How to increase water pressure switch.

[Rook]

Hello,

I purchased a new house, built in 1988, which has a well. I would like to increase the water pressure. I had a well inspector out to check out the well and he simply told me everything was good. He did not inform me as to what type of pump, depth of pump etc. The water pressure through the house is pretty good and relatively consistent, although there is sometimes a decrease in pressure during a shower, but not total. The pressure gauge on the bladder tank is 40psi. I was told is was a 20/40 psi switch and a 25 gallon tank. I have very little iron, at most .5 to 1ppm from raw water.

So the problem. I am running an RO/DI system to generate good clean water. The RO system is connected to a water pipe after the water softener and the system pressure gauge reads 30psi. The company that made the RO system said I should have at least 40psi for the RO system to run properly and to not prematurely kill the RO and DI membranes, and that 60psi or higher would be more ideal.

The well guy said i would need a new switch and tank to increase the pressure, but I was told otherwise that I could increase the pressure switch pressure setting. So, I can either do that, or look into a seperate pump to increase the water pressure going to the RO system.

Also, I don't know if this makes any difference, but, If I run the outside faucets, say to water the yard for more than a couple hours, when I go back into the house and turn on the water, I get orangish brown water for abour 20 seconds. Then it is fine. I have no idea what that is about.

So, and suggestions?

[nomind]

First, try looking inside the pressure switch lid, the pressure range is usually printed there with adjustment instructions. If not, look carefully at the centre spring under the adjustment nut. If the spring has some space between coils (ie , is not scrunched down ) try increasing the pressure by turning the nut clockwise. Usually about 1 1/2 - 2 psi increase per turn. If you can get an upper limit of 48-50 that should do. This will also bring up cut-on limit, so for best results, after verifying the lower limit, aircharge the tank to 2psi lower than cut-on. (of course, do this only when the tank is almost empty) With luck you may do this and not need a new pressure switch.

[Mike Swearingen]

Rook,
Turn off or unplug the power to the pump, drain the water pressure completely down, and then check the air pressure in the tank with a tire gauge.
If your pump is set at 20-40, the air pressure should then be two psi below the cut-on pressure of 20 (i.e. 18 psi tank pressure). It reads 40 only when the pump has pumped it up to cut-off pressure and turned off.
Air the tank pressure up to 28 psi with a bicycle pump or portable air tank or compressor before adjusting the pressure switch for 30-50 cut-on/cut-off.
If your pressure switch has only one spring-loaded nut, turn it down clockwise until it is adjusted to 30-50 (it will be factory set 20 psi apart). If your pressure switch has two spring-loaded nuts, the taller is the cut-on pressure and the shorter one will be for the cut-off pressure.
If you're adjusting them with the power on, be prepared for the pump to kick on as you adjust it down. You WILL jump when it does. If you adjust it with the power on, be very careful not to touch the exposed wiring with the pressure switch cover off.
If you're not comfortable working that close to hot wires, you can adjust the pressure switch with the power off with a little trial-and-error.
Good luck!
Mike

[Rook]

Okay, thanks for the help.

I have no problem playing with wires, however, I will try it with the power off and do a little trial and error. I assume I just adjust the springs, then turn on the power to see the new presure and if it is not right, do it again???

So, how do I, or where do I add air to the tank with a bike pump? Btw, I have a system with two springs. A taller and larger in diameter spring and a small and thinner spring. Both have space in-between the coils. Do you think I can wrench it up to 40-60psi? or is that asking too much?

[Pumpman]

There shouldn't be a problem with raising the pressure to 40/60. However, just use the taller spring to do so. The taller one will adjust both the cutin and cutout. The shorter one will adjust cutout only. Turning it will screw up the 20 psi differential (i.e. 40/60). My experience is that one complete revolution of the nut will increase pressure 3-4 psi. As Mike and the others have alluded to, be sure to reset the tank precharge pressure.
The orangish brown water could be sediment from the tank. A large water demand, such as watering yards, may be causing the tank to run nearly empty, causing sediment to be washed out of the tank. You would think that the sediment would be the first thing out, but from what I've seen, the sediment seems to stay in the tank until just before it completely empties.
Ron

[Rook]

Can I flush the pressure tank like you do for a water heater to make sure there is no sediment?

BTW, how do I tell the on/off pressure? Do I turn on the water to drain the system and watch the pressure gauge to see when the well pump turns on and when it turns off?

[nomind]

You should be able to flush it if it has a drain bibb on the tank tee. ( I and many other well guys usually put one there for that purpose). To do this just turn off the valve to house and drain the tank through the bibb. It may take 2-3 fills to flush totally, as sometimes the bladder folds awkwardly and traps a small amount of water. If there's no drain bibb, just disconnect house line and fit a drain bibb in it's place on the tank outlet.

[Rook]

I guess I don't know what a drain bibb is. Can you describe it better? I do have a faucet directly after the tank. Could I turn off the water supply, open the faucet to drain the tank, turn the supply back on to refill, and repeat?

[nomind]

Sorry, I 'm using the common term, and I have NO idea why they call it a 'bibb' :confused: It looks just like your common garden faucet, and is commonly installed on the tank tee, or immediately after the tank.
And , yes, you can drain it as you described. good luck with it :)

[Rook]

Okay, I think I understand, except for:

So, how do I, or where do I add air to the tank with a bike pump?

I notice there is a little rubber 'nipple' that has a red sticker around it that says do not remove. I am supposed to remove this and is this where I use the bike pump to increase the air pressure?

[Mike Swearingen]

The little red plastic cap covers the Shraeder valve (same as for air on an auto tire). Use a tire gauge, bicycle pump or portable air tank or compressor.
Good Luck!
Mike

[nomind]

If you're seriously using a bicycle pump, better have double portion of the spinach :p
Compressors are cheap and very useful. One of my clients does an old galv tank yearly with his car tire compressor ( walmart- $12) hooked up to his battery charger.