Messages

1

Pumps, Wells, Tanks, Controls / Re: My Well Is Killing Me

« on: June 26, 2012, 05:09:48 PM »

So, you suggest just the valve then.  What about my chlorinator?  The CSV will give me more pump run with less water so more chlorine for the same runtime.  I guess I'll just have to keep adjusting until I find the new normal.  Will the chlorine affect the CSV at all?

2

Pumps, Wells, Tanks, Controls / Re: My Well Is Killing Me

« on: June 26, 2012, 02:27:33 PM »

Thank you for the quick response.  My next question was going to be 'what do I need'.  I would like to keep the pressure as close to 65 psi or so as possible.  That is what the other switch was giving us and we really liked it.  Can I adjust my mechanical 40/60 switch to give me the 60 - 70 psi spread?  Is that what the little nut is for - the differential?  Will adjusting that cause problems with the switch long term?

Also, my well is pretty dirty.  I clog up a 4 x 10 filter about every 3 weeks.  It'll be plum full of iron and some sand.  Will that affect the CSV?

3

Pumps, Wells, Tanks, Controls / My Well Is Killing Me

« on: June 26, 2012, 11:51:15 AM »

Hello all. My system:

55' well
23' of water
6" casing
3/4 hp (10gpm) 220v submersible pump
Flotec 35 gallon (82 gallon) pressure tank
Amtrolr electronic pump controller - Just died and replaced with standard 40/60 mechanical switch
Wellmate UT 120 retention tank
B&B Chlorination pellet chlorinator

This well has me ready to burn my house down, collec the insurance money and move to the city.  Or go to jail for arson.  Either way, I won't have to fool around with this well anymore. 

Bought the house about 2 years ago and the pressure tank promptly went bad on us. Replaced it and discovered a severe iron problem. It was so bad that the main 3/4" water supply line after the pump system was nearly closed up with iron deposits.  To fix it I stripped aLL the copper out of the house and replaced it with PEX. Installed the chlorinator to kill the iron. Installed 3 tankless water heaters close to the point of use. The flow rate is such that if the pressure in the tank is below 50 or so the tankless heater doesn't kick the burner on. Installed an Amtrol digital pressure switch so that i could kick the pressure up a bit on the high end - about 70 psi.  I also installed the Wellmate UT 120 to sort of pre-heat the water going into the tankless heaters which got me another 15 or so degrees out of the tankless heaters.

All is good in the Fishman household for about 6 or 8 months - great pressure, endless hot water and the chlorinator has helped us get the iron out and the harness down.  Then the pressure switch just craps out on me the other day.  Naturally, they don't make them any more, so I go get a regular old 40/60 and I hate it.  And my wife hates it.  And when she hates something, we are all miserable.

I have done quite a bit of reading here and other places and I am thinking that a CSV is what I am needing, but I am not ready to drop 6 or 7 bones to affirm that.  Plus, I'm not sure that I know what you guys are talking about with all that CSV jargon.

With my digital switch, I had more constant pressure, but my pump cycled more than with the old mechanical switch (which I knew I should have kept).  I have a pretty good size pressure tank, so it was a couple of minutes between cycles during a shower, but still not good, right?

If I remotely understand what I am reading, it is better for the pump to run for 8 hours straight than to cycle 5 times in the same 8 hour period, right?  A CSV will help me accomplish something similar, right?  No 8 hour showers tho......

I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch with 12 faucets (including the one in the washtub in the basement, the tub faucet, two shower faucets, 3 lavs, 1 kitchen, 3 hose bibs, and a pot filler on the cooktop).  If someone could kindly help me figure out if a CSV is the way to go and which one is the right one, I'd much appreciate it.

DF