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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Some days I'm a plumber



The thing about off grid systems is that they all work together. That means that when one particular system isn't right, the whole system suffers.

Something was wrong with my water supply system. The house gets its water from a well. There's a submersible pump in the well that feeds into a pressure tank in the basement. When water is used the pressure in the system drops until a pressure switch clicks on. The pump runs, topping off the pressure tank. When the pressure reaches it's high setting, the pump shuts off again. The system is simple enough as far as these things go.

The problem is that the pump was cycling very quickly. That puts excessive wear on the pump and causes the pipes to bang. Motors draw a lot of power when they first start up. With the pump constantly turning off and on, it was always working in the most inefficient way possible. Because the pump is supplied from solar electric, the batteries drained down much quicker than normal.

My first guess what that the pressure switch might have been failing. There's a flexible diaphragm in the switch and it can get damaged. I've had to change those in the past. It was a bad guess. Fortunately, before messing with the switch I checked the air pressure in the tank. Air in the tank is compressed when the pump fills it with water. It's that compressed air that allows water to be pushed out of the tank without the pump having to start up. My tank had very low air pressure.

The solution was to drain all the water of the tank and pump up the air pressure where it belongs. Here's the funny thing, the pressure tank sits about 8 feet away from a heavy duty air compressor. The problem is that the air hose doesn't go in the basement but runs to the outside of the house near the driveway. There was once a short hose that I could have used in the basement, but it broke was never replaced.

I did not want to drive all the way into town and spend money on a hose I'd only use once in a great while. I had a little cheapo 12 volt air pump normally kept in car. The house battery bank was close enough to tap power of it to run the little compressor. Once pressure in the tank was restored the whole system once again worked the way it was supposed to.

-Sixbears

10 comments:

  1. good solutionis when whatever works does the job

    others would have gone out and get a longer hose

    good to check for air pressure leaks with a liquid soap and water solution

    stay happy and warm

    Wildflower

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    1. So far the pressure is holding. I'd like to put off having to buy another pressure tank.

      Living out in the woods I really think twice about making a trip into town.

      I'm happy that I'm by the kitchen woodstove as it's the only really warm place in the house right now.

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  2. Some pressure tanks have an air fitting in the top to add air for more pressure.

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  3. It should last until you leave for Florida. Then install a new tank and you'll be good for 20 years.
    Hope you're not getting snowed in with all the snow storms near by!
    Right now here in North Florida it's COLD, in the 20's three nights in a row. Bring your fur lined flip-flops. :-)

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    1. I'm hoping to get it to last until we leave.

      We just has a snow squall blow by. Sudden white out conditions.

      It's been cold as heck up here, but it's been cold just about everywhere. Hard to find flip flops with good snow traction.

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  4. Six bears, I have a well and outside tank. The air in the tank get absorbed slowly into the water. I have to add air to mine with the compressor about every 8-10 months. My well guy said this was normal. YMMV

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    1. Mine has a bladder that's supposed to prevent that, but I'm thinking the tank is on its last legs.

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  5. FWIW, folks I've dealt with on tank types don't like the bladder type. Good luck.

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    1. It's what the local hardware store had on hand when I was putting the system together. Hope to do more research before replacing it.

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