Dear Clean Water Man:
We also had a power outage and now have a water pressure issue. The strange thing is that for a time, we had air coming out of our faucets. Now when we shower, the water has a strange slow / fast pulsation. Was this caused by the power outage or is it just a coincidence?
Hi and Lowis, Stamford, CT
Dear High and Lowis:
Just like the previous writer, your pressure problem was caused by the power outage, although for a different reason. You do not have a bladder tank. Your pressure tank is the old fashioned bladder-less type and there is a technical reason why you need a non-bladder tank. (I will discuss this in a future blog). The air you experienced was the pressurized air that is supposed to be in the tank to act as a buffer. The fix is simple. Have compressed air added back to the tank and avoid using water when the power goes out. The sooner you get air put back in the tank the better because it will prevent the well pump from short cycling and burning out.
Water issues in Connecticut? Call Ted Mullen, The Clean Water Man, at 203-417-9601.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Low Pressure After Power Outage
Dear Clean Water Man:
The other day, our power went out for several hours and ever since we have had very low water pressure. What is going on?
Sincerely,
Trickles, Greenwich, Connecticut
Dear Trickles:
After I met with you and inspected your water system, I repaired the problem. I wanted to post here so that my readers could know what happened. Your water system consisted of a submersible pump, a Well-X-Trol bladder tank, a backwashing aggregate filter, and a water softener. Here is what happened:
The power went out but your family continued to use water. The Well-X-Trol tank has several gallons of water stored within the air pressurized bladder and is generally enough for a few toilet flushes or turning on other fixtures. As the water emptied out of the bladder tank, a great amount of iron sludge came off of the inside of the bladder and entered the aggregate filter. While this filter is designed to remove this precipitated iron, the huge amount of sludgy iron clogged the filter and all it needed was a few extra backwashes, which I took care of while I was at your home. The pressure improved after the manual backwashes.
The best approach is to stop using water when the power goes off so to prevent this fouling of the filtration system.
Water problems in Connecticut? Call Ted Mullen, The Clean Water Man, at 203-417-9601.
The other day, our power went out for several hours and ever since we have had very low water pressure. What is going on?
Sincerely,
Trickles, Greenwich, Connecticut
Dear Trickles:
After I met with you and inspected your water system, I repaired the problem. I wanted to post here so that my readers could know what happened. Your water system consisted of a submersible pump, a Well-X-Trol bladder tank, a backwashing aggregate filter, and a water softener. Here is what happened:
The power went out but your family continued to use water. The Well-X-Trol tank has several gallons of water stored within the air pressurized bladder and is generally enough for a few toilet flushes or turning on other fixtures. As the water emptied out of the bladder tank, a great amount of iron sludge came off of the inside of the bladder and entered the aggregate filter. While this filter is designed to remove this precipitated iron, the huge amount of sludgy iron clogged the filter and all it needed was a few extra backwashes, which I took care of while I was at your home. The pressure improved after the manual backwashes.
The best approach is to stop using water when the power goes off so to prevent this fouling of the filtration system.
Water problems in Connecticut? Call Ted Mullen, The Clean Water Man, at 203-417-9601.
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