How to diagnose problems with the water tank itself
How does the water tank affect building water pressure?
How does the water tank affect building water quantity?
How does the water tank affect well pump life?
How to decide if water pressure tank replacement is necessary
Typical cost of various well, pump, and water tank repairs.
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This article describes how and why to diagnose problems right at the water tank in order to help distinguish among intermittent water pressure loss, total water pressure loss, and poor water pressure or flow in a building. The process of diagnosis and the costs of the repair are explained. Consumer advice on saving money on water supply repair costs includes a review of the parts and labor costs of a typical well pump and pressure tank replacement case.
Also see the preceding section of this article on the problems in water supply caused by issues with the water pressure tank: Water Pressure Tank Problems. The illustration at page top is courtesy of Carson Dunlop, Inc. in Toronto.
How do we diagnose poor water pressure or loss of water pressure in a building, and what are the common causes and repairs for this problem?
Water Pressure Problem Tests for Homes on a Private Well
Shaking the Water Pressure Tank to Diagnose its Condition
Testing a home water tank: Some plumbers or homeowners check to see if their water tank contains any water
by simply "shaking" the water pressure tank. Be careful: moving an empty water tank around can cause plumbing leaks or
even a burst pipe. There may be a trick to this but shaking the water pressure tank alone is not going to reliably
diagnoses a ruptured bladder in a captive air water tank). Shaking the tank can tell you that the water tank is empty but not why
the water tank is empty.
Why is there no water in the tank?: The water tank could be empty simply because you ran all of its water out into the home and
the water pump never came on to replenish the water supply. The possible causes of an empty water tank and no water in the home include
causes we list in detail just below:
What are the Causes of Low or Poor Water Pressure or Loss of Water Pressure in a Building?
Loss of electrical power (pump does not run) to the pump or pump control - nothing is running the water pump. Is power turned on? Is there power at the pump control and is there power to the pump?
Bad water pressure control switch (pump does not run, pump does not respond to changes in water pressure, pump won't shut off) a failing pressure control switch on the water pump - perhaps the switch is not turning on the pump.
This can be checked by manually closing the pump relay - DON'T TRY THIS YOURSELF - SHOCK HAZARD - unless you are qualified and trained. Pressure Control Switch problems are discussed further at CAUSES OF SHORT CYCLING.
Also be sure to review WELL PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT for instructions on how to adjust the water pump pressure control switch.
Our photo shows a new switch we installed on a one line jet pump in 2005.
Bad water pressure regulator: (poor municipal water pressure) if the building is connected to a municipal water supply there may be a water pressure regulator installed, usually close to the water meter or where the water supply pipe enters the building.
A detailed guide to water pressure regulators and diagnosis and adjustment advice for these devices are at WATER PRESSURE REDUCER / REGULATOR.
Clogged water filter (pump cycles on and off very rapidly, reduced water pressure in the building) a clogged water filter can cause rapid pump cycling on and off - discussed further at CAUSES OF SHORT CYCLING
Clogged water supply piping (reduced water flow) can cause poor water flow in a building. This can occur suddenly from debris clogging a delivery pipe, often at a turn or "elbow" in the piping, but that's not common. If the building water supply piping is blocked usually this is a long-standing problem. We discuss how to diagnose clogged water supply piping or blocked pipes as a cause of reduced or poor water pressure in our article at Water pipe clog diagnosis.
Bad water tank: (pump cycling on and off or "short cycling water pump") where buildings use a private pump and well and on some buildings with poor municipal water supply quantity or pressure, a water pressure tank is installed. (See WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK and then see Water Pressure Tank Problems for detailed diagnosis procedures).
Gently moving or "shaking" the water tank can tell you if the tank contains any water at all. The water tank could be empty simply because the well ran out of water (water was pulled out of the well faster than it could recover), or perhaps because the water pump never came on to replenish the water supply.
Some of the possible causes of an empty water tank and no water in the home include other symptoms discussed in this list of loss of water pressure. Water tanks that use
an internal bladder can have a ruptured bladder.
