Air Valves for Putting Air into a Water Tank
InspectAPedia^®  -    

• Water Tank Air Valves or Schrader Valves for Adding Water to the Pressure Tank, how to find and use the air valve
• How to fix or replace a leaky water tank air valve or Schrader valve or "tire valve"
• What are the controls, switches, valves found on water tanks and water pumps, what do they do, how are they repaired?
• Well pump & water tank diagnosis & repair procedures

Captive air water tanks that use an internal bladder to keep water and air separate, such as the Well-X-Trol™ water pressure tank, will display an air valve, usually on top of the water tank, and often red in color such as shown in this photograph.

Older steel water tanks and even some modern bladder type tanks also may include an air input valve or "schrader valve" to permit air to be pumped into the tank, but it may be located in various locations.

In these installations the air valve may be located anywhere on or near the water tank such that air pumped into the valve will flow into the water tank itself.

The air valve may be found on the tank top, the tank side, on piping near the bottom of the tank such as this black-capped Schrader valve just above the relief valve in this photo, or perhaps elsewhere.

But logically you'd expect to see such a valve (if it's present at all) in a location where air inserted into the valve (say from a tire pump or from a can of compressed air) will flow into the water tank and not just out into the building water supply piping or water pump.

Here is a close up view of the typical air valve or schrader valve located on the top of a bladder type captive air water tank. These tanks come from the factory with air pre-charged and you do not normally need to change the air volume or pressure in these tanks.

Notice that the warning label surrounding this air valve indicates that "WARNING! Removal of cap by persons other than authorized dealer may void warranty". This is because the manufacturer is not going to accept responsibility if you over pressurized the tanks's internal system and cause damage.

Furthermore, over pressurizing any tank of any type beyond its working pressure is very dangerous and can cause the tank to rupture or explode. That's why we require a pressure relief valve on any pressurized tank, even a water tank.

Guide to Repairing Leaky Water Tank Air Valves

Sometimes when we remove the cap from a water tank air valve, or more likely when we try pumping air into the water tank at the water tank's air valve, we're troubled by water (or air) leaking back out at us from the valve - making us sorry we touched it in the first place.

If the air valve or "tire valve" or Schrader valve on your water tank is leaking water or air there are a few wonderfully easy steps you can take. We describe how to clean an air valve to get it to stop leaking, a simple emergency way to stop a leaky air valve on a water tank, and how to replace the valve stem core if that's needed. These details are given step-by-step at TANK AIR VALVE REPAIRS

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