfulcher15]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forums, and joined because im having a issue with water pressure, and water spraying out of the pressure release valve at the bladder tank.

Looking for some opinions of what I should replace to remedy this issue.

here's a link to a video showing the issue.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_TyZa7lE2w[/ame]

The various things I've read online seem to be saying replace the pressure release valve, but some also said to replace the switch; however I could never really find anything that I felt detailed enough to trust.

 

[phishfood]

Wells and pumps are not my particular area. Hopefully one of the guys who knows a bit more about this checks in. But I am wondering if your well tank isn't waterlogged.

Is it a bladder tank, what brand, how old?

 

[brianfulcher15]

going by the stickers on the tank is says its a perma tank water systems brand, and its a hydro pneumatic pump tank. It has a tire valve on top so im pretty sure its a bladder tank.

I don't think the tank is bad because there is no water squirting out of the valve on top. when its not spraying water out, the gauge reads a steady 70 psi

 

[johnjh2o]

You have a bad bladder tank. That is what is causing the short cycling of the pump ant the relief valve problem.

 

[brianfulcher15]

what are the downsides to me not replacing this immediately?

Also just had another though.

If when the home sellers had the water turned back on, and they did not put air back into the pressure tank would it cause this same issue? It was my understanding that they had all the water drained and the house was on the market through 2 winters before I bought it.

 

[johnjh2o]

The down side is a pump that is short cycling, it will cause premature failure of the pump.

 

[speedbump]

Its definately a tank problem. If the pressure gauge is reading correctly, spiking up to almost 90 lbs is a bit excessive. (if it's a 100 lb gauge.) If you want to buy a new pump along with that new tank in the VERY near future, let it keep on doing that.

I suppose it's possible someone messed with the switch and tank settings and got them all out of whack, the bladder might be stretched as high as it can go. Give the tank a push sideways carefully to see if it's full of water or if it's very light. Here you can read how to set one up properly. FAQ's

 

[AQualityPlumber]

I've had to replace relief valves on wells a few times. My best recommendation is to replace it with the best quality relief valve you can find.
Your tank is probably fine. You can test to see if it's water logged by deflating it entirely. If no water comes out then pump it back up to around 50 psi it's still good.
If any water comes out then replace the tank.
You can adjust the pressure switch using a psi gage on a hose bib.

 

[phishfood]

I done think that replacing the relief valve is going to fix the short cycling problem he is having. I can't come up with a better explanation for that then a water logged tank.

 

[speedbump]

I done think that replacing the relief valve is going to fix the short cycling problem he is having. I can't come up with a better explanation for that then a water logged tank.

Me neither. The tank is either waterlogged or it has way too much air in it. If you look at the gauge in the video, (if it's a 100 lb gauge) it's spiking up to where 90 would be on a 100 lb gauge. That tells me either the pressure switch is set way too high or the gauge is out of whack. Since the PRV is blowing off each cycle at the high pressure point, I'm going for the wrong pressure switch setting.

brianfulcher15; tell us if anybody has been trying to adjust these things before you started having this problem.