Steel water tanks may not be as badly rusted as the rusty water tank in this photo, but they may have pinhole leaks that result in lost air charge in the water tank. See WHAT IS SHORT CYCLING or a bladder that's stuck to itself (pump always comes on immediately).
Well water supply pipe failure (pump runs, reduced or no water flow into the building) A well water supply pipe failure in the well or between the well and the building, so water is not being delivered to the home. (Or in cold climates, the line may have frozen)
Examples of this problem include frozen pipes, pipe leaks causing loss of water (inside the well or underground between well and building), or air leaks into the well piping, causing loss of prime (with jet pump systems). Even when a submersible pump is located in the well (and there is no loss of prime problem), if the water piping is leaking between the pump and the building water pressure may be reduced or lost.
Loss of water pump or well pump prime (pump runs but no water is delivered) in an in-building pump, or an internal pump failure such as broken vanes - the pump motor runs but no water is delivered. An in-building pump could also run and no water be delivered if the well has run dry.
A shallow well jet pump well line could have a bad foot valve (in the well) and so be losing prime. A leak in the well line can also lead to loss of prime as it lets water out or air into the well piping.
Some water pumps, particularly jet pumps, include a removable plug atop the pump assembly, giving access to the water pumping chamber in order to add
water to "prime the pump" in the event that the water pump has become air bound. This photograph shows such a plug on top of our one line jet pump.
Water Pump Internal Parts Failure: (pump runs but no water is delivered) a pump failure such as broken vanes in the pump assembly, worn out and leaky internal pump bearings or parts, or clogging with sediment or minerals can result in a pump whose motor runs but whose water output is reduced.
Water Pump Motor Failure: (pump motor stops or does not start at all): A failed or failing in-well submersible water pump stops delivering water at all, or periodically overheats and temporarily stops working. Such a pump is probably at end of life, unless the problem is traced to a voltage, switch, or wiring problem.
Water Table Level Fluctuations: (seasonal reduction in water flow or water quantity): in some areas, fluctuations in the level of ground water such as a drop in the level of groundwater during the dry season or during droughts, can result in a reduced well recovery rate or complete loss of well water.
Well is Failing: (reduced or no water flow, increasingly slow well recovery rate) the well itself may be deteriorating, with less water flowing into the well or water flowing into the more slowly than in the past. Reductions in well flow rate occur over time when minerals clog the rock fissures that lead water into the well, or sudden reductions in well flow rate (and total water quantity) can occur if the well casing is cracked (perhaps by nearby blasting or equipment movement) or if someone drills another well nearby and happens to tap into the same water aquifer. See WELL LIFE EXPECTANCY
Bad water pressure regulator? See WATER PRESSURE REDUCER / REGULATOR (not usually installed on private well and pump systems, often present on municipal water supply systems that use an in-building local water pump and pressure tank to boost pressure)
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Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment
Access Water Energy, PO Box 2061, Moorabbin, VIC 3189, Australia, Tel: 1300 797 758, email: sales@accesswater.com.au Moorabbin Office: Kingston Trade Centre, 100 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin, VIC 3189
Australian supplier of: Greywater systems, Solar power to grid packages, Edwards solar systems, Vulcan compact solar systems, water & solar system pumps & controls, and a wide rage of above ground & under ground water storage tanks: concrete, steel, plastic, modular, and bladder storage tanks.
Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
Smart Tank, Installation Instructions [ copy on file as /water/Smart_Tank_Flexcon.pdf ] - , Flexcon Industries, 300 Pond St., Randolph MA 02368, www.flexconind.com, Tel: 800-527-0030 - web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://www.flexconind.com/pdf/st_install.pdf
Typical Shallow Well One Line Jet Pump Installation [ copy on file as /water/Jet_Pump_Grove_Elect_Jet_Pumps_1.pdf ] - , Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Typical Deep Well Two Line Jet Pump Installation [ copy on file as /water/Jet_Pump_Grove_Elect.pdf ] - , Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Water Fact Sheet #3, Using Low-Yielding Wells [ copy on file as /water/Low_Yield_Wells_Penn_State.pdf ] - , Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension, School of Forest Resources, web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/XH0002.pdf
Water pressure tanks - how to diagnose the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.
Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.
U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM.
When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
